amount of fuel left when low fuel light comes on

[Big Shasta]

Was out two weeks ago and I looked at my gauges and the alarm for low fuel was flashing. It never made an audible sound which I was surprised about having to check that something is not turned off. Anyway, I started getting that "o shit" feeling and saw a marina that I cruised over to and low and behold, they closed at moment I was pulling up. Now "o shit" meter was starting to rise. Jetted over to another marina close by and got gas which was a relief. Just as I was pulling the nozzle from the boat, the chain holding the gas cap snapped. No big deal, plastic gas cap, it floats right? Wrong, it sank like a rock and had to order a new one that came last week. Lesson learned not to let boat go below a quarter tank.

I've read about people losing their cap a few times...I'm tempted to buy a spare to keep onboard just in case. I can't imagine stuffing a rag in there for the rest of the day. (I guess i'd probably tape over it or something like that if I had to. I keep some waterproof tape onboard.

Did you research any cheap aftermarkets for a spare or was the Yamaha reasonably priced?

 

[pagekl]

@Big Shasta, I ordered a new cap from 2 Wheel Pros. I Paid $12 plus shipping. Came to $19.00 total. I tried to cross reference it with a car gas cap and no luck. Got the new one last week with no chain.

 

[sysinu]

FYI on gas caps with chains... I've heard this happen twice now (particularly with new owners of boats with gas caps that have chains on them) where you'll pull the gas cap off and it will snap the chain off both ends and fall down the fuel line. A boat I sold to someone a while back had a chain on the gas cap and after it was sold they called me asking if I had ever had problems with the fuel pump (to which I said yes it had been replaced) and then they found out there were two beads of the chain that had broken off and fell down the tank and plugged up the fuel intake from the tank to the filter.

So I don't like the gas cap chains, they suck. Instead - how hard would it be to put a hinged cover on? This is what my boat has, the gas cap acts like hinged cover with a push button release system. Also seals up really nice.

 

[pagekl]

@sysinu, where did you get the gas cap your referring to? I'd much rarher have something like that instead of what I have now.

 

[sysinu]

Mine came w/ the boat when I purchased it.

https://www.yamahapartsandaccessories.com/parts-catalog/parts/boats#/Yamaha/242_LIMITED_S_-_SXT1800GN_-_2014/FUEL_TANK

I assume it's #'s 19-25 but someone who's put one of these together would know better.

 

[jawsf16]

Thread resurrection

I just got back from the lake. We had not fueled up since pre 4th of July and spent 4 days then 2 days then 2 days. Fair amount of tubing and surfing but mainly just cruising to the beach and chilling.
This morning I notice at a dead stop the fuel shows 1/4 of a tank and I think I need to fill up on way to storage tonight. Shortly after tubing and such it shows 1/8 tank. In both cases the fuel quantity doubled under power due to sloshing.
So we are at beach and decide to tube the girls home but need to get to a protected area due to the wind. We are heading that way and then get my first fuel low warning ever. Honestly I forgot it existed. So I say we are heading to the slip and the ramp and skip tubing.
Pull the boat out at 1/8 tank indication and stop by the gas station heading to storage. The boat takes 51 gallons of fuel!

So long story short my warning appears to activate at around 0 to -1 gallons remaining!!

 

[Glen]

I've hit the fuel alarm twice in the past 2 weeks with a '16 242x- (yes, a product of poor management, but neither resulting in an interruption of fun, or needing assistance).
Observation 1 is that I gain 10-15% fuel available, when on plane, then at rest/anchor.
Bottom-line is that when at anchor, and the fuel alarm goes off, I have about 15 gallons left (out of 50).
When at Bimini, 50% was my minimum standard. When in my local waters (rivers and lakes), I feel more willing to manage the risk.
Based on my experience and knowledge of my surroundings, neither caused me to end my day, though the alarm silence button had to be hit every 2 or 3 minutes.
This is likely an appropriate setting from the manufacturer, on the safe side. (IMO)
If for no other reason, I will better manage my fuel consumption all day long, so that I don't have to climb out of the water every few minutes to silence the fuel alarm. (I am not aware of an over-ride to the alarm.)

Recognize that this is not a full answer to the original question, but I have not filled back up from the second 'alarm' to fully correlate it to my first.
I will be filling back up on Thurs AM, from the last alarm event, and have more complete data then.
I will try to report back then-