Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

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

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

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

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

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 .

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

Here is a link to their website

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

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

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

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

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.

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

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/

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

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

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

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.

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

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!

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

Thanks all for the info. I think I have a better understanding of the workings of a fuel flow meter. After looking at all info, I think I am going to go with the Lowrance LMF-200 w/ fuel sensor. Seems like a good little gauge capaple of so many different functions. Also,after reviewing all links presented it looks like it is a good mid range unit for my needs. I do have a Lowrance Globalmap GPS but not sure if it will be compatible with all options that this gauge is capable of with extra sensors. Guess I should take out of box, review GPS manual and see what it says and take it from there. Never thought about using gps in conjunction w/ flow meter to determine mpg. I would rather do a little math than spend extra money on a sensor at this point.
Thanks again,
-Fred

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

I have navman F3100 and i can not recommend them. It was very useful for 2 years and now the display has faded out. I contacted navman and they will not warranty it but will sell me another display for $200. They also got a bad batch of senders and had to replace that. Now I have this 4" square hole in the dashboard that is useless. I upgraded to a new chartplotter and will add the sender compatible with my chartplotter this winter. I found it very useful to see mpg.

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

Stoney, Thanks fo the info on your experience w Navman.
Has anyone had experiences with the above metioned lowrance??? Would like to know before I make my final purchase.
Thanks, Fred

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

That sucks. I had the exact opposite experience with NAVMAN. I had a fish finder out of warranty go bad and they replaced it with a new one for $99 repair fee. Sent a new transducer to boot. How long ago was that Stoney, I have only had excellent customer svc from them :eek:

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

Wow Gillie..now I am really confused ;)..guess you would recommend the Navman unit.and had good customer service..might have to do some more research prior to purchasing anything.....
-Fred

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

Fred, I don't mean to confuse the issue and the 2 years Stoney spent using his is certainly more time than I've spent with mine. I bought mine 'cause I was impressed with a friend's Northstar fuel meter/readout and I already had a compatible unit. Didn't have the cash for a Floscan either...

I did get the impression from several tech managers at Northstar in MA the they were happy to have been bought by Navico last year because they felt Brunswick New Technologies(former owners) had not properly supported what they felt was a good product.

Hope mine's not a lemon.

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

The response I got on 9/19/08 from Ron at Navico (owner of Navman, Lowrance, Northstar, Simrad) is that the display is waranteed for 2 years only. Tough luck buy a new display or fill in the square hole in the dashboard. I've used Lowrance equipment since 1979 and never had a problem except I keep moving up to get the latest equipment(bigger better display). So I'm going to get a Lowrance fuel sender and tie it into the network, so it can display on the big screen GPS as MPG. I really liked having MPG display.

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

I've had 2 Navman fuel flow meters and neither has worked properly. On my 23 that I sold to tcorks the screen took a crap and I've had problems with the flow sensors have acting up. One minute they are working fine and the next they are not. Now the one on my 20sf is reading zilch...zippo...nadda

Customer service is important however I'd rather never to have to make the call in the first place. :mad:

strick

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

Dang! Looks like I've been duped. Strick's right on - rather not have to use cust. svc. Guess I should've paid for the quality and gone with a FloScan...penny-wise pound-foolish...Ante-up, Fred. I think there's a lesson here -- Go Big or go home. DANG!

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

Gillie- I hate to do it but from the consensus guess I will have to Ante-up, ..I will probably end up going with lowrance and then kick myself for not going w/ flowscan for a little extra money..thats how it usually happens w/ me too. At least I was educated here and my selection is narrowed to the two. Now just have to find a low price flow scan and then make a choice!!!
Thanks
-Fred

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

Just my $0.02, but I’ve got a LMF200 with a couple of fuel flow meters and I’ve never been able to get it to the point to where I trust it. The whole system has been back to Lowrance twice and the second time they sent me a new LMF200 unit. Each time they say, “Yes, it’s not working right, but we fixed it.” Then it still won’t read consistently.

I pretty much stopped fooling with it since I’m in the process of a repower.

My new engine is a 2008 225 Opti with a set of SmartCraft gauges. Does anyone have any experience with the SmartCraft fuel management feature?

Trey

Re: Fuel Flow Meter/Gauge Questions
 

I have the Lowrance/BRP I-Command digital gages and they seem to work well. The fuel flow and total fuel usage are calculated based the fuel flow/speed/throttle opening maps built into computer rather than an actual measurement, but generally seem to be fairly close to the old Flo-scan meter I've had for years. I have had occasional electrical gremlins with the Flo-scan meter (bad ground, bulb burns out, corrosion on connectors, etc.), so if anything I'd say the I-Command system is more reliable, although maybe not as accurate. When I start the motor after it's been sitting for a couple of weeks, the Flo-scan gage will jump up to 8-10 gph for a few seconds, like some fuel in the lines has evaporated and is being replaced, and of course the I-Command calculating system won't pick that up. The Flo-scan Totalizer generally seems to read a little higher and I tend to trust it a little more (except when the gage has been acting up!)