Low Cost Fuel Oil Monitoring

Loeffler Engineering and Analysis North, with funding from the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, are developing a relatively low cost method for measuring and recording oil fuel consumption. The technique being developed uses an ultrasonic distance measuring device to determine the height of fuel in a fuel tank. From changes in the fuel height, the amount of fuel use will be determined. The measurement system will also include a fuel temperature sensor so that changes in fuel height due to thermal expansion and contraction can be adjusted for.

This system will also be useful for determining when a fuel tank is approaching empty.

The distance measuring device is manufactured by Maxbotix. It can measure short distances, a valuable characteristic when taking measurements of a very full tank. The measuring device comes with a threaded housing that will allow easy installation into a threaded bung present on most fuel tanks. Here is a picture of the ultransonic distance measuring device:

We will update this page as progress is made on the fuel oil mesurement system. The project is expected to be complete by April 2022.