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Fuel cell fuel level...

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VelodromeRacer

VelodromeRacer

Jedi Trainee
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I have another question. My bugeye racer that I just purchased has an ATL fuel cell with the foam cell. How do you other racers without a fuel gauge, determine how much fuel you have left between quals, or track time?

Does it even matter? I guess one just always tops her off before headign to the false grid? I am unsure what the milage I should expect from the 948 and don't see how a stick stuck down into the foam will tell me much...
 
Well you should inspect the cell for degrading foam and the bladder for blistering if the p.o. did not do it recently. That will give you a chance to trim a bit of the foam from the fill cap to the cell bottom so you can use a dipstick.

Take a paint stirring stick or a wood yardstick shortened and graduate it. Do not fill the cell more than 8/10 full to prevent fuel sloshing out even tho the check valve is working properly.

Every body just loves it when you run out of gas on track and have to be towed in and hold up the parade. Figure your fuel consumption per time and you then know how much fuel to put in.
 
I thought Ive seen a sending unit that will work witha foam unit. It is just a tube and doesnt have the convenventional arm/ float setup. I imagine there has to be something out there. If I come across it again Ill link it.
 
Yes, there are sending units for the cells. I don't use one, as it's just one more thing to break, as far as I'm concerned.
My 8 gallon cell is conveniently 8" deep, so 1"=1 gallon.
I melted a hole in the foam when the cell was new to accomodate a 1/4" diameter rod, that I powder coated flat black, and marked every inch. Not a big deal to stick the tank and read the rod.
Jeff
 
I figured the number of laps we got per gallon, then kept track of the number of laps my driver ran. This way I knew if we needed to add fuel before a session or if we didn't. Erring on the conservative side, of course!
 
Thanks.

I had seen sticks for measuring, I like the idea of the inches per gallon, and yes, I did not want to be the one to run out of gas!
 
A cell in a Bugeye is a bit harder to use a stick on, as you don't have direct access to the filler on the cell. You have to run a remote filler, which means you have to have a rollover valve in the cell. One of the sending units and a gauge may be the best way to go in that case.
Jeff
 
FYI:

I'm burning about 6 gallons an hour in my 1500 Spridget.
The cell is 8 gallons.
Generally, if we have a half hour practice and then a half hour qualifying, I've burned about 6 gallons and have 2 gallons remaining.
If I have a 30 minute sprint race, I add about 3 gallons, which give me a comfortable cushion without carrying too much extra fuel.

For now, if I were you, I'd just keep the car close to full most of the time. Better to carry a few lbs extra fuel than run out.
As you get to know the car, you can figure a fuel-use stategy that will work for you.
Keeps records so you can start to get an idea of fuel consumption.
 
You guys with the little cars are making me jealous. The TR8 goes thru a 16 gallon fuel cell in about 50 minutes of track time. 20 lap sprint races are no problem, but a 30 lapper at NHIS left me on fumes.
 
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