Any reliable gas gauge sending units???

[rossodino34]

In 2012 I finally threw in the towel and replaced the gas tank of my 1940 deluxe wagon (that jobs no fun!). It never occurred to me that the original sending unit that worked just fine was not compatible. Be as it may I bought the compatible unit, both the tank and sending unit originating from Bob Drake.
One year later it has slowly deteriorated to not working.
It is getting power, it is grounded and the gauge checks out.
Anybody have any suggestions on a unit that may have a reasonable life expectancy ?

[FL&WVMIKE]

None of Bob Drake's gas tanks are compatible with the original sending units and fuel pick-ups.
It seems that they were made for the hot-rods, leaving the restores to buy his adaptor, at extra cost.
MIKE

[19Fordy]

This has been discussed a million times and the answer is that most folks have no luck finding a fuel tank sending unit that will work with the original King-Sealy unit because the original tank sending unit and the original dash gauge both operate on the "bi metallic heat" principle in conjunction with each other - not the "ohms principal" of the after market tank units. Hence, mixing the two doesn't work very well. However, a search reveals that a few folks have "moderate" success so they won'r run dry. Here's some info: Click on pic to enalrge.
http://fordbarn.com/forum/search.php?searchid=3216107

If you find a way to make any after market tank sending unit work really good with the original OEM dash gauge PLEASE let us know.

[41ford1]

Originally Posted by rossodino34

In 2012 I finally threw in the towel and replaced the gas tank of my 1940 deluxe wagon (that jobs no fun!). It never occurred to me that the original sending unit that worked just fine was not compatible. Be as it may I bought the compatible unit, both the tank and sending unit originating from Bob Drake.
One year later it has slowly deteriorated to not working.
It is getting power, it is grounded and the gauge checks out.
Anybody have any suggestions on a unit that may have a reasonable life expectancy ?

Originally Posted by FL&WVMIKE

None of Bob Drake's gas tanks are compatible with the original sending units and fuel pick-ups.
It seems that they were made for the hot-rods, leaving the restores to buy his adaptor, at extra cost.
MIKE

One solution is to make an adaptor for using the old sender with the new replacement tank. If you have a lathe and drill press or a mill it would be no problem.

Originally Posted by 19Fordy

This has been discussed a million times and the answer is that most folks have no luck finding a fuel tank sending unit that will work with the original King-Sealy unit because the original tank sending unit and the original dash gauge both operate on the "bi metallic heat" principle in conjunction with each other - not the "ohms principal" of the after market tank units. Hence, mixing the two doesn't work very well. Here's some info:
http://fordbarn.com/forum/search.php?searchid=3216107

The "ohms principle" does work if the sender is grounded properly. If the sender is 73 - 75 ohms empty and 10 ohms full it will work with the stock gauge unit. I have used them on 2 different occasions. One in a stock tank and another in a replacement tank. Both work well.

[al's28/33]

I was able to use the modern Drakes sending unit in the tank with a NOS 1949 gauge that works on 6 volt + ground and OHMS, maybe not accurate to the last gallon of gas but the gauge works and reads FULL when I fill it up and I get about 15 mpg on my '33. I refill when the gauge reads about 1/4 left so far so good!
Someday I hope to replace the original hydrostatic gauge but for now this works just fine.!

[rossodino34]

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Thank you all for your information. The replacement sending unit actually worked pretty well for a while but I am afraid it may suffer from quality issues. I was hoping there was a more reliable unit on the market. The adapter idea is something to consider.
For now I suppose I will buy another Drake unit and hope it lasts a little longer than a year.

[41ford1]

You might want to investigate the Tanks Inc. unit. The one I used with their replacement tank appears to be a good design and it functions well.