# Fuel tank dipstick



## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

I just bought a 3' piece of 3/8" dowel from Lowes.


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

mark hash lines with sharpie, put the dowel in drill chuck, spin drill, hold round file at 1/4 1/2 and full line. now you have HB quality fuel measuring apparatus aka dip stick.


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

And it could double as a way to hold up lid on a yeti cooler if you have one.


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## EvanHammer (Aug 14, 2015)

Boneheaded said:


> mark hash lines with sharpie, put the dowel in drill chuck, spin drill, hold round file at 1/4 1/2 and full line. now you have HB quality fuel measuring apparatus aka dip stick.


But what material? The light colored dowel is either too sealed (from sanding) to soak up any fuel or it too light for it to show up... I'm guessing too light since it should show up on the surface. I'm thinking about a darker colored dowel (piece of oak or mahogany) but wondering if there is a better option?


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

Regular ole pine dowel, but if you wanted to make it nice, dont see why color would affect. The difference is subtle on mine too


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## DRO (Mar 9, 2016)

After I broke my dowel, I used some semi-flexible translucent tubing material , gouged lines at the 1/2" and full mark. Just dip into the tank and put thumb at the top to create vacuum, then pull out. Easy to read.


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## Str8-Six (Jul 6, 2015)




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## perrymcfly (Jan 19, 2017)

I'm just using the pine dowel rods from Lowes. The sharpie didn't stay on mine very well so I use some 1/8" tape I found and wrapped it at 1/2 tank and Full tank lines.


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## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

look at it at an angle......if I can see it anyone can


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## EvanHammer (Aug 14, 2015)

Str8-Six said:


> View attachment 27208


I thought about that but figured they would be too short (maybe a 5 gallon mixer?) and too easy to break?


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

dowel with grooves at 1/3, 2/3, full. torch lightly in grooves to leave brown color lightly sand the brown off the smooth parts between the grooves.


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

You can buy oak dowel. Use a wood burner tool to burn the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and Full lines on the dowel.


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## Str8-Six (Jul 6, 2015)

EvanHammer said:


> I thought about that but figured they would be too short (maybe a 5 gallon mixer?) and too easy to break?


Been using the same one for two years on my 12 gallon aluminum tank. Not fancy but it works and it’s free.


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

perrymcfly said:


> I'm just using the pine dowel rods from Lowes. The sharpie didn't stay on mine very well so I use some 1/8" tape I found and wrapped it at 1/2 tank and Full tank lines.


I don't think they use Sharpie, I think they char the marks on with a flame


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I've had a variety of dipsticks over the years - the best was a teak slat... (about one inch wide by 1/4 inch thick) that I cut grooves in by hand with a triangular file... Periodically I would color in the grooves with a Sharpie but what really made it work was that fuel really darkened the teak wood so you could see at a glance what your fuel reading was... I currently have a simple dowel -and as others have noted you really have to look close to see where the fuel level is since the dowel hardly shows it... I also have my fuel deck key lanyarded to the top of my sticks...


ps: Any time you make a dipstick -always make two of them and put the second away... Very handy when you lose a dipstick to have a second one with the marks you need for that fuel tank (another of those "ask me how I know" routines...).


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## Vertigo (Jun 3, 2012)

The absolute best dipstick I've ever had is a strip of Ipe left over from another project. It's hard, strong and straight wood that's much more durable than teak or mahogany. Fuel shows up very well against the dark color. Triton Lumber in Homosassa stocks Ipe.


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## EvanHammer (Aug 14, 2015)

Vertigo said:


> The absolute best dipstick I've ever had is a strip of Ipe left over from another project. It's hard, strong and straight wood that's much more durable than teak or mahogany. Fuel shows up very well against the dark color. Triton Lumber in Homosassa stocks Ipe.


I've got some Ipe 1x6 salvaged from a floating dock after Hurricane Ike - maybe I'll just rip a strip of that to use. Thanks everyone!


