It goes without saying that every piece of equipment that is powered by an internal combustion engine needs a means of fueling to keep it running for the longest time and efficiently. ICEs are used in cars, motorcycles, racing vehicles, ATVs, utility vehicles, compressors, generator sets, etc. To name just a few, and the issues that have always arisen are how to contain fuel, how much is left, and how best to store it for the benefit, safety and protection of the user.
Fuel containers are typically steel or plastic because these materials have been used traditionally and are relatively inexpensive, but many modern racing fuels contain some very aggressive additives, so these tanks must be made of carbon fiber or reinforced with Kevlar. . Truck and truck fuel tanks are often rectangular in shape, allowing easy mounting of a simple rocker arm type fuel level transmitter because there are few deflectors or reinforcing struts to prevent the floating arm of the transmitter. This transmitter sends an ohmic value generally to a meter, but suffers inherent faults as a result of fuel spillage, causing the float arm to constantly clean the resistance track, thereby reducing the life of the transmitter.
Modern vehicle designs require the designer to be increasingly inventive in adapting the profile of the tank so as not to impact on the increasingly complicated aesthetics of the vehicle. The swing arm transmitter is not suitable for this type of tank, thus allowing the use of solid state electronic sensors and transmitters that can be programmed to the tank profile and give accurate fuel level readings. Additionally, sophisticated electronic engine management systems now require voltage or PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) inputs that are not available on the swing arm transmitter. Consequently, the capacitance level transmitter is an ideal product to meet all current technical demands because there are no moving parts to wear out; capacitance technology is reliable and well proven; sender outputs match all analog and digital ECU inputs; It can be programmed to compensate for uneven tank shapes and soften hissing sounds caused by fuel spillage and has many other features.
In recent years, the cost of fuel has risen to a point where its theft is now a major factor in the methods used to secure the tank. One frequently used means is to place the fuel filler neck behind a lockable panel and a second way is to place an anti-siphon device. Additionally, the designer may specify the installation of a capacitance fuel level transmitter that can send the level to a remote monitoring telemetry system so that regular fuel level readings can be recorded and, if a sudden drop in the level, this could indicate fuel theft and the cause. of the loss is promptly investigated. Furthermore, in a vehicle application, fuel consumption can be accurately measured and provide information that shows whether it is being driven economically and appropriately.
Although the fuel delivery process is considered a poor relationship compared to emissions legislation, for example, this article shows that industrial equipment customers pay more attention to this aspect of product design, resulting in increased development of fuel level transmitters with a growing number of new and challenging applications.