So got a new panel, gone is the 70's plastic , replaced it with aluminum powdercoated in grey.
Also got rid of the old Cessna cluster, replaced it with Aerospace Logic gauges and CiES fuel senders, and oil temp/press and volt meter gauge.

Could not be happier with the result, looks clean, tidy and more modern, also for the first time I am flying with fuel gauges I can trust, and its a very different feeling, very comforting to know exactly how much fuel you have on each tank, they use new technology and are very accurate.
In case of my 182 it was just a direct replacement of the old sender, so install was easy.

The gauges are also very accurate, and you can program your own yellow and red limits to your liking, and also a warning light.
Weight is very important to fly in the backcountry for me, I used to carry too much fuel because didnt trust my fuel gauges.
Now combined with the fuel totalizer I can know exactly how much I have, its very reliable, and it gives you a great feeling to see both agree in the amount of fuel you have.

Also added Aerospace Logic Oil pressure/oil temp/ Volt meter.
Very accurate and easy to install, you can set the parameters for your engine and also can put a warning light with the oil temp or oil pressure you want to program it to, this is a lot more easy to scan than the old Cessna cluster, and a lot safer too.

I added a Westach dual Ammeter and Volt to keep the the charging in my scan.
Also very important if you fly a big bore carburated continenal in the PNW , a Westach carb temp gauge is in close view.

If you fly a legacy airplane consider it, specially the fuel sender and gauges, definitely very nice to fly with.

Looks good! I think my Cies senders will be here today as well. I assume you calibrated them to the gauge, how accurate do you feel they show in actual use? Obviously the totalizer is empirical in what you've burned.

I think they are super accurate, I burned 59 gallons according to the fuel computer , and according to the gauges in level flight, just before landing I had 19.8 gallons left.

When landed and at the ramp gauges showed 19 gallons.(the most accurate reading is when at level flight though)
I added 58.7 gallons to top the fuel tanks, I was pretty impressed.

Make sure when you install them to use the same ground for the gauges and the sender, that can make a difference in accuracy if you dont use the same ground, they are very sensitive.

Good to note on the ground. I am rewiring my entire airframe with central grounding and dedicated runs for everything, but I agree. With the improved digital signal comes a greater reliance on clean paths. Even the analog signal version will benefit from proper grounding.

Sweet.

Who did the panel. It looks great!

propeller26 wrote:Who did the panel. It looks great!

My mechanic from Costa Rica, did the template in paper in November and brought the panel ready to install a month ago .
We didnt have time for silkscreen so did decals with a matching grey background.