In accordance with certain aspects, an adaptive system and method are implemented to estimate the level of a consumable such as toner on a gauge that accommodates machine-to-machine variances, individual machine degradation over time, and otherwise correct over time for various inaccuracies by applying an error compensation that can be used in subsequent replenisher computations. Over the lifetime of an imaging machine, such as a copier or printer device, these error compensations can increase the accuracy of the particular machine, to accommodate various deviations from nominal constraint assumptions as a result of differences in one or more operating constraints.