[C320-list] Fuel sender

[Bruce Stanley]

Hi Jeff
thanks for that ... I thought the sender hole had to be exposed in order to
remove it.
So glade I had not cut away at the board.

=========earlier email to James

Hi James
September sounds like a better time ... not just because of the temperature
... because I will have another go at it myself (winter temperature in
Sydney might get to 60 degrees) ... and i can tell you of my progress!

BTW are you on the Atlantic coast on inland?

cheers and happy sailing ... do not forget to drink lots of fluid ... the
cold amber type of course!
Bruce Stanley
Sydney Australia

On Sun, Jun 29, 2008 at 12:21 PM, Jeff Hare <catalina at thehares.com> wrote:

> Hi Jim,
>
>   The starboard shelf board is very close to the top of my tank as well.
>
> I used a socket wrench with a Phillips screw driver socket to remove the
> screws.
> You don't need hardly any clearance to remove the sender.  About 2 inches
> is
> all that's necessary since the sender float is connected at the end of a
> thin piece of wire so it can be slid out sideways.
>
> I dropped in the port side aft locker and reached in between the rudder
> post
> and the cabin wall.
>
> But with the extreme heat, it's no fun.  I wired my stern rail speakers in
> 95 degree heat and hated every minute of the job.
>
> I tend to budget my fuel for 1 gal / hr of motoring.  That pretty much
> ensures that I don't drop below 1/4 tank.  So, when I've motored for 12-18
> hours, I start looking for a place to top off.  I also used to strap a 6
> gallon jerry can of diesel on the transom for comfort, but only used it
> once
> because I didn't feel like waiting for the line at the fuel dock.  :)
>
> -Jeff
>
> PS:  Before you unscrew the Sender plate,  Mark the orientation with a
> Black
> magic marker and save yourself the frustration of figuring out the
> orientation when putting the thing back in..  The screws on the sender are
> spaced in a way that you'll only get all 5 of them back in with the plate
> facing the same way it came out.  They're CLOSE in other orientations but
> they won't all go in which was a real pain.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
> [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of james_delong
> Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 10:17 AM
> To: c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
> Subject: [C320-list] Fuel sender
>
> I'm having the same problem...getting the floor boards off the top of the
> fuel tank. After unscrewing them, the inboard one simply slides about 6
> inches. Can't get it up, can't twist it, slide it further or anything.
> Almost, but resisted, cutting the damn thing in half to get it out!
>
> Any advise on how to get to the sender? Someone mentioned an access hatch
> in
> the stern cabin. 453 doesn't have one. Just a solid wall.
>
> Any ideas are welcomed!
>
> Jim #453
>
>
>
>
> Thx Chris
> The fuel tank is 20 engine hours from full ... think that is something
> like 20x1.3 litres ... therefore 26 litres off the full 72 capacity.
> That would leave 46 litres still in there. I have tried tapping the
> side of the tank with a screw driver handle and cannot detect a
> different 'note' telling me what the level is.
> Guess I will pull the sender to see what is going on down there ...
> problem getting the locker board out of the way ;(
>
>