Fitting a fuel sender.

[Gingerbread Man]

Hey all.

A friends boat is parked on my drive which I'm tinkering with. It has a Yamaha Saltwater Series 115hp outboard on the back and matching Yamaha gauges.

Unfortunately it has no fuel gauge even though the gauges are happy to display this input.

How do I go about fitting one into the tank? If not too expensive I might get one ordered.
While skiing at the weekend we ran out of fuel while on the river and had to fill it up, so while easy to refill, is a pain, especially as the skier sinks into the drink.

The tank is of aluminium construction. 900L X 450w X 200d. I assume that the 200mm deep measurement is the crucial one.
The tank will be easy to remove. Is it a case of draining the fuel, drilling a hole and wiring back to the gauge?

Also a sender has to be compatible with the gauge.

[sherman]

If nothing else you will need to make triple sure there is no fuel left in the tank not even vapour before you start drilling an aluminium tank.
I wouldnt fancy explaing to my mate why his boat has explosion damage.

[Gingerbread Man]

sherman said:

If nothing else you will need to make triple sure there is no fuel left in the tank not even vapour before you start drilling an aluminium tank.
I wouldnt fancy explaing to my mate why his boat has explosion damage.

I plan on the tank being fully disconnected. Drained and out of the boat. Will need swilling afterwards to clean any swarf out.

[Gingerbread Man]

Nobody done this before?

[TonyRPH]

Gingerbread Man said:

I plan on the tank being fully disconnected. Drained and out of the boat. Will need swilling afterwards to clean any swarf out.

This won't be enough.

The explosion risk comes from the remaining vapour rather than the presence of actual fuel.

[Gingerbread Man]

Fill it with water then. I haven't got to that stage yet. Just the purchase of the sender at the moment.

[Krikkit]

Something like this would probably be easiest to install rather than the float type - https://www.asap-supplies.com/products/kus-fuel-an...

They do a 175mm version which actually might be the best idea as it leaves a little uneven and reserve in the tank if you forget.

Not too expensive either.

[Gingerbread Man]

Krikkit said:

Something like this would probably be easiest to install rather than the float type - https://www.asap-supplies.com/products/kus-fuel-an...

They do a 175mm version which actually might be the best idea as it leaves a little uneven and reserve in the tank if you forget.

Not too expensive either.

I saw one of those in a shop yesterday. That looks the go. I couldn't work out if, but I assume it must, just screws into the aluminium tank wall rather than bolts in as such due to having no access to the inside of the tank to do up said fixings. I'm assuming that tank walls are of a decent thickness metal...?

[MatteAva]

Gingerbread Man said:

The tank is of aluminium construction. 900L X 450w X 200d. I assume that the 200mm deep measurement is the crucial one.
The tank will be easy to remove. Is it a case of draining the fuel, drilling a hole and wiring back to the gauge?

Also a sender has to be compatible with the gauge.

I used to work for a company making these so I am not suggesting any name but if you search on google you will find a few uk manufacturers.

Providing that the tank is for diesel it is relatively straight forward as it is the sender used on generators.
The sender will have a fitting and its either 1" BSPT or a 5 hole SAE flange.
The supplier should be able to match the output to the one on the gauge. Depending on the model you might need a voltage input between 9-32VDC.

[paintman]

MatteAva said:

I used to work for a company making these so I am not suggesting any name but if you search on google you will find a few uk manufacturers.

Providing that the tank is for diesel it is relatively straight forward as it is the sender used on generators.
The sender will have a fitting and its either 1" BSPT or a 5 hole SAE flange.
The supplier should be able to match the output to the one on the gauge. Depending on the model you might need a voltage input between 9-32VDC.

4 stroke petrol.

[Krikkit]

Gingerbread Man said:

Krikkit said:

Something like this would probably be easiest to install rather than the float type - https://www.asap-supplies.com/products/kus-fuel-an...

They do a 175mm version which actually might be the best idea as it leaves a little uneven and reserve in the tank if you forget.

Not too expensive either.

I saw one of those in a shop yesterday. That looks the go. I couldn't work out if, but I assume it must, just screws into the aluminium tank wall rather than bolts in as such due to having no access to the inside of the tank to do up said fixings. I'm assuming that tank walls are of a decent thickness metal...?

Yes they come with bolts from the top - you'd have to cut out, then drill and tap the mounting holes in the tank. As long as you tap it correctly you wouldn't need much thickness to be strong enough, maybe 1mm aluminium. Or you could rivnut them of course.

Alternatively you could drill the holes, then from the inside put a bolt+washer in (with something like tiger seal to hold it in place) and just use nuts to hold the sender down on the now-fixed bolts.