Bladder's

[Mooney_Driver]

I just purchased a M20C with the Bladders installed in the wings.  I am used to flying Cessna's and using a dip stick to check fuel load.  Is there a similar way or is there someone that sales calibrated sticks for low wings?  I know the Piper has tabs for checking level, but what do you guys do?

[mooniac]

made my own with a paint stick, here's how:

empty tank, add 2 gal fuel, mark stick, add 2 gal fuel, mark stick... repeat until tank is full, you might want to pad the bottom of the stick so as not to damage the bladder.  enjoy

[Mooney_Driver]

Thanks...I'll give it a try.

[meddesign]

I have bladders, and am not sure you will be able to measure to empty this way.  Remember they move the filler higher on the wing and I would guess when the bladder under the filler is empty there is still a fair amount of fuel in the plane.  I installed a fuel flow meter and totalizer to address these issues.

[Kwixdraw]

I have the O&N bladders in my M-20J. There is/was a clear acrylic tube with calibrations on it that I bought probably 15 years ago. Sorry I don't know what the thing was called or who made it but I bet you could find one in Sporty's or about any pilot shop. After you work with it a while it's no problem to measure within a half gallon or so. Nice thing is that you measure by inserting the tube then capping the end of the tube with your thumb. You can then remove the tube from the tank to read the calibrations and not just guess from where it its wet. With a stick what would you do if the second tank was at a lower level?

Meddrsign is correct you do not have the ability to measure below a certain level but I never found it to be an issue for me. I just wouldn't fly with fuel that low.