# How to make a gas gauge to fit the Ariens snowblower



## enigma-2 (Feb 11, 2014)

After running out of gas doing my neighbors driveway last winter and having to carry a full 5-gallon tank back to refill it, I decided that having a gas guage on my Ariens 921028 would be a good idea.

While this fuel gauge was designed to fit an Ariens gas tank with 3.8 quart capacity with a ~4" deep tank, it should be adaptable for tanks of other depths.

It consists of a Ariens gas cap (I bought a replacment cap in case I botched up the job and needed to put the OEM cap back on), and a gas guage of the proper length (5" in this case). 

I used an 1-1/4" hole saw to cut out the center section of the Ariens cap. 

I then screwed this onto the snowblower tank and measured the depth of fuel guage with a tape measure, from the top of the cap opening to the bottom of the tank. This determined the length of the fuel gauge needed. 

I then used JB Weld, 2-part Plastic Bonder to glue the fuel guage to the into the opening of the Ariens cap (through the hole drilled with the hole saw.) The advantage in using this adhesive is that its strong, gas resistant, somewhat thick, good for filling any gaps, and has a 15 minute drying time.

After inserting the fuel guage into the cap and positioning it to face the operators position, I weighted it down with a bag of small rocks my wife used in her fairy garden. (Dont tell her, be **** to pay.)

And that's it. It fits perfectly, tight, vapor proof like the OEM cap and accurate throughout its range.

Fuel guage: 5-1/4 inch Tank depth, 2-1/4 inch Diameter $14.79
Replaces: 
• 24064 MURRAY
• Cub Cadet 109037C1
• 7-04941 PRIME LINE
• 125-260 STENS

Ariens gas cap: 12733752. $11.34


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## aldfam4 (Dec 25, 2016)

enigma-2 said:


> After running out of gas doing my neighbors driveway last winter and having to carry a full 5-gallon tank back to refill it, I decided that having a gas guage on my Ariens 921028 would be a good idea.
> 
> While this fuel gauge was designed to fit an Ariens gas tank with 3.8 quart capacity with a ~4" deep tank, it should be adaptable for tanks of other depths.
> 
> ...


Nicely done Enigma-2, thanks for posting!


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

I just look in the tank, or know how long I have been running it , and top it off.


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## cranman (Jan 23, 2016)

I do the same as oneacer...but this is a clever idea.....


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

aldfam4 said:


> Nicely done Enigma-2, thanks for posting!


Me too Enigma, very smart idea.

Looking at gas level in tank tells me nothing useful, just a reflection of gas with no level info. I currently use a dipstick so a fuel gauge will be great.


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## ELaw (Feb 4, 2015)

enigma-2 said:


> After running out of gas doing my neighbors driveway last winter and having to carry a full 5-gallon tank back to refill it, I decided that having a gas guage on my Ariens 921028 would be a good idea.
> ...
> And that's it. It fits perfectly, tight, vapor proof like the OEM cap and accurate throughout its range.


That's great! And you get the "attention to detail award" for paying attention to the installed position of the gauge.

One tip though: you do not want the cap to be 100% airtight. Some are cleverly hidden, but pretty much every OPE gas cap has a small opening in it somewhere. That's so air can enter to take up the space as gas is consumed from the tank. Without that, eventually a vacuum will develop inside the tank, reducing fuel flow sometimes enough to stall the engine.


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## enigma-2 (Feb 11, 2014)

The gas cap lens has a small vent hole at the 6 o'clock position. I actually checked for this.


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

It looks pretty good, hopefully it will not break at the glue joint, or you are going to have a bad gas leak from the size of the hole in it.
I hope it holds up and does not break, crack at the glue joint or leak in any way and it should be fine.
They use some funky types of plastics that a lot of your adhesives will not bond to all that well. Sometimes they hold up for a little while then all of a sudden out of the blue they let loose.
I have had some good luck with Cyanoacrylate type glue/adhesives with some of those oddball type plastics.
Good luck with it and let us know how well it holds up this winter. It looks pretty nice.


