Sealing fork lift gauges from the weather

Please post your findings when you find out, okay?

marine gauges,vdo etc

or there are these gauges that they sell at my auto electric supply place for like no m> I'm rewiring the electrical system on my Allis-Chalmers FP40 fork lift,

Check with your local marine supply

marine guages

Check on marine gauges. I would think they would be more suited, but as soon as a mfg puts marine on something the price doubles.

I don't know how the back of your instrument panel looks, but a piece of glass over the top (plastic or lexan won't likely last another 40 years...) and carefully seal the connections in the back with silicone should take care of just about everything but the rats and mice needing to sharpen their teeth.

all the standard

I have worked on machines that use a gasketed cover to seal the gauges when the machine is not in use. This cover with the proper latch and hinges would be a fairly simple fix and allow you to use cheaper gauges and allow some protection from vandals. ( feeble ones anyway) Steve Peterson

Thank you very much to all who responded!

I'm going with a combination of:

1. Marine gauges, and
2. A piece (slab!) of 1/2" tempered UV-filtering glass gasketed around the 20" wide by 6" high part of the control panel where all the gauges are.
3. NEMA 4 (washdown-proof) rated pushbuttons and switches for the starter, lights, etc.

I think I'll build a shallow plywood box to cover the whole thing when it's not being used. Thank you all again very much; a lot of great ideas!

Dave