REFLECTOR: Leaking sump float switch

[Scott Derrick]

I don't have a sump level indicator.   I do have fuel level sensors in 
both tanks.  My EIS warns me when either tank gets down to5 gallons.

Is this an "Oh Shit!" type of warning device?  

Scott



Jim Sower wrote:

> If I had it to do over (which may very well develop) I would dispense 
> with the float switch (more of that 1920s technology) and install one 
> of the many solid state sensors available like those used for the low 
> fuel warning lights on our dash boards.  If I thought it important to 
> know /how far into/ my sump fuel I am, I might mount several of these 
> sensors "on a stick" and have them drive ladder lights on the panel. 
> Arguably cheaper than float switch, certainly safer and more reliable 
> ... Jim S.
>
> wurzel at alumni.caltech.edu wrote:
>
>>So, I started noticing blue dye down the side of (and on the
>>floor right underneath) the sump tank.  Turns out fuel is
>>leaking either through or around the float switch.  D'oh,
>>the one-day annual condition inspection morphs itself
>>into a full-on project.
>>
>>Unfortunately, my float switch isn't screwed into a hard point
>>as seems to be the standard these days.  I'm not sure if
>>Rick L rolled his own low fuel sensor, or if Velocity
>>used to recommend just glassing the switch directly into
>>the side of the tank, but in any event it is, in fact, just
>>glassed right into the side and providing a lovely 100LL
>>aroma to my cabin.
>>
>>So, I'd like to convert this to a threaded installation.
>>
>>1) Any ideas on the easiest way to do this?  My current
>>thought is to remove the current switch while taking as
>>little of the surrounding material off as possible.  Then,
>>sand the outside of the sump tank so it's flat in the area
>>where the switch was.  Next, coat the hard point and the tank
>>with epoxy and press them together... finally put some glass
>>over the outside of the hard point as well (making sure not to
>>get any in the threads!)
>>
>>2) What do I need to know about fuel and epoxy?  Is there a
>>particular epoxy I need to use for this application?  Flox?
>>Micro?  Do I have to put some kind of sealant on the inside
>>after the epoxy has cured to prevent leaks or deterioration?
>>I saw some comments in old posts on using a shop vac to draw a
>>vacuum and suck the epoxy in around things, and that sounds
>>like a good idea as long as I'm using the right epoxy and it
>>doesn't dissolve as soon as the fuel hits it.  :-)
>>
>>Thanks in advance for the help!
>>
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>>
>>  
>>
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