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## enigma-2 (Feb 11, 2014)

ST1100A said:


> I hope it holds up and does not break, crack at the glue joint or leak in any way and it should be fine.


I chose JB Weld Plastic Bond as it's completely impervious to water, gasoline and vibration. (Sealed gas tanks with this stuff before so no worries.) The bond appears to be strong and solid. 

I did check to make certain that the fuel gauge and gas cap had good mating surfaces and wiped both with an alcohol wipe, just to be safe. 

At this point I have no doubts about the bond, but thanks for the concern. I value all the comments concerning safety. :thumbsup:


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

enigma-2 said:


> I chose JB Weld Plastic Bond as it's completely impervious to water, gasoline and vibration. (Sealed gas tanks with this stuff before so no worries.) The bond appears to be strong and solid.
> 
> I did check to make certain that the fuel gauge and gas cap had good mating surfaces and wiped both with an alcohol wipe, just to be safe.
> 
> At this point I have no doubts about the bond, but thanks for the concern. I value all the comments concerning safety. :thumbsup:


Snow season is just around the corner so you will get to put it to use very soon.
Keep us informed as to how it works and holds up.
Judging by your photos, you did a pretty good job with it. Well detailed.
If it was me, I would make sure I turned it to remove it from the tank by the bottom of the cap closest to the tank so I am not putting any force on the part that is glued on. I wouldn't want to chance breaking it off, I want to be able to read my gas gauge on the cap.
Definitely let us know how it holds up under the cold temps and working conditions.
You did a nice job building it.


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## kemlyn (Oct 16, 2018)

I begin with a full gas tank every time I start the snowblower. I treat it like a rental car at the airport when it goes back in the garage I fill it then or before my next session. I have an Ariens 1332 PRO it easily runs 2.5 hours + on a full tank. That’s a lot of snow so no homemade manufactured gauge for me you can’t see at night or in a blizzard covered with snow.


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## enigma-2 (Feb 11, 2014)

kemlyn said:


> That’s a lot of snow so no homemade manufactured gauge for me you can’t see at night or in a blizzard covered with snow.


Not certain by what you meant by "that's a lot if snow, so no ... gauge ....". 
But for me, I also start out with as full tank as well, but where we live, I can and sometimes do, go through a whole tank after a large snowfall. Esp if I decide to do two or three of my neighbors driveways. (Several of us have been here for years and we do favors for each other without asking. They appreciate coming home after a hard days work and finding their drives shoveled. And I enjoy doing theirs as well.) 🤪

The gauge is to ensure I can see when it's time to refill and head for the barn. (So to speak). PITA to be down the street and run out of gas.

On my blower, I have a halogen light on the front of the console that lights the gauge just enough to see the level when it's dark.

BTW, your Professional has about a 1-1/2 times larger gas tank than a Platinum or Deluxe. Just a little trivia to naw on lol.


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## rslifkin (Mar 5, 2018)

I might get a spare cap and try to make one of these for my Pro 28 this winter. The longest I've ever been out with it was an hour, and that was after a large snow and included trimming the plow banks on the street a bit. So no mid-run refueling for me, but knowing what's in the tank would be nice without having to pop the cap to look (hard to do without shutting the blower down due to vibration). 

Personally, I don't fill it every single use. Every 2 - 3 is more like it because of the huge tank. Plus, I keep fuel out in the shed, not in my heated garage, so I have to trek through some snow to get to the fuel cans.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

rslifkin said:


> I might get a spare cap and try to make one of these for my Pro 28 this winter. The longest I've ever been out with it was an hour, and that was after a large snow and included trimming the plow banks on the street a bit. So no mid-run refueling for me, but knowing what's in the tank would be nice without having to pop the cap to look (hard to do without shutting the blower down due to vibration).
> 
> Personally, I don't fill it every single use. Every 2 - 3 is more like it because of the huge tank. Plus, I keep fuel out in the shed, not in my heated garage, so I have to trek through some snow to get to the fuel cans.


