Oil & Fuel fuel tank

kongs3510 · Jun 2, 2005

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif OK, time for the stupid question of the day....my fuel gauge will show that I am about out of fuel, but when I go to fill it up, it will only take 5 gallons or so. I have a Branson 3510 with 11 gallon fuel tank, and wondered if maybe there was a switch or something to toggle between the 2 tanks, or what the reason would be for not being able to use both tanks. When I fill it, the gauge shows that it is on full. The manual says nothing about this, so I suppose that it is supposed to use from both tanks evenly. I told you it was a stupid question, but it's driving me nuts..... thanks a bunch..........Brian

bdog · Jun 2, 2005

Both tanks? The tank on the right hand side where you fill is the diesel tank. The tank on the left is your hydraulic reservoir. I have noticed on mine that the guage is not really accurate. I wait until it is all the way down before I refill.

Stimw · Jun 2, 2005

The 3510 has right and left fuel tanks with a crossover tube. Sounds like your gage reading is off. Looking at the manual, the sending unit is in the left tank. You might be able to get to it under the floor mat. You might have to take out the sending unit and bend the arm to calibrate it. If it is still under warranty I would have it checked. tim

bdog · Jun 2, 2005

Oops. Maybe I was wrong. I have a 20 series and you have a 10 series. Maybe they are not the same.

wejones · Jun 2, 2005

So bending the arm is all that is needed to calibrate the tanks? I have a Century 2535 which is almost identical to the 3510 and have also been driven looney by the fuel guage. When the fuel is less than 1/2 full and I start working on steeper hillsides the guage really starts sending odd readings. I will try adjusting my sending unit, although I think I may have to remove some of the floor deck to get to it. Looking at the bright side it keeps you on your toes so that you are darn sure you won't run out of fuel! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Thanks for the tip. Willie Jones

Evasive1 · Jun 3, 2005

Yea,
Mine is the same. I have a Century 3045, which is the 48 hp model. It has two tanks with a crossover like mentioned. At 1/4 tank it takes about 5-6 gallons to fill it. I think they do this on purpose to make sure you do not run out of diesel since as we all know running a diesel out of fuel is not a good thing and no fun to get primed up again.

KYMike · Jun 3, 2005

Boy, I would like to see an authoritative answer to this one! I can't get my 3510 to take more than 5-7 gallons when the guage says empty. Thought about running it out of fuel just to see, but don't know what is involved in getting it primed. Dealer says it's no big deal since the new engines self-prime with the fuel pump. The petcock only has 2 positions - on or off. Anyone know if this is something I really don't want to do?

wejones · Jun 3, 2005

Mike, according to my dealer they are not hard to prime, but like you I really do not want to find out. I once had a Ford 5000 run out of fuel while crossing a creek. The only good thing about that situation was that it was summer and I was in the shade. Some tractors are much easier to re-prime than others. My previous tractor was a 750 John Deere with a Yanmar engine and that took about 5 minutes to start once the fuel tank was refilled. Has anyone ever had one of these Kukje motors run out of fuel? Willie Jones

kongs3510 · Jun 3, 2005

Well, I guess I'm not in this boat alone... I stopped by my dealer today on my way to work, and he was going to call the factory and try to get me an answer... I too have thought about going ahead and running it to see just how far I could go, but , and if you know that guy Murphy, I would run out all the way in the farthest corner of the property /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif Thanks for the replys guys, and I'll post something if my dealer can get me a definite answer......

wejones · Jun 4, 2005

I just took STimW's suggestion about adjusting the fuel arm and took out my sending unit and bent it just a fraction. To do this takes about 1/2 hour and you need 12 mm and 8 mm sockets. The way the sending unit is designed it only has a limited range and will show you to be empty long before you are. That does provide a large margin of safety. I will see how my adjustment works. Willies Jones