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## EvanHammer (Aug 14, 2015)

lemaymiami said:


> I've had a variety of dipsticks over the years - the best was a teak slat... (about one inch wide by 1/4 inch thick) that I cut grooves in by hand with a triangular file... Periodically I would color in the grooves with a Sharpie but what really made it work was that fuel really darkened the teak wood so you could see at a glance what your fuel reading was... I currently have a simple dowel -and as others have noted you really have to look close to see where the fuel level is since the dowel hardly shows it... I also have my fuel deck key lanyarded to the top of my sticks...
> 
> 
> ps: Any time you make a dipstick -always make two of them and put the second away... Very handy when you lose a dipstick to have a second one with the marks you need for that fuel tank (another of those "ask me how I know" routines...).


Definitely making two now and I wouldn't have thought of that. Thanks Capt Bob!


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## EvanHammer (Aug 14, 2015)

Update in case anyone else needs to make one.

I tried putting the dowel in a drill to spin it but there was a little too much wobble - dowel probably wasn't perfectly straight but the chuck also bit into the wood so it didn't "true up" when I tightened up the chuck. I ended up clamping a file in my bench vise and just turned it by hand to score it. However, I still felt it was hard to see the fuel line - not sure why I've been having so much trouble since I have had 4 separate dipsticks in the past with no problem.

Ended up buying a small coil of vinyl tubing. Stapled one end to a board, pulled it taut, then stapled the other end. Used a heat gun to heat it up a little and let it sit a couple hours to get the coil memory out and straighten it. Then used the same file to score it lightly.

I can put it in the tank, seal the end up with my finger and pick it up to read the fuel level, then release my finger and let the fuel back into the tank. I have found this much easier to read.


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## Ruddy Duck LA (Jun 23, 2017)

My BT has something "in line" that prevents me from sticking anything into the tank. It is unfortunate as I don't believe the fuel gauge is accurate.


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## georgiadrifter (Jan 14, 2009)

Thanks to Capn Bob....I knocked out a dipstick from some scrap teak I had. I tested it and it seems to be very readable. Now I’ve got to add the graduated markings.


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## Imago (Aug 9, 2018)

$50K boats and you have to scrape around in the tank to check the gas level. Ridiculous.

How do you know the dipstick is giving an accurate reading? That the bottom of the tank isn't sloped (as it should be) or there is some kind of baffle. Or the boat isn't on the level? Once again - ridiculous.

I'm not keen on analogue dials for my Suzuki, but I have to say the fuel gauge seems fairly accurate. It's about the only thing that does work properly.


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## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

There is no such thing as an accurate fuel guage, by design they can't be. The dip stick never fails, and gives you a close enough reading. 

I've done the tubing idea in the past and like it the best. Because I hated storing a gas soaked piece of wood. The tubing let's most of the fuel back into the tank, what's left evaporates quicker then the wood.


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## State fish rob (Jan 25, 2017)

Teak or mahogany have enough oils in them ,fuel shouldn’t absorb much at all. Shamrock I had came w/ mahogany dowel


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## georgiadrifter (Jan 14, 2009)

Imago said:


> $50K boats and you have to scrape around in the tank to check the gas level. Ridiculous.
> 
> How do you know the dipstick is giving an accurate reading? That the bottom of the tank isn't sloped (as it should be) or there is some kind of baffle. Or the boat isn't on the level? Once again - ridiculous.
> 
> I'm not keen on analogue dials for my Suzuki, but I have to say the fuel gauge seems fairly accurate. It's about the only thing that does work properly.


A dipstick is pretty much foolproof. There’s a reason many pilots (small aircraft) still use a dipstick. Pilots learn early in flight training to never trust fuel gauges to give an accurate representation of their fuel quantity. Couple this with the design of a barebones microskiff....and the dipstick is quite practical. Could I add a fuel gauge? Sure. And I could also add a bunch of other electronics to my skiff....that add weight and at some point surrender to salt water and corrosion. But right now I’m fine “...to scrape around in the tank to check the gas level.”


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