fuel use meters

[fairtide]

Some past posts have mentioned the use of FloScan monitoring equipment. Perhaps some of you who have installed FloScan or other makes of fuel use monitors could weigh in on your equipment and your satisfaction (or lack thereof) with these devices. With fuel having come off its highest prices, it is still a consideration for most boater. If these monitors pay for themselves over time, they are worth considering. For those of you who do respond, it would be helpful to know about how many hours per year you run your engine(s). My particular interest is results with the 28TE with a Yanmar 315 hp engine.

[jillsusan]

BETTER OFF JUST DOING THE MATH

IF YOU HAVE A SINGLE ENGINE DEISEL-- VERY SIMPLE

I HAD ONE ON A FEW OF THE BOATS I HAVE OWNED-- STILL DID THE MATH

[Mariner]

Why the yelling jillsusan?

The electronic control on our Caterpillar engine has a fuel flow meter integrated into it. I find it quite useful for determining fuel economy at various speeds. I can't imagine any other remotely practical way to develop an accurate fuel curve for the boat. It has definitely affected how I run the boat and helps me save fuel. Just the fact that the number is right there reminding me that I'm burning a bunch of extra fuel when I bring the speed up has caused me to slow down.

It does not, however, have a fuel totalizer, which would really be nice, especially given that I don't completely trust my fuel gauges, and that I share the boat (and fuel expense) with my parents. It would be nice to know exactly how much fuel I had used on a given outing.

[NJRobert]

I have the same boat and engine. I installed a Floscan 9500 series two years ago. I will have to say that it will take a couple of months for the calibrations, depending on how much you run the boat. For the first 2 seasons I was in the learning stages. This past year, early in the season, my total gallons was plus or minus 10 gallons of fuel. That's pretty "dead on" for me. The calibrations are usually followed in a sequence according to the manufacturers guidelines. They are also very helpful on the phone. Total cost for me to have it professionally installed was about $1700 including hardware. It has not payed for itself yet since I only run 75-100 hours a year.

I do like the idea of a digital readout that tells me total gallons of fuel used. The rest to me is not that big a deal.

[joreyn]

Installed dual floscans this past spring and this past week was the first time I was able to put them to the test. The installer did a good job calibrating them. At the end of the cruise, the meters said put in 76.2 gallons. Actual amount 76.9 gallons.