[C320-list] Fuel sender access

[Graeme Clark]

Dennis

Looking at your hull number I would recommend removing the tank and inspecting it, particularly at the bottom.

Like you, I wanted to fit a new sender and struggled. I decided to remove the tank and am glad I did.  The older tanks are thinner gauge than the newer ones and become pitted and eventually develop pinholes causing a leak

The bottom of my tank was wafer thin in parts where the pitting had almost broken through.  I had a local fabricator weld in a new base as the remainder was in good condition, but I know for many of you in the USA it’s easy to source a new tank.  (I’m in UK so carriage costs are very high). There are articles on the site on this.

I also added two inspection ports, one each side of the baffle, each about 6inch diameter. I can now easily access the entire tank to clean it out

And of course fitting a new sensor and checking it worked etc, was easy with the tank out!

Graeme

#366, 1996

Sent from my iPad

> On 5 Nov 2020, at 18:02, Dennis Cookson <dennis at cooksons.net> wrote:
> 
> Thanks Chris, I looked under the shelf first but no luck, just pipe connections there. Would have been a doddle in that position.  I guess they improved access over the years.
> 
> Regards,
> Dennis Cookson
> Catalina #577
> 
> 
>> On 5 Nov 2020, at 16:53, Chris Burti <clburti at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> First, let me say  that this picture doesn't look at all like our #867. In
>> #867 the sender is relatively easy to access once the shelf above it is
>> removed (about 8 screws), The sender comes out with six Phillips head cap
>> screws tapped into the tank. The red wire runs directly to the buss  in the
>> instrument pod on the pedestal and in my opinion is the source of a
>> majority of fuel instrument gauge issues. However, over reading suggests to
>> me that is more likely that your float arm may be bent at the wrong angle.
>> 
>> 
>> Fair Winds,
>> Chris Burti
>> Commitment #867
>> Farmville, NC
>> 
>> 
>>> On Thu, Nov 5, 2020 at 11:38 AM Dennis Cookson <dennis at cooksons.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Today I made an attempt to change the fuel sender on my diesel tank, which
>>> has been over-reading on the gauge since purchase of the boat last year.
>>> I say attempt because I was shocked at how awkward it is to access this
>>> instrument, and as I couldn’t get an eyeball anywhere near it, I had to
>>> content myself with an arm’s length snap with a smartphone, which I’ve
>>> uploaded here <
>>> https://c320.org/mediagallery/media.php?f=1&s=20201105160834374&i=0&p=0>.
>>> As you can see, it’s in the dirtiest part of the boat.
>>> 
>>> I can just about make out the six bolts that attach this sender to the top
>>> of the tank, but it is so difficult to access that I would only be able to
>>> undo them by feel, again at arm’s length, with a suitable wrench, while
>>> contorting myself into various uncomfortable positions that I wasn’t
>>> designed for.  I tried from both stern lazarettes and also from the hatch
>>> in the aft cabin - all equally painful.
>>> 
>>> If anyone has managed to change this sender successfully with the fuel
>>> tank in place, can you kindly describe how you did it?  I’d like to know
>>> what size wrench/spanner is required, can you actually remove all six
>>> bolts, and particularly whether there is a loose retaining ring under the
>>> sender that will drop into the tank when the last bolt is undone.  I’m
>>> aware that this is often the case with holding tanks (ask me how I know).
>>> Oh, and where does that red wire go? Is there a terminal strip somewhere?
>>> 
>>> Until the latest lockdown I’ve been managing my fuel level by tracking
>>> engine hours, but I’d like that gauge to work properly. Am I wasting my
>>> time? Maybe I should just wait until the fuel tank corrodes and has to come
>>> out anyway - it’s 21 years old after all. But there is no smell of diesel
>>> at the moment.
>>> 
>>> Dennis Cookson
>>> Catalina #577
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>