Port engine consumes more vs jacked up tank sensor?

[SeadawgVB]

360DA w/ twin 8.1s, new to me as of April 7. I've made a few runs in my new boat and posted this same question on the 360 owners thread, but have not received any response as of yet, so here goes.

After a few joy rides and shake down runs I've used nearly 1/2 tank (indicated on dash gauge and smartcraft (most likely same sensor)) on the port side where the starboard is indicating 1/4. I haven't used the genny much, but that connects to the starboard tank. Both engines WOT is within spec and less than 80 rpm apart. I plan on topping off the tanks to see if there is a similar disparity at the pump.

Question 1: Would running rich show at WOT? I don't see black smoke behind the boat while running, or smell that rich running smell.

Question 2: Could clogged / fouled injectors cause that much of a disparity in consumption in just that much usage?

Question 3: How much trust should I place in my fuel gauges? (My last boat's gauge was more like a go no-go gauge and I did not trust it below 1/2 tank)

 

[rondds]

I'd guess the sender is off. Does your smartcraft give you GPH fuel consumption? If so, are both engines consuming fuel at the same rate?

Old fashioned way to find out is to top off both tanks, run the boat a few hours, then top off again and note if there is a difference in how much fuel it takes to top off each tank.

Generator will typically burn 0.75 to 1 GPH, if you need to figure that into your old-fashioned calculation.