couple of fuel questions

[UFO8MyCow]

I am fairly new to boating and I have an 83 armada sarenza with a 5.0 omc cobra that i will be takeing on a longer trip than i have gone on before with it about 50 miles round trip and i am concerned about running out of fuel. i have no idea how big the fuel tank is or what the fuel burn rate is. i have always just used the boat on small local lakes and never had to put more than 10 gallons in. can anyone help me out with either the burn rate or the tank size. I know that the rate will change depending on the speed so i would like to be able to cruse aboout 15-20 mph.

 

[itsaboattime]

Re: couple of fuel questions

Try this...........run the boat outta gas. Then go fill it up, that will give you your tank size. Then take it out and burn 1/4 of a tank at 15 - 20 mph while keeping track of how long you are out. Divide your tank size by 4. Your burn rate would be X gallons per X minutes.

 

[cr2k]

Re: couple of fuel questions

What he said, only carry a can of gas so you can get back after you run out.

 

[FunInDuhSun]

Re: couple of fuel questions

You don't necessarily have to run it dry.

To calculate burn rate:
- Fill it up.
- Go run the boat at 15-20 for one hour.
- Fill her up again.
The amount of gas used will be your hourly burn for that speed.

To figure the tank capacity, measure the size of the tank (L x W x H). and calculate its volume. Of course, this assumes you can access the entire tank. If not, then try to estimate the size by looking at the space it occupies.

 

[UFO8MyCow]

Re: couple of fuel questions

Thanks for the replies. Last night I pulled the access cover and measured the tank and according to tho outside demensions 55x28x6 it is a 40 gallon tank. When i get up north i will do the 20 mph for an hour but since around here. All the lakes are about a mile long that would be a challamge so I was hopeing someome with a similar setup would be able to give me the approximate burn rate.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: couple of fuel questions

1. change your post to "Fuel consumption 5.0 OMC Cobra?" then add your boat info including length, hull design, etc.
2. look at the plate on the top of the tank for its size.
3. I recommend against measuriing dimensions unless you are certain about its shape; some tanks have odd shapes to fit in the hull space.
4. Never rely on the fuel guage marks except the E. The mid-level marks are notoriously deceptive and inaccurate.
5. Look elsewhere on line for a chart on fuel consumption for your set-up, although being 27 years old, not likely to find it.
6. Very good suggestion to run out intentionally and then fill up; watch your guage. It will tell you how it reads (I have a 17 gallon tank that stays "F" until I have 4 gallons left then it says "1/2" and "1/4" means 2 gallons get to shore!
6. 50 miles round trip at 15-20 mph is only 3 hours. Don't sweat it but carry a spare gallon or two. Try not to get this phrase stuck in your mind: "A three hour tour...a three hour tour...."