Hurricane SD fuel gauge Inaccurate

[donaldm241]

Just bought a new Sundeck 217 (Yamaha outboard) in May and have found the fuel gauge is very inaccurate. It reads 3/4 full floating in the water at no speed and the same at full speed in calm water, but the tank is down at least 20gal of gas. Yesterday it read 3/4 full and took 41 gal to top the tank (full tank = 51gal). After fill up the fuel gauge indicated "full". I have taken it to the local dealer and he pulled the tank sender and found it operating OK. Dealer says that inaccurate fuel gauge is the nature of all boats. I refuse to believe that Hurricane design is so faulty that a fuel tank gauge is useless
Anyone have some ideas? As of now I depend on run hours to determine when gas is needed (e.g. 3 gal per hr is my average for my 150 Yamaha outboard)

 

[Brewman61]

Re: Hurricane SD fuel gauge Inaccurate

Not sure if there is anything you can do with the gauge, some boats are probably more accurate than others, assuming your sender and gauge are not defective.
Mine tends to stay on full for a while, but does give me a pretty good idea of how much gas I have left once it starts to move off of full.

Floscan and Faria, to name a couple, make meters that accurately track how many gallons of fuel have been used since the last reset, gallons per hour, etc.... I think the Faria meter is available from Iboats and is on sale right now.

Unless your boat is defective under warranty and they'll correct this problem at no charge to you, might make sense to look into the fuel meters vs spending money trying to correct the gauge/sender you do have.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Hurricane SD fuel gauge Inaccurate

Have a close look at your setup.

Most Under deck tanks are wedge shaped.
That means 3/4 of the fuel is in the upper half of the tank.

Fuel senders are linear, half way up the sender reports a half tank remaining, not a quarter.

Many fuel senders are at the rear of the tank.
If your tank is 9 inches deep and the front is 9 inches higher than the rear due to the bow of the boat being up, a quarter full tank, (50% level) is going to read 100% Full.



The only way for the gauge to be accurate is if the tank is rectangular and the sender is dead center in the tank.

 

[Ernest T]

Re: Hurricane SD fuel gauge Inaccurate

I have the same boat, and although my gauge does not seem to be off as much as yours, it does tend to stay near the full mark for a long time then drop quickly after it reaches the 3/4 full level. When I've refueled at 1/2 tank I can depend on it taking near 40 gal, and the gauge continues to drop faster the lower the fuel goes. I don't know what shape the fuel tank is since it is sealed within the fiberglass hull, but I think UncleWillie's explanation above is probably right on target as to exactly what is happening.

My gauge does the exact same thing by gaining at least 1/4 on the gauge when the boat is on plane. I'm sure that this is a sign that the fuel sender is near the back of the tank, so there is more fuel around it as the bow comes up.

The other thing that I have found is that although Hurricane lists the tank as 51 gal., my tank holds at least 60 gal. of fuel. You may have more reserve left than you think, but I recommend not letting it fall much past the 1/2 way mark if you plan to be out for a while.

I also have a Yamaha Waverunner with a quirky fuel gauge. I think this is just something you have to get used to with watercraft.

 

[JEBar]

Re: Hurricane SD fuel gauge Inaccurate

Just bought a new Sundeck 217 (Yamaha outboard) in May and have found the fuel gauge is very inaccurate.

sounds like the one in your boat must be a close relative to the one in ours ..:facepalm:.. I plan to replace it with a fuel flow meter (have been collecting info in this thread) .... when I put "X" gallons of gas in our boat's tank, with a fuel flow meter I will know how much I have left any time I wish to check it .... right now I'm leaning toward a Faria, a link is in the thread

Jim

 

[donaldm241]

Re: Hurricane SD fuel gauge Inaccurate

Have a close look at your setup.

Most Under deck tanks are wedge shaped.
That means 3/4 of the fuel is in the upper half of the tank.

Fuel senders are linear, half way up the sender reports a half tank remaining, not a quarter.

Many fuel senders are at the rear of the tank.
If your tank is 9 inches deep and the front is 9 inches higher than the rear due to the bow of the boat being up, a quarter full tank, (50% level) is going to read 100% Full.

View attachment 166314

The only way for the gauge to be accurate is if the tank is rectangular and the sender is dead center in the tank.

thank you for your explain. Makes good sense, but surprised that Hurricane manugfacturer took the cheap way out on a $35000 BOAT. Looking into the Faria Fuel Manager

For everyone, very much appreciate your answers helped alot
Don