Fual Level

[williamsderbys]

Starting the Chummy after a lay up i noted that the petrol level (on my red card dipper) was around 1/2 to 3/4 gallon.
The car started and ran as normal but when i moved it to a slightly sloping area it stopped with an empty float chamber.
So is there a minimum level to get fuel by gravity. Looking at the outlet it does not seem to be at the bottom of the tank .
Standard chummy scuttle tank.
But as it was the motor for the mass's i wonder why the pick up level isn't at the bottom of the tank?
Í suppose when bowling along fuel gets splashed into the pick up area
JW

[Ray White]

By some strange coincidence I had the same thing happen to me.  I emptied a 5 litre can into the tank and in no time it ran out.  Another can emptied into the tank and problem solved.

Serves me right for being such a tight wad.!

[Howard Wright]

Hi 

I have just investigated this phenomenon!  Only associated with oil level.  My Special is parked nose down on a 3 to 4 degree incline.  I’d mistakenly filled the oil to the full level on the dipstick and …..oil everywhere in the engine bay after a run.  So O level geometry reveals that when parked nose down on a 4 degree incline the correct oil level is about 3/8” below the full level on the dip stick.  The length of tank on a Chummy is about the same as the length of sump (sort of) so on a hill you’ll have 3/8” less fuel at the takeoff on a 4 degree incline.

Anyway…..I never let the tank get below about a gallon and carry a spare half gallon in a wing tank.

Cheers

Howard

[John Mason]

Would the outlet be designed that way to allow for any dirt etc to drop to the bottom of the tank away from the outlet.

John Mason.

[Parazine]

My Chummy (and Top Hat) fuel outlet is most certainly at the bottom of the tank, see below. The metal below the floor of the tank in the photo is the crimped seam.

The last 1/2 gallon in the Chummy tank is always marginal, the real running capacity is about 3 1/2 gallons (16 litres) plus a bit, something the drivers of later cars with their pumped, 5 gallon tanks fail to take into account on runs.

I always carry a spare gallon