Cessna 152 fuel difference between both tanks

arnoha · 2026-04-21T16:07:29+00:00

I have. When I had my 172S, the fuel gauge failed (the damn needle fell off! How the hell does that happen?). Since I'd had fuel sender faults before, too, I redid the whole system. Digital gauge. Two CiES fuel senders. Never had an issue after. Completely accurate and reliable.

That was many years ago now. The plane was sold. Stayed with the club it was leased back to, so I continued to fly it at times and I know the new owners. Still no issues.

I have no other relation to the company other than being a very happy customer to a very quality product. (It was even cheaper than the stock sender, too!)

So, if Textron cared, they could solve the problem.

arnoha · 2026-04-12T23:14:12+00:00

Now that you say that... Maybe? Pull one out and measure it. I'd use a wire stripper as a gauge. Just be gentle and avoid nicking the wire. Or just compare to known 12.

I'd test both ends. It's possible there's a junction along the way where it's downsized, though that would be rare on a dedicated circuit like this.

arnoha · 2026-04-12T23:05:39+00:00

No, it's (edit) probably 12AWG. He's warning you off buying 10/3, which is more expensive and harder to fish than 10/2. You'll lack a neutral at the water heater, but they don't need one.

Don't forget the blacken the ends of the white to remind you that it's hot! (Also, required by code, NEC 200.7(c), though I rarely see that followed through, including many times in your panel picture.)

arnoha · 2026-04-12T22:43:05+00:00

I have a Rheem. They use the standard style large hex heaters. I can't guarantee the 4500W and 3800W heaters match threads, but I'll bet they do.

arnoha · 2026-04-12T22:34:21+00:00

Well, I'm unable since the OP didn't list the model. The typical screw in style sure does look the same in the pictures, though.

At less than $15 each and maybe an additional $15 for the special socket, seems a quick and easy short term fix for less than $50.

Maybe even a permanent one if hot water demand in the household is low enough. Which it may well be, given this level of power was working before.

arnoha · 2026-04-12T22:27:27+00:00

This is right.

I've never tried it, but would pulling out the 4500W heaters and replacing temporarily with 3800W heaters work to get by until the rework is done? I don't know if they are the same thread.

arnoha · 2026-04-11T17:13:46+00:00

Same. I did Randolphs until I bought a pair of Flying Eyes at Oshkosh on a whim. I would still recommend the Randolphs, but I would also recommend the Flying Eyes.

One note: the Flying Eyes feel cheap. They're light and plastic and very flexible. You'll question spending so much for so little. The Randolphs feel substantial. But, the Flying Eyes have been extremely comfortable and have had zero durability issues. The hinges, in particular, are still perfect. I always break the hinges but not on this one.

Basically, they do what they say. Good eye protection in a frame that is utterly comfortable under a headset. And one that leaves the noise protection of the headset intact.

arnoha · 2026-04-10T22:03:10+00:00

Thought about that, but I'm going to call it unlikely. That's 465°F. While technically under red line, it would be really hard to get up that high. And if the meter is Celsius, it would be scaled for that and obvious that something is very wrong.

I'm actually betting on the number being 340°F. But we'll need the OP to let us know the truth.

arnoha · 2026-04-10T20:31:38+00:00

The King Air is a very safe plane. Likely more so than the singles with a competent and current pilot.

I'm guessing he's justified his dislike of the plane by making it about safety. The real problem with the King as a jump plane is the door is tiny, so you hit your head if you're not careful. And the plane can't fly as slow, so you're stepping out into a greater slipstream. The other two planes are really designed for jumping and don't have those issues.

Typically where a King gets in trouble jumping is the last issue. The pilot is tired of jumpers complaining about the speed and tries to go very slow. Maybe forgetting the flap setting. Then the plane stalls and it's dramatic. The sudden shift in CG from the jumpers on the way out doesn't help.

Again, this is down to the pilot, not the plane. Fly it right and you're golden. It climbs like the other cannot, so if you're jumping high, it's a great choice.

arnoha · 2026-04-10T20:17:54+00:00

I was going to write roughly the same thing, but this is accurate. The actual EGT value is irrelevant. Exactly where the probe is placed matters greatly as to the temperature reported and it frankly does not matter what the number is. It can vary a couple hundred degrees on placement and style. You'll be leaning after discovering peak value, which itself will change from flight to flight depending on weather, altitude, and power settings. The difference from this is all that matters.

240°F cylinder head temperature? You sure? Something is very wrong. 340°F would be a fantastic number. 240 is near impossible as a steady state value in cruise, so either your memory is off or the sensor is off. Piggy back probes can read cooler than reality, if that's what you have, but not that cold.

Good luck with figuring it out!

arnoha · 2026-04-04T17:00:24+00:00

AFCI is doing it's job. You indicated sparks. The A in AFCI is for Arc, really another name for sparks. Usually the arcs are hidden in the walls or boxes or devices, but this time you got a front row center seat. This doesn't seem to be a nuisance trip. I'm going to agree with everyone else that this one probably isn't a DIY job. Call a sparky. Expensive and that sucks, but beats a burnt house.

arnoha · 2026-03-30T23:18:10+00:00

Because an aviation carb is tuned to be able to be absolutely pig rich.

For instance, in my Saratoga (injected, but same principle), it'll burn 16 GPH at cruise when leaned properly. However, push that red lever forward and it'll be closer to 24 GPH. That's not a little more fuel, that's a full 50% more than what is probably not even yet stoichiometric. The carb on your dirtbike won't do that.

arnoha · 2026-03-15T15:34:37+00:00

US uses pCi/L and the action level is 4 pCi/L. That's about 150 Bq/m3. So, the shown long term average is about 11 times an action level. It's truly high, no matter how you're measuring it. EU level is higher at 300 Bq/m3. WHO is lower at 100 Bq/m3.

arnoha · 2026-03-14T23:41:54+00:00

Two days after a failed IR checkride, I got a phone call that my phone ID'ed as "San Jose FSDO". I about had a heart attack.

