Fuel is one of the highest expenses of any vehicle-related business. However, its consumption can be reduced and optimized through the use of fuel sensors.
These devices generate savings, so they become an investment that more than returns its value.
Fuel Sensor Features
These sensors are capable of sizing the fuel within a stationary or mobile tank.
In addition to allowing us to know the actual fuel consumption of each vehicle, they detect supply capacity and drains. In this way they avoid extracting large amounts of fuel on each trip.
The fuel sensors concentrate the information towards another interface, which in most cases is usually a GPS.
Types of fuel sensors
The main recommendation for choosing a fuel sensor is to be able to place it specifically in tanks that have a perfect cylindrical or rectangular shape.
That is, they do not have protrusions or irregular shapes, as this can affect the operation of any of the sensors and provide inaccurate information.
The most common types of fuel sensors are:
Float sensor
It is the one that most vehicles bring from the factory. They detect the fuel level inside the tank and display it on the dash.
They work by means of a floating mechanism and a variable resistance. When the fuel level varies, the position of the float also changes proportionally. This causes the variable resistor to change the output value, reflecting the change.
Rod sensor (capacitive)
It is installed inside the tank through a hole in the upper part of the tank.
It has two separate pipes, one internal and one external.
When it comes into contact with the fuel, it acts as a dielectric (capacitor / electrical capacitor).
In such a way that through a tension variation between the two pipes, it reflects the corresponding value, so that the information is understandable.
It is necessary to carry out a previous calibration with the sampling technique, in which the percentage values that each portion of fuel occupies in the tank are configured.
Ultrasonic sensor
These fuel sensors are installed at the bottom of the tank. It fires a signal into it and according to the speed with which it bounces, and the quality of the signal obtained back, it can evaluate the height of the fuel volume.
The installation process is carried out by initially calibrating through sampling, to know the percentage value of a certain amount of gallons or liters. Then the tank capacity is set.
With these values, through mathematical calculations, the sensor identifies the current percentage of fuel, sends the information to the GPS device and this in turn sends it to the tracking platform.
In this way, the system manages to identify replenishments and drains, generating alert events when it validates a loss greater than the configured percentage.
Flow sensor
Its function is to calculate the fuel consumption required by the engine from the tank itself. It connects to the fuel line between the tank and the engine.
Through a turbine, the revolutions per minute and a suitable calibration, allows to generate 100% reliable data on the consumption of each unit.
When compared with the information obtained by the drivers, it generates important data for decision making.
Advantages and disadvantages of these devices
The main benefits of fuel sensors include the following:
- Short-term fuel cost savings by detecting unauthorized drains
- Reliable information on consumption. They detect if driving habits increase it and allow decisions to be made to regulate it
- Its cost / benefit, undoubtedly justify your investment
- Some sensors such as the ultrasonic, being non-invasive, prevent damage to the integrity of the tank and possible fuel leaks However, it must be considered that as they are electrical devices they can be vulnerable to intentional manipulation to alter their operation.
On the other hand, poor quality fuel as well as low outside temperatures can negatively influence the ability of the sensors to correctly calculate the fuel level.
Moreover, the small percentage of inaccuracy of the measurements grows with time and distance traveled.
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Tools for monitoring GPS fuel sensors
DeltaTracking makes the following tools available to its customers for monitoring GPS fuel sensors:
- On-screen display of real-time value monitoring, percentage / volume of fuel
- Generation of report and graphs of fuel consumption
- Fuel theft alert setting, if the GPS device generates a specific event for unauthorized drain
If you want more information, call us. One of our agents will be able to advise you on the different types of fuel sensors and which is the most suitable, according to the requirements you need to meet.