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PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2019 4:10 pm 
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Clownfish

Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:23 am
Posts: 43
Location: 2008 Rinker 330 on Georgian Bay
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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PostPosted: Sun Aug 11, 2019 8:21 pm 
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Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 4:31 pm
Posts: 873
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Please post your thoughts after you have used this system a few times.

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Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:46 pm 
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Clownfish

Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:23 am
Posts: 43
Location: 2008 Rinker 330 on Georgian Bay
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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PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 7:05 pm 
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Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 4:31 pm
Posts: 873
Location: Minneapolis, MN
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.

_________________
Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 10:00 pm 
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Clownfish

Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:23 am
Posts: 43
Location: 2008 Rinker 330 on Georgian Bay
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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PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 3:20 pm 
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email admin your custom rank

Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2009 5:56 am
Posts: 930
Location: Georgian Bay, Ontario
So if my plotter is N2K compatible it is just plug and play?

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2001 328 Vista "Nauta Dream 2"
AB Inflatable 10AL "Little Dreamer"
2000 248 Vista
1997 225 Sundowner


Mike


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PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 6:08 pm 
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Clownfish

Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 10:23 am
Posts: 43
Location: 2008 Rinker 330 on Georgian Bay
acguy wrote:
So if my plotter is N2K compatible it is just plug and play?

Yep.


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PostPosted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 7:06 pm 
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Guppy

Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:51 am
Posts: 9
I was looking at that same unit. If you end up buying one please post your results with it.

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2003 248 vista, 5.0 gxi


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