Little concerned about gas gauge - 6.1 hr, gauge shows full tank

[bp fick]

I'm not surprised your gauge is still reading full. If you are not running close to wide open, the little BX1860 is outstanding on fuel usage. I have just under 100 hours on mine and I've used 5 or 6 five gallon tank fulls in that time yielding between 3 and 4 hours per gallon. Most of the time I run at 2,000 to 2,500 rpm for tooling around or light loader work. If you do a lot of mowing at WOT, expect half that efficiency.

My guage will stay at full for many hours before dropping, then it will drop more uniformly. I think it has something to do with the shape of the tank. I don't think it's terribly accurate between full and 1/4 tank give or take. It will show less than full when on a slope, then come back up once on level ground; again due to oddly shaped tank I assume.

My guess is your fuel gauge is not broken but suffers from the usual flakiness. That and your lack of exposure to how efficient these little diesel beast are.

I never went beyond 2300 rpm and you said 3 to 4 hr per gallon, I saw people said 1/2 gallon per hr, well not sure but surely it does look flaky and I am the kind of guy when you put 13k on it, I expect it to work atleast gas gauage and gas guages have been around for what 70 years now and it requires little or no reasearch anymore. Worst thing for the farm tractor to be stuck without gas far in the field. I will see how this guy fixes it up. My neighbour has BX1500 and his gas guage is fairly accurate.

CHDinCT, I said essentially the same thing above.

Smokey_truck, if you put a stick in that tank and it showed half full, your meter is just now getting ready to come off Full. These just arent' NASA instruments, or maybe they are!!

I know how you feel, this being you first giant purchase and all, but don't be horribly disappointed. I'd rather not tear everything apart looking, but that's me. Why not run it until it has 9 hours on it or until it has only a gallon of fuel left and then see if the gauge is still stuck on full? If it "reads" down at the last 2 gallons, which I suspect it will, given my own BX, then that's gauge enough for me. But then, you're young, and I'm older and drove crap back in the 60's that never had a gauge. You kept track, sort of, with the odometer. The old Massey in my avatar doesn't have a gauge either.

Again, I'll just say it. These 1860s do better than a gallon per hour. Much better.

 

[KU Gator]

This thread reminds me of when my wife (1st mate), daughter (crew) and I (captain) charter a sailboat out of Puerto Rico to go to St Thomas to attend the son and soon to be daughter-in-law's wedding. Sailed the 1st day with a real captain to Culebra where he left. Next day I decided to motor on to St. Thomas as we were dead into the wind and just wanted to get there. With it taking longer than I had estimated (not unusual), the 1st mate said how's the fuel. No fuel guage was up top, so she went below saying it said empty, but the switch beside when pushed down, it read full. I issued the order to hoist the mainsail, which the crew promply questioned so I had to explain in fact I did know how to sail and could get us to port at which time she resumed he nap. We reached port and put about 3 gallons or so of diesel in tank. The little Yanmar was pretty frugal and mutiny was averted.

At any rate, fuel guages aren't all that accurate without regard to the price of the equipment. Mine on the tractor stays on full for a long time, then eventually starts to fall at a faster rate. Pretty much the same as my truck and motorcycle.

 

[smokey_truck]

That gauge is real flakey, I went and started it in my shed, showed full again, took it out of my shed and I parked where I thought is level part of my yard, it started showing 1/4 tank less or 3/4 tanks of fuel. And I thought looks like it came out of full and went and parked back in my shed, it started showing full again. I put the level on floor in my shed and checked and my shed floor is clean level. I hate someone gutting out my new stuff so I want to avoid that but still

 

[Tractor Factor]

Good timing for this post. The gauge on my BX25 has been consistently accurate for a year and a half...until yesterday...

LOL, think I know what I did. I just bought a larger fuel storage tank, with a hose and nozzle, to replace the 5 gallon plastic can I had been using. Yesterday morning was the first time I filled the tractor from this tank, and so I naturally had to squeeze in every last drop with the new toy. What did bp fick call it, hyper-filling?:laughing: Well, that's what I did, I hyperfilled it. I'll bet I put almost a gallon more than I normally do, and the gauge took longer to drop because of it.

 

[John Reece]

The gauge on my BX25 didn't begin dropping until almost 8 hours of running. Most cars have the same type reading calibration to make you think you're getting great mileage. I am pleased with the actual fuel consumption on my BX25. So far, I have averaged a minute or two over 3 1/2 hours per gallon. I have been running it at 2400 RPM for both backhoe and loader work with ample power. Been digging "pits" to remove newly cut 30" trunk oak and gum trees. So far, it looks like I may make a career out of it!:laughing:

 

[Redneck in training]

Put a yard stick in the tank. You will know right away.
My tractor has Kubota 33 HP engine. When just riding around with light load the tank of fuel (9 gal) Lasts forever. But when I load it it will burn several gal/hour.

 

[Jay4200]

How many hrs. should a full tank of Bx1860 should last, I heard 8 hr, not sure if it is correct, or is it based on type of work because of the rpm. I used only MMM and then use front loader to pickup engine back and forth.

I can run my L4200 (4-cyl, 45HP) all weekend on a 1/2 tank or less.

JayC

 

[KeithInSpace]

Put a yard stick in the tank.

Not so easy on a BX. The 'tank' is this convoluted bladder of black plastic contorted to the void below the seat that has more twists, turns, and corners than your favorite roller coaster. You can have 1/3 tank of fuel left and see no fluid from a casual look in the filler cap.

As others have mentioned, in mixed work you should be able to get a fairly solid 10 hours out of a tank. I've never noticed my gauge to be painfully inaccurate, but it does stay on full for a while. Same as most cars I've owned...the first 60 or so miles use no fuel, according to the gauge.

I wouldn't worry too much about it as long as it is operating in some form or fashion. I don't pay much attention to it until it gets to 1/4 tank...then I fill'er up.

 

[bp fick]

The OP had his dealer come by to service the wiring, he reported.

It'll be interesting if there is resolution on this, already. As said earlier, my BX gauge holds onto full disproportionately (inaccurately) long as well, but it finally drops. I don't care enough to worry a moment about it.

 

[smokey_truck]

The OP had his dealer come by to service the wiring, he reported.

It'll be interesting if there is resolution on this, already. As said earlier, my BX gauge holds onto full disproportionately (inaccurately) long as well, but it finally drops. I don't care enough to worry a moment about it.

BP after delaler technician clean then fuel sending unit wire, I mowed grass today and now my hrs. meter show 7.2 hr and finally the fuel gauge dropped to 3/4 tank full. So looks like it contact was rusted and now its working