At 08:24 AM 5/8/99 -0400, Bob Kassal wrote: >The clear plastic 'hose' referred to is a plasticized PVC. It is extremely >tough and damage resistant. An accidental bump is not going to cause damage. >But it does melt easily! Heed the advice, keep the upper and lower valves >closed. An added benefit of doing this is you can easily estimate the day's >fuel burn when you open the valves for a check and see the level change. > >For those contemplating installing this system, you should use a medium >wall, small bore (~1/4") tube. Avoid the very thin stuff. A popular brand is >'Tygon'. The last time I checked, which was several years ago, Tygon came with a warning not to use it with fuel systems. I know that if you do use it with fuel, it will get hard and yellow in a fairly short period of time. Do you know of another Tygon product that is compatible with fuel? The sight gauges that I was talking about are rather stout. They are housed in a brass case with a heavy glass window on the front. Inside, you have a glass tube. Both the glass tube and the flat glass window would have to break before you would have a leak. You would almost have to shoot it with a hand gun for that to happen. I forget who makes them, but they have come standard on a number of pieces of our heavy equipment. I have never heard of one breaking or leaking, and our equipment does get some fairly rough service. They are used on hydraulic tanks and engine oil systems mostly, but I've also seen them used on fuel systems. I have seen them advertised at one of the pages accessible through www.penton.com, if someone has a desire to find them. That is a massive system of pages with tons of useful stuff, so it might take a while to find what you are looking for. The point is well taken that it is a good idea to put shut off valves on the sight gauge. Though I'm not worried about them breaking, anything with fluid in it that is made by man can leak one way or the other. I could see perhaps a slow leak developing in a fitting or something. I would not leave the valves closed, though. Rather I would have them available if one of the fittings needed to be serviced or I wanted to take the gauge apart for cleaning. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ :: Paul and Cindy Kruse :: KJV Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, 165 South Kenneth Court :: my peace I give unto you: Merritt Island, FL 32952 :: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. E-mail: plkruse@iu.net :: Let not your heart be troubled, 407-453-6206 :: neither let it be afraid. :: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++