Trust your fuel gauge, potential disaster

I took delivery of SR22(0041) 960CM Wednesday June 20 and love the plane, but I had to take it in yesterday to JA Air Center at DPA for an intermittent rt. fuel Gauge indication. I just got word it wasn’t the gauge. All indications are that the rt. wing tank was actually running dry. It seems that the partitioned section of the tank where the fuel feeds into the engine was going out faster than then the fuel coming in from the other tank section. It only happened when the tank was partially full. it seems their might be a valve in backwards or something blocking. The mechanic doesn’t know for sure yet.

I’ve made 3 flights over 200 miles so far (1 in IFR cond.). This could of had serious consequences.
Other than that, I love the look, comfort, avionics(be careful on your first few IFR approaches though), and performance of my new plane.

Bob,

Thanks for this PIREP. Please keep us posted on this issue.

Charles

I took delivery of SR22(0041) 960CM Wednesday June 20 and love the plane, but I had to take it in yesterday to JA Air Center at DPA for an intermittent rt. fuel Gauge indication. I just got word it wasn’t the gauge. All indications are that the rt. wing tank was actually running dry. It seems that the partitioned section of the tank where the fuel feeds into the engine was going out faster than then the fuel coming in from the other tank section. It only happened when the tank was partially full. it seems their might be a valve in backwards or something blocking. The mechanic doesn’t know for sure yet.

I’ve made 3 flights over 200 miles so far (1 in IFR cond.). This could of had serious consequences.
Other than that, I love the look, comfort, avionics(be careful on your first few IFR approaches though), and performance of my new plane.

I think Bob makes an excellent point. I have kept diligent records on my 50+ SR20 hours, including using the fill to top tanks as well as a calibrated dip stick to corrolate with fuel based on the gauges, fuel based on the engine analyzer, and fuel based on hours flown.

My conclusion is that none of these is consistenbly right. (Additionally, my right gauge consistently records 1.5 gallons more than I have.) To me, the safest resolution is to assume the worst, based on these three methodologies. My observation is that the Cirrus gas gauges are more accurate than most, and the engine analyzer is a great asset. At the same time, we’re dealing with an unexact science and judgement needs to be injected.

Wouldn’t it be a great objective of this user group or an owners’ society to never have a fuel starvation or exhaustion incident on a Cirrus!

I took delivery of SR22(0041) 960CM Wednesday June 20 and love the plane, but I had to take it in yesterday to JA Air Center at DPA for an intermittent rt. fuel Gauge indication. I just got word it wasn’t the gauge. All indications are that the rt. wing tank was actually running dry. It seems that the partitioned section of the tank where the fuel feeds into the engine was going out faster than then the fuel coming in from the other tank section. It only happened when the tank was partially full. it seems their might be a valve in backwards or something blocking. The mechanic doesn’t know for sure yet.

I’ve made 3 flights over 200 miles so far (1 in IFR cond.). This could of had serious consequences.
Other than that, I love the look, comfort, avionics(be careful on your first few IFR approaches though), and performance of my new plane.