Sight Gauges.
My kit came with sight gauges made of a machined aluminium housing and a clear Perspex front plate which attach to the side wall of the cabin adjacent to the wing root.
I had a number of issues with the sight gauges, some of which I have fixed and some I haven't.
Jabiru now provide sender/float units which install in the wing root but I have been told they are still a problem with reliability so I have not attempted to replace my old ones with the new system. In addition it would require removing the wings and I don't feel ready to go through the drama of getting them off and back on yet!
The glass sight gauges as provided have two major problems:
1. The fuel level sloshes around all over the place with turbulence or when you fly out of balance
2. The top level of the fuel is hard to see
Solving the first issue is not too hard. I bunged up the two bottom holes in the sight gauge with epoxy and flock and then drilled a fine (1/32nd) hole through it so that the fuel now can only run in and out more slowly. However if you fly out of balance it will still (slowly) drain from one side and fill up the other side. So if you want to be able to get any reading near useful you have to fly in balance for at least five minutes before you try to to estimate the fuel levels. If you are in turbulence - forget it. You really won't have clue. I work on my fuel burn burn rate calculations in that case.
The second issue has evaded all my attempts. I have gone through a number of attempts to produce some small coloured floating balls for the gauges so I can see the top of the fuel level easier. But every prototype has been a failure so far. I tried buying some but also had no success.
I made some out of cork, coated in epoxy, but it lifted off and they got fuel-logged and sank. I tried epoxy with Q Cell microspheres which floated for varying times and finally sank. The original white ones initially worked but I could hardly see them in the avgas so I made some using fluro-yellow paint. They lasted about a year and then sank. I couldn't really see the yellow very well anyway so I made some with fluro-orange. They were very visible but lasted only a month then sank. I tried various paints in the mix but they all seem to denature the epoxy a bit or somehow affect the Q Cells and allow the fuel to leach into their air spaces.