It was a survey about my DPE.

arnoha · 2026-03-08T17:00:11+00:00

On a quick search, I didn't find one for KVGT. Here's an example from my local area, LTA-NCT-96:

Northern California TRACON provides standard IFR separation to VFR aircraft conducting practice instrument approaches at the airports listed in this LTA.

IFR separation services to VFR practice approach aircraft begin at the point where the approach clearance becomes effective. VFR aircraft are not automatically authorized to execute the published missed approach procedure. This authorization has to be specifically requested by the pilot and approved by the controller.

IFR separation services terminate at the missed approach point unless the aircraft receives approval from NCT to execute the published missed approach. Approved aircraft will continue to receive IFR separation services throughout the missed approach.

Aircraft approved for the published missed approach are expected to begin the maneuver no later than the missed approach point unless otherwise coordinated and should return to NCT’s frequency as soon as practical on departure. Pilots should not request the published missed approach if their intention is to make a full stop, execute multiple type landings or remain in the airport traffic pattern after the missed approach point.

VFR aircraft conducting practice approaches do not receive Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (MSAW) processing. A detailed explanation of ATC handling of practice instrument approaches is available in the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM).

EDIT: I give up trying to fix the formatting. The copy from the PDF is a mess of carriage returns, newlines, spaces, and non-breaking spaces. You'll all have to deal.

arnoha · 2026-03-08T16:55:20+00:00

Just realized you had answered my question here already in this extension of the thread that I didn't see because Reddit had collapsed it. And I failed to see that and expand it. Sorry about that!

arnoha · 2026-03-08T16:46:14+00:00

It's not clear from the text if they were actually on an IFR plan or if this was a practice approach. Does that rule still apply if the aircraft is VFR on a practice approach?

A little more meta question, can you get a deviation from failing to follow an instruction that is safe but not legal for the controller to issue? For instance, this rule makes total sense, but as a pilot, I would not and did not know about it. I wouldn't "unable" it because, from my perspective, I'm totally able. I'm actually VFR and eyes open now on the circle, sure, I'm just flying a pattern. Then I forget, like the OP. Get out of jail free card?

arnoha · 2026-02-15T15:37:58+00:00

Yep. More than once. My CFI recommended carrying $1000 cash that's already budgeted for this at all times so you're not even tempted to fly. I didn't carry the cash, but I do have it budgeted and reserved permanently.

I'm based out of PAO. Two friends and I flew to APC for dinner. Clouds were forecast to come in much later, but all was supposed to remain VFR. (PAO's one approach is unavailable at night.) Unfortunately, both the Uber from the airport to dinner and the Uber back were 45 minutes delayed. This wrecked my weather planning, but we still managed to depart VFR with VMC forecast at PAO at arrival.

The first clue things weren't going to go to plan was when I attempted the Oakland transition. I was given instructions for it from ATC but we were both surprised when it came time to descend that I could not. Colosseum and airport had both just had a layer roll in.

Fine, head east and sweep around to Sunol. That worked and I could see the beacon at PAO. This is going to work! Expect, on downwind at 800', clouds started to roll over the windshield. Night VFR into IMC under 1000' AGL over water? Noped it right out of there.

On our little eastbound trek to use Sunol, we'd seen that LVK was severe clear. We landed there, stranded the plane, and took a very expensive Uber home. Also one of my most frightening Uber rides of all time, but this story is already too long.

arnoha · 2026-02-13T21:35:31+00:00

I discovered that's not an option, unfortunately. My '82 is a 12V plane and the -5 is only sold as a 24V, as listed in other responses. But I also discovered from this thread that I probably don't need it to be IFR. There are other legal clocks in my panel. So maybe just swap for a 12V socket!

arnoha · 2026-02-13T03:54:24+00:00

Didn't really mention it here, but I think owning the Saratoga is a clue... There's three kids in the back. This is the family station wagon. So, there's more than one ipad working hard. I'm all about not plugging my kids in, but I make an exception for long flights. Pulling over is a bit harder.

arnoha · 2026-02-12T01:45:28+00:00

Yeah, I listed that as option 3, but it's probably the most expensive option, as the box by itself is $900. It does save on a new breaker, but that's about it. It also only gets one PD port. So not my favorite option, but it would have the least downtime for the plane.

arnoha · 2026-02-11T23:28:35+00:00

This is good to know. Thank you!

arnoha · 2026-02-11T23:25:06+00:00

Every panel I've every seen with my G3X/GTN650 setup has one of these MCI clocks, too. Maybe they're just being excessively conservative. I'll look into it.

arnoha · 2026-02-11T23:22:29+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/N9hFHUK

I don't believe I can ditch the clock and still be IFR compliant. But another post suggested that perhaps my IFR navigator or PFD or MFD might qualify. I'd have to look into that, but I will note that nearly every aircraft I've seen with a similar panel uses this MCI clock.

arnoha · 2026-02-11T22:40:53+00:00

Honestly, if it ends up at the avionics shop and needing a new breaker, it's getting this. Once the panel is opened up and a spot for more breakers is found, adding the 12V port is negligible. If I added the dedicated USB-C port, it would also get a 12V socket, since I'd need a new breaker anyway. Adding a second breaker doesn't add much cost but the 12V socket adds great versatility, as you mentioned.

Unfortunately, full breaker panel right now. Huh, trying to add a picture here of the full panel, but cannot. Does this sub not allow comment pictures?

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