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| Fox Marine MEFI-3 Engine Gateway https://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=23439 |
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| Author: | YYZ-RC [ Sat Aug 10, 2019 4:10 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Fox Marine MEFI-3 Engine Gateway |
Now this thing is cool! http://fox-marine.com/index.php?route=p ... ry&path=81 I've been searching for a way to monitor fuel flow without buying a chartplotter. I was originally looking for a stand-alone gauge, however, Alexey at Yacht Devices (yachtd.com) referred me to Fox Marine. The MEFI-3 gateway connects directly to the diagnostic connector of the ECM and via Bluetooth to my iPad. It gives RPM, fuel flow, air intake temp, manifold temp, coolant temp, total engine hours, engine hours since start, etc. In a word, awesome! $295 for the MEFI-3 Gateway and I spent another $75 or so for a Lowrance N2K starter kit. I think I could have wired the gateway directly to +12v and skipped the N2K (since I don't have any other N2K devices and the signal is via Bluetooth). Wired in to the ignition and added a dash switch to finish it off. |
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| Author: | Surface Interval [ Sun Aug 11, 2019 8:21 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fox Marine MEFI-3 Engine Gateway |
Please post your thoughts after you have used this system a few times. |
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| Author: | YYZ-RC [ Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:46 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fox Marine MEFI-3 Engine Gateway |
Looks like the sweet spot on my boat is 3800rpm which equates to 48km/h and 47l/h fuel consumption. Any higher than 3800 and the fuel consumption is exponential; any lower and the speed impact offsets the reduced fuel burn. I think the 1:1 ratio is kind of cool 
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| Author: | Surface Interval [ Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:05 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fox Marine MEFI-3 Engine Gateway |
These units and the Yacht Devices units sound interesting to me. I understand that they can provide essential gauges, total engine hours, and several other types of info including fault codes and the ability to clear those codes. I still do like my chartplotter and fuel flow system. In addition to all the info a chartplotter provides, the fuel flow system displays gallons per hour and miles per gallon. This instant mpg readout is handy for determining the best throttle setting and trimming the boat's outdrive. While we want the outdrive full down for getting on plane, trimming the drive up at least a little at speeds above 25 mph will give an additional 100-200 rpm and usually 2-4+ mph. Doing some metric-to-US conversion, my boat produces similar results. Our bottom-painted '02 268 has the 5.7 Gi-B 280 hp Volvo DP-SM package. We have noticed on relatively calm water while cruising at 3600 rpm and full down outdrive trim we are usually seeing 26 mph. Trimming the outdrive up at least a few degrees will bring the rpm up to between 3700 and 3800. Speed goes up to between 28mph and 31mph, depending on the amount of trim. Fuel economy goes from 1.9 mpg to between 2.1 and 2.3 mpg under ideal conditions. What this shows is that you can see noticeable gains by using outdrive trim when conditions permit. Too much trim will cause the bow to porpoise up and down. When the water is rougher we will usually leave the trim down and may be throttling back a little. We have also left the throttle at 3600 and then run the trim tabs full down. This keeps the bow down for more boat length in the water giving us a smoother ride. With the same throttle setting the rpm drops from 3600 to about 3100-3200 rpm. The speed comes down to about 21, and the fuel economy drops down to around 1.5 mpg. We have seen many other boats running at not quite or maybe just barely planing speed. On our boat this is absolutely the worst setting for fuel economy. We see about 1 mpg at these settings. |
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| Author: | YYZ-RC [ Mon Sep 02, 2019 10:00 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fox Marine MEFI-3 Engine Gateway |
MPG would be ideal but I have no speed on my basic NMEA network. I have GPS speed on the Navionics app but Navionics won't take input (yet). In the meantime I have to do some basic math. I run about 3600 and then trim up for the +200 exactly as you've said when conditions permit. Bottom-painted 268 with the 5.7 GSi and DP-SM as well. I finally got the trim sender working so I can see where my outdrive is at now Shame the season is almost over! |
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| Author: | acguy [ Tue Sep 03, 2019 3:20 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fox Marine MEFI-3 Engine Gateway |
So if my plotter is N2K compatible it is just plug and play? |
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| Author: | YYZ-RC [ Tue Sep 03, 2019 6:08 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fox Marine MEFI-3 Engine Gateway |
acguy wrote: So if my plotter is N2K compatible it is just plug and play? Yep. |
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| Author: | derekd [ Tue Sep 03, 2019 7:06 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Fox Marine MEFI-3 Engine Gateway |
I was looking at that same unit. If you end up buying one please post your results with it. |
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