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You change tanks by means of a fuel selector valve forward of the throttle quadrant. Turn the selector from one tank to the. next until you feel it click into position. Be sure you feel the click; it insures that the proper selection is made. Arrange the sequence of tank changes so that you always change directly from an empty tank to a full one without passing the selector through another empty tank. Remember, the selector moves in both directions. When you pass through an empty tank to get to a full one you run the risk of getting a vapor lock.
Caution: Never pass the selector through the belly tank position when there is no belly tank installed.
Unless absolutely necessary, don't run any tank lower than 5 gallons indicated.
Maintain your fuel pressure between 16 and 18 psi. When the pressure falls below 10 psi, a red warning light on the left side -of the dashboard flashes on (except on P-40 N which has no light). Don't hesitate when you see that red light. Change tanks immediately.
The fuselage tank is called the vented tank, which means that there is an overflow fuel line
between this tank and the carburetor. The fuel line carries excess gas from the carburetor back to the fuselage tank. At high engine rpm, the fuel overflow may run as high as 10 or 15 gallons per hour.
Always use the fuselage tank for takeoff. During takeoff the chance of fuel overflow is especially high, and unless you are using the fuselage tank-the only one built to handle overflow gas-the overflow is lost.
After takeoff, always use at least 15 gallons from the fuselage tank before switching to another fuel tank The fuselage tank accumulates possible overflows from the other tanks during flight. Always turn the selector handle to the fuselage tank if it appears that you have run out of gas. The fuselage tank probably contains a few gallons of overflow fuel.
There is an electrically operated fuel gage for the fuselage tank on the instrument panel. Direct reading gages for wing tanks are on the floor of the cockpit.
The P-40 normally uses Grade 100 fuel. When fuel of a lower grade is used, a red tag is prominently displayed in the cockpit.