Sorry, it will not work on the B&S gas cap. The metal retainer for the cap to fit and be held in tank opening has a cross cap piece of metal secured in the center of the cap. The Ariens cap is different.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

Hi @rslifkin 

A pic is worth many words. Here is a pic of my cap.


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## rslifkin (Mar 5, 2018)

I was thinking about that as a possible issue... Maybe I'd be best off installing the gauge separately into the top of the tank. I'd just have to drain the tank and nitrogen purge it before working on it.


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

rslifkin said:


> I was thinking about that as a possible issue... Maybe I'd be best off installing the gauge separately into the top of the tank. I'd just have to drain the tank and nitrogen purge it before working on it.


I think the gas cap that @enigma-2 used is from a B&S engined Ariens, judging by grey housing and horizontal throttle lever. I would see if an Ariens cap for the smaller B&S engine that @enigma-2 used for his conversion would fit your B&S 420 cc gas tank. Seems likely that the B&S tank openings would all be the same so that caps would fit different models. But just a guess. 

Good luck.


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## enigma-2 (Feb 11, 2014)

Actually what I ended up ordering was a gas gauge for a Murray 24064. All I needed was to match the tank depth (5-1/4" in my case). (Ebay)
The gas tank cap that I modified, was a genuine Ariens replacement cap. It was a direct replacement for the obsolete part #20001131. (eReplacementParts.com)
(The engine on my Platinum is an Ariens AX291).

Looking at the picture of rslifkin's cap, about the only thing that comes to mind would be to install an old Ariens gas tank and go from there. (But that would fairly expensive route to follow). My Platinum 24 (2014) had the tank with threads, otherwise I don't see how this mod could work. 

Looking at the problem in a different angle, I wonder if something like this could work (with some modification of course.) It would involve brazing an adapter to the top of the tank and the gauge screws into that to also serve as the cap. (Just thinking out loud).

https://www.amazon.com/YAMAHA-GRIZZLY-KODIAK-GAUGE-METER/dp/B01M8NF0AX/ref=sr_1_4?gclid=Cj0KCQjwoebsBRCHARIsAC3JP0L38S1wVG4PGp1W7AzynxQEXf_ru6wSWv6Ye-BjS920WT0MySCAnUUaAnhnEALw_wcB&hvadid=338615727323&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1017117&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1o1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=14665887305957950409&hvtargid=kwd-24141549343&hydadcr=7499_9322314&keywords=motorcycle+fuel+gauge+kit&qid=1570427224&sr=8-4


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## Ariens hydro pro (Jan 24, 2014)

Too bad they don't make a cap for the pro machines, I buy one.


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## enigma-2 (Feb 11, 2014)

Follow up. Finished the pre-winter setup and gassed up. Guage doesn't, quite go to full indicator. Disappointing but not a big deal. Empty is accurate and that's what is really important. 

Thinking I could Gorilla glue a small nut or two (to weight the float down deeper into the gas level) or add a little more float material to the bottom of the float (to make it extend deeper into the tank to register full at a lower level). 

So the guage I chose was not the perfect one, still not regretting doing it. May look for a shorter guage and do over ( but not this year - lol).


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## Town (Jan 31, 2015)

enigma-2 said:


> Follow up. Finished the pre-winter setup and gassed up. Guage doesn't, quite go to full indicator. Disappointing but not a big deal. Empty is accurate and that's what is really important.
> 
> Thinking I could Gorilla glue a small nut or two (to weight the float down deeper into the gas level) or add a little more float material to the bottom of the float (to make it extend deeper into the tank to register full at a lower level).
> 
> So the guage I chose was not the perfect one, still not regretting doing it. May look for a shorter guage and do over ( but not this year - lol).


I don't think you will want to weight the float down to correct a less than full reading on a full tank. You need to allow the float to rise higher into the neck of the tank if there is a physical impediment to further movement. The alternative is to increase the spiral rate of twist at the top of travel.

Sounds like your gauge is as perfect as it needs to be. You only need the accuracy around the point where there is just sufficient gas to complete the next snow clearing. Just my opinion though.


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