Gas not filling up all the way

[Chas_Chap]

I fill my boat up on the trailer and when I get it in the water it always says I have 3/4 a tank. Anybody ever had this issue? Could it be the angle it is sitting on the trailer?

 

[Jet16]

There have been a few Chap owners with this issue. I think the consensus is that once the tank reaches 3/4 full the gas gauge adjusts accordingly. Also heard someone mentioning that there's 2 safety check valves in the VRX that prevents you from filling up when the boat is flat. So a bow down, stern up position may be best for fueling, so maybe put all passengers in the bow when gassing up. Just some thoughts....

 

[Bill D]

Do the Chaps have a "gallons used" display? You could do some math to figure out if the gauge is off. The gauge on my Yammie is crap. I only go by gallons used.

 

[Scuba_ref]

Make sure you are actually filling the gas tank and not the fishing rod holder!

 

[Chas_Chap]

Do the Chaps have a "gallons used" display? You could do some math to figure out if the gauge is off. The gauge on my Yammie is crap. I only go by gallons used.

I'll check that out. Thank you.

 

[Chas_Chap]

Make sure you are actually filling the gas tank and not the fishing rod holder!

No rod holders on this one, only beer holders.

 

[Bret]

There have been a few Chap owners with this issue. I think the consensus is that once the tank reaches 3/4 full the gas gauge adjusts accordingly. Also heard someone mentioning that there's 2 safety check valves in the VRX that prevents you from filling up when the boat is flat. So a bow down, stern up position may be best for fueling, so maybe put all passengers in the bow when gassing up. Just some thoughts....

I experienced this same issue for the first time last weekend, previous times the gas gauge read 99% or 98% after fill up, this last weekend it was 88%, so I was like wth / smh! So reading your message here makes as I only fill it up till the gas pump clicks off & maybe round up to the next whole dollar (pet peeve of my mine) but that's it...
Gonna top it off tonight so we'll see if it happens again.

 

[ILfamilyboater]

I have noticed when I fill mine up that the pump will stop because gas is filling up in the line but the tank will still have an inch or two of air at the top. Think these tanks are wide but not very tall and the location of the fill line is on the side of the tank. One time I was filling by can and half way thru the last can the line started to fill. If I stopped and gave it a second to vent then poured more in I was able to get the rest of that can in the tank. Took a while but it does fill. At the pump after the pump shuts off the first time I slowly put more in and usually can get another gallon or two in the tank.

 

[Seabee]

Mine only filled to 3/4 this morning. It was trailered. The low fuel warning was on, but it only took about 34 gallons before it wouldn't let me squeeze in another drop. Not sure how many gallons were in there but couldn't have been much if the warning was on. Also filled up on the lake later in the day and it stopped at about 80%. I'll try the bow trick next time.

 

[Serieswon]

New Chap Jet Boat owner. Same problem with gas only got to 75% too. Trouble with Medallion, Navionics, screws, popping out and pulling out.
Just half the story. Really pissed. 2 medallion swap outs in 2 use hours. 1st one on the sea trial. Gimme the gauges please!
Can't believe the dealer didn't know about chip defect and didn't put a corrected Navionics chip in fully programed and working. Navionics has no support on weekends? WTF?
Rolled the dice with out the charts and ran a ground today spent 4 hours on a bar. 10 years since I ran a ground with I/O's w/o gps with charts. Garmin has a real manual!
Both engines overheated one due to sand and the other weeds. Now I have a port engine exhaust service warning. No wonder there are so many one season jet boats for sale. Oh yeah makes an unsurfable wave.
I have 6 hours on the boat!

 

[Micah Thompson]

The internal fill hose enters the fuel tank in the rear, to get the tank full you need to lower your bow of your boat while filling, so the hose is entering at the "top" of the tank. If you drop the bow a bit, you can get it filled completely up, and it will read 98% or more when you put it in the water.

 

[Serieswon]

Just ran into this problem. I filled the tank while on the water at a marina. I got about 80% by clicking the nozzle on and off.
I paused and restarted like others have said but I could not fill the tank. I have twin 250 Rotax engines that suck gas like crazy.
Losing 20% of 47 gallons is big time inconvenient.
Is there a fix other than having 10 people stand in the bow?
Oh that's what that front ballast bag is for....

