Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions

[fdheld34]

I am wanting to purchase a fuel flow meter/gauge for my 1993 135 hp merc outboard. I know lowrance makes a gauge but will it work without having to use my gps, if I get a fuel sensor with it for gph?? Also any other types out there and how hard are they to install? I have seen them on internet with the fuel flow sensor..but just wondering if this is all I will need to purchase to just get gph and fuel level? Have viewed other forums but cant seem to find the correct answer!!
Thanks,
-Fred

[wavelength]

To have the Lorwance LMF-200 work without the Lorwance Net you just purchase the paddle wheel speed sensor that hooks to the unit.

[BillPutney]

flo-scan makes a gauge for a single outboard application , I believe it is the 5500 model. I have one on my 23. It has a sending unit and a gauge and thats it.Cost is around
249.00 I think. Shows GPH as you are running and total fuel burned . It will really help you find your most efficient RPM's to run at. I picked up a lot of speed and lowered my fuel burn. Also you can almost predict the amount to the gallon that you will need to fill up after a days running.You can adjust the meter to get you dead on the fuel flow if you want. I left mine set-up as it came from the factory and after several runs I was always within 5% of what the gauge read as total fuel burned. If the gauge said I had burned 50 gals. it would take 52-53 gals to fill up. I never worried about how much fuel was left in the tanks . Flo-scan manufactures gauges for the airplane industry so you know they have to be reliable and accurate .

[BillPutney]

Here is a link to their website

http://www.floscan.com/html/blue/ser...sid=11&catid=2

[fdheld34]

WWP2 thanks for the web site...I just want to make sure I get a unit that is simple to use and is basically plug and play. How long does it take to hook up a flow scan gauge..do I have to have access to my fuel tank under deck??
Where does sensor attach to..fuel line/transom etc???

Wavelength....so with the Lowrance gauge meter..I would have to buy another sensor on top of the fuel sensor??? Is the paddle wheel a sensor that hooks up to the fuel flow gauge and then attached to the transom to determine speed and distance to get gallons per hour. Is is needed to have gauge work for gph or is it an option that could be utilized down the road??

What gauge all in all is the easiest to hook up out of the box and will give me gph??

-Thanks for bearing with my questions!!!!
-Fred

[BigLew]

Hey fdheld34,

This is just my 2¢.

To the best of my knowledge, the standalone fuel flow gauges give you gallons per hour information. If you want to convert to MPG, you will need to divide your speed by your fuel flow. That said, there are some systems which will take a NEMA input and use it to calculate MPG. These systems are generally high end, multi-parameter chart plotters with depth sounder, radar, fuel flow meter, and general engine instrumentation capabilities. You are talking into four figure's of cost easily. MPG is a nice number to know, but it is not something you need on an ongoing basis. If you have any flow meter and a GPS, you can calculate at the end of the day MPG if you use total gallons used that day and total miles traveled.

Fuel flow is generally more useful in adjusting engine speed, trim and weight distribution. You can simply see the results more dramatically.

As I said, just my opinion. Good luck.

[McGillicuddy]

Fred,

Big Lew hit a home run with the points he makes.

This Lowrance unit comes with the fuel flow sensor. I believe paddle wheel tranducers etc are for other things like speed, water temp and any other measurements that may be electronically probed. http://www.turtlemarine.com/lowrancelmf200.html

Northstar/Navman also makes a nice kit for about $125

I just have their flow sensor which plugs into my Sounder or GPS (which does read out the mpg), but it sounds like you're looking for just the gauge and sensor. The problem with many of these is that you need to know your actual fuel amount and reset accordingly. They are plug and play. place the sensor inline between the fuel filter and the motor and then run the wire back to the gauge or electronic device.

Here's a link for Northstar F210
http://www.northstarnav.com/en/Produ...ent/F210-Fuel/

[Bushwacker]

Fred, I've had an old (mid-80's) Flo-scan unit for years and it works well. We used their flow meters on all the jet engine testing we did at Pratt. Their stuff is aerospace quality and very accurate but probably more expensive than Lowrance or the Navman units. Navman is probably the cheapest and least reliable; I've heard of them having problems with their flow sensors.

The paddle wheel sensor Wavelength mentioned is the flowmeter that goes in the fuel line. I put mine in just downstream of the fuel filter. The concept is fairly simple - there's a light bulb and a photocell with a paddle wheel in between them. The blades block the light, and as the fuel causes the wheel to spin, the photocell sees a blinking light, which it converts to electrical pulses. There's a calibration curve built into the electronics that converts pulses/sec into gallons/hr. Mine has a separate totalizer unit that keeps track of gallons used; it can be reset when you refill the tank. I believe it's built into the gage on the newer models. You don't have to do anything with the gas tank or gas gage wiring . . the totalizer will become your main indicator of fuel status and the gas gage will simply become a crude back-up in case the flowmeter dies!

Lowrance, who makes the I-Command system I got with the new motor, makes a slick NMEA 2000 based system that is very simple to install. Don't know how the prices compare, but it provides a ton of info (fuel flow, instantaneous mpg, fuel used, fuel remaining, range remaining, etc) and might provide more bang for the buck than the Flo-scan system. If you want to trim the boat for most efficient cruise, it's hard to beat a readout of instantaneous MPG, which is VERY sensitive! For that info you'd have to buy the digital gage, the flow sensor, a paddlewheel speed sensor OR GPS antenna, and some cables and connectors. Give me a call if you want to talk about it in more detail! Denny

[gss036]

I just installed a Northstar F210 on my 23WA yesterday. Not a difficult install once you figure out where you want things. I didn't have to worry about the 2 inch hole in the instrument panel since I had 2 blanks left from the new Honda 225 install. It went great up until I got the module cable hung up going forward on the starboard side and had to pull the pole holder panel to be able to get to it. That took longer that the things.
I could have got the Honda digital guages for about $450, but thought that was a little spendy for me.

[BigLew]

Hey fdheld34,

As an after thought, I thought I would say that in boating GPH iis more common a value than MPG, as in automobiles. It lets us set trim tabs, balance and the like to attain the most efficient setting possible for current conditions which are constantly changing.

In addition to managing efficiency and fuel consumption, I believe the most VALUABLE aspect of a fuel flow gage is that it frequently allows us to pick up on general engine performance and detect small changes in our engine's general health more quickly so that we can begin to be aware of changes in general engine performance from such things and water in fuel, dirty/clogged fuel filters, poor spark plug performance, etc. Some of these things will only be evident when major break downs and the like occur and they are usually more expensive than throwing a new or regapped set of plugs in, changing a fuel filter/water filter in the fuel line,etc.

As I said,just a couple of after thoughts. Again, good luck!