Fuel flow meters

[bankyf]

Has anyone added fuel flow meters to an 8.1 Horizon with the plastic lined fuel lines? I am considering adding some, but not sure about cutting the plastic lined fuel lines and inserting a flow meter with a bard/hose clamp. I have been trying to find the ID of the fuel line, but Searay does not list it in the parts manual. This will be going on and 03-1/2 340.

 

[RollerCoastr]

So you have 8.1's but not Smartcraft? What about pulling data from the ECM onto an NMEA2000 bus?

That's what I would do. It wasn't an option when I installed my GFS-10's, but today I'd be tempted to drop more cash to get more data and keep the fuel lines intact.

 

[bankyf]

I do have smartcraft with a vessel view 7. Smartcraft is using a calculated, theoretical fuel flow. This is typically adequate for most of us, but I wanted to play with some new flow meters that have come out to see if there is a difference. I am leaning towards leaving the lines in tact and creating something with hose and or fittings to add in at a connection point, but was curious if anyone else had done something similar.

 

[RollerCoastr]

ah, makes sense. I'm in the complete opposite "boat" - inline flow sensors but no data from the ECM. I share your curiosity about how the data compares.

Which meters are you looking at? I don't for a minute regret installing the GFS-10's. They struck me as a good middle-ground between the entry level and high-end options. I wish they had better accuracy at low flow rates, but only because it would be interesting to monitor the generator. Every once in a while I'll get some wonky readings: They'll claim fluctuating flow when speed while sound, speed and feel deny any inconsistency. It always corrects itself and at fill-up, the accuracy speaks for itself. I can predict gallons-used within just a few percentage points - esp if I've had little generator usage.

 

[bankyf]

I preordered the new Optio flow sensors. They do not integrate into a MFD at this point, but are bluetooth, with an internal battery and work in conjunction with an app they have developed. I'm glad you mentioned the generator, as I had ordered one for that as well. After you mentioned it I had the discussion with them and they said that most flow meters will suffer under 1 gph. Another reason for wanting to add a separate flow meter is that VV7 took away the functionality to view flow data per engine and just displays a total GPH number. I prefer to be able to view per engine to help recognize any type of engine trouble before it becomes a bigger problem.