 

[Jeff Cox]

I as well can only fill to about 3/4 to 7/8ths on the gas gauge. Have had a medallion swap out already for this issue but no fix. Agree that at wide open I can suck down serious fuel and would don't know if I'm really full on fuel or actually only 3/4 full. Have NEVER seen the gas gauge actually register full.

 

[Martin Moister]

I fill my boat up on the trailer and when I get it in the water it always says I have 3/4 a tank. Anybody ever had this issue? Could it be the angle it is sitting on the trailer?

I have a 2018 223VRX and have had this problem from Day 1. IMHO its a deign flaw with the tank and fuel sensor. As a result, I escalated this with both my dealer and directly with Chaparral. Chaparral says they are looking into how to solve the issue but here's the rub... when they set these boats up there is no mechanism to calibrate the fuel gauge. In my case, when the boat is filled, even with the trailer disconnected and the nose lowered as far as possible, I can only get it to read 73% filled. Then, when driving the boat, the low fuel alarm goes on when it says there is 25% fuel but at that point it only takes 18 gallons to get back to the 73% filled on a 52 gallon tank. Bottom line is that the fuel gauge is useless as it stands, hence the reason why I escalated it with Chapparal now while its still in warranty.

 

[Jakester1967]

Agree with all points you make...I have a 201y 2430 VRX and the same thing happens. I dont care how slowly you fill it you will never get 100%. The best I have gotten was 85%. Lets hope they can come up with a software update or something.

 

[Tina]

I have a 2018 223VRX and have had this problem from Day 1. IMHO its a deign flaw with the tank and fuel sensor. As a result, I escalated this with both my dealer and directly with Chaparral. Chaparral says they are looking into how to solve the issue but here's the rub... when they set these boats up there is no mechanism to calibrate the fuel gauge. In my case, when the boat is filled, even with the trailer disconnected and the nose lowered as far as possible, I can only get it to read 73% filled. Then, when driving the boat, the low fuel alarm goes on when it says there is 25% fuel but at that point it only takes 18 gallons to get back to the 73% filled on a 52 gallon tank. Bottom line is that the fuel gauge is useless as it stands, hence the reason why I escalated it with Chapparal now while its still in warranty.

We have the same boat and the same issue. Please post back when you get a response from Chaparral.

 

[Dean P]

I have a 2017 223VRX with the same problem. I thought it was me! I do hope there is a fix as others have mentioned these are gas guzzlers. Not having the extra 15 gallons is HUGE! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Martin Moister]

We have the same boat and the same issue. Please post back when you get a response from Chaparral.

Still screwing around with both the dealer and Chapparal on this issue. Spoke with a Sr Manager at Chapparal and they agreed to replace the fuel pump which has the sending unit for the fuel gauge. They also agreed to set the float arm at the factory correctly. Apparently it is designed in the shape of a J and has to be bent to a specific angle using a jig. Lastly, in conversation with them they indicate that these fuel pumps and fuel gauge senders are off the shelf units made by another vendor and it would be costly to redesign them to make them more accurate. (I sense they are fully aware of the inaccuracy of the gauges in general.)
Even so, my boat seems to be unusually inaccurate, hence their agreement to replace the fuel pump/fuel gauge sender.
Will let you know how it turns out but may not know until I get the boat on the water in late April.

 

[Dean P]

@Martin Moister Thank you for the update and please let us know what you find out.

Yesterday I tried an experiment with this. My boat is on a lift where the front is raised slightly. I filled it up and could only get 73% filled. Lowered the boat into the water and it took more gas to 80% but noticed if I let it "trickle in" I kept getting more in. I played with this and got it up to 99%. Took forever but it has to be very slow. This would not be possible at a gas pump due the instant pressure from the nozzle. Not sure how to fix this.

Questions:
Is this more of a "flow" issue to the tank?
Does the tank need better venting?
Is there a kink or bend in the line preventing good flow?

 

[Dean P]

If you drop the bow a bit, you can get it filled completely up, and it will read 98% or more when you put it in the water.

Everybody to the front of the boat!!! I'll try this next time.