lowrance hds and lmf fuel flow questions

[den001]

hi,

im in the process of rebuilding and re wiring my boat.

i will be adding a lowrance hds 5 finder/gps unit and would like the comfort of having a fuel guage..

ive been reading that manual fuel guages are innaccurate and have also done some reading about the lmf units...

i have relísed that i can add a ep60r sensor to my hds 5 but am unsure if i can get a acutal readout of fuel remaining in litres,( the boat has a 120litre tank). This is where i cant find info about the products i would like to buy..

im not really interested in litres per hour and stuff like that, what im really after is just accurate fuel remaining in my tank in litres and possibly a low fuel alarm...

can the hds unit display this with a ep60r sensor hooked up to it?

or do i need other units for what im after

cheers
denis

[djfish71]

Yes it can

[Scott Mitchell]

Denis - what motor are you running ?

I have been through this process & are currently running HDS units as well as a LMF400 gauge with Suzuki interface lead.

Regards Scotto

[Moonlighter]

Denis

As noted by others above, yes you can get what you want by adding the EP sender to the NMEA2000 network.

Once you establish the NMEA2000 network and hook the EP60 and the HDS up to the network, you will go through a setup process where you will tell the HDS what size fuel tank is in your boat and in the alarms section, yes, you can add a low fuel alarm and set it at whatever level you like.

Then the HDS will do the calculations based on the data it gets from the EP60 and tell you in real time how much fuel you have used and how much you have remaining to empty. Because your HDS has an inbuilt GPS antenna, it will also tell you instantaneous fuel economy in MPG or litres/km - whichever you prefer. Helps you select the most economical speed in any given conditions.

You could add a Lowrance LMF 400 or 200 gauge to your dash, but if you've already got the HDS I would question why you would go to the extra expense when you can put your fuel remaining figure onto the HDS screen as a data overlay item, all you have to do is get 1 x T piece and short cable to connect the HDS to the network.

As also indicated above, there is another way to get the same info without using the EP60, and that is by using an interface cable connected to your engine, BUT that depends totally on if your engine is compatible with NMEA2000 - most 2007 and later 4 stroke EFI engines from Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, Etec and Suzuki are able to be linked to NMEA this way. Some earlier year ones also.

Then your fuel data will come direct from the engines ECU where it measures fuel as it is used by the fuel injectors, so is typically much more accurate and doesnt suffer potential problems where the EP60 for example, being an in-line sensor, can get clogged up and not work. It will also give you a whole heap of other engine data such as temp, water pressure, etc etc etc depending on the engine that you have. Some may say this is information overkill, others just love it!

Cheers

ML

[burleygu]

how do you go about obtaining one of these cables to interface with my nmea network? would i be best talking to my yamaha dealer about the cable?

[den001]

thans for the replies guys,

my engine is a 98 yamaha 150, it may be abit old for the interphase cable....

im currently overseas atm and i will be back in afew days but all i know is that my engine has digital guages which shows many engine parameters, inc temp, revs ect, not sure about the rest as im yet to pick the engine up, it has been purchased recently but not fitted as yet.

i havent bought any electronics yet but thanks for the heads up,i know now what i will need...

cheers
Denis

[Scott Mitchell]

Denis - I have tried the EP60 option & believe you will get more accurate information with the Lowrance/Yamaha interface cable - http://www.############.com.au/produ...ProductID=1446

Speak with your engine dealer for installation as you will need a NMEA starter kit as well.

Regards Scotto

[Moonlighter]

Burley: Yes, talk to Yamaha. The interface cables are made by Lowrance and are specific to each engine brand. BIAS and others stock them or can get them in (except for Suzuki and you have to get their version from a Suzuki dealer), but can be hooked up to many other makes of GPS - any brand that is NMEA2000 certified as it is an indusrty standard, not brand specific.

A great source of information about NMEA networks, what data you can get, which engines are compatible etc can be found here, They also sell the interface cables etc:

http://www.blueheronmarine.com/expertadvice

Scotto - Denis mentions that it's a 98 Yammy 150 he's getting, if it's a 2 stroke then no NMEA 2000. I dont know if they had the 4 stroke 150's back then and even if they did, would be doubtful that it would be NMEA2000, being built prior to 2000.....? Would definitely have to check with Yamaha before spending $ on an interface cable. In that case, the EP sender on the network would be the only real option.

Cheers

ML

[den001]

Thanks again for the input guys, yes my engine is a 2 stroke and I doubt it would have the compatibility you all talk about.

I'm not too fussed, as long as it's accurate up to 10 liters of empty it will do me. As I will always have a 25 lt Jerry as backup in the storage compartment. The most I will go offshore Is about 20kms. It's more of a safety precaution than anything so I'm assured I'll get home.

[honda900]

Den001,

The EP60 is as accurate as any of the interface cables to the engine, simply put the interfaces only provide a mechanism to read the raw data from either device, it is actually the HDS that does all the work calculating how much fule has been used based on on a "calibration constant".

It takes a few fills and uses to tune the callibration constant in both cases to get them accurate.

By default the ep60 is not too bad for accuracy, but you can fine tune it by adding and adjusting the callibration constant (recallibrate option when you add fuel) , this is done on the HDS itself.

Do a search in the electronics section on ep60 and you will find a number of posts on how to get your fuel "calibration constant" accurate, its a bit of a pain but worth it in the end.

I have both on my boat an ep20 (suzuki engine interface) and an ep10 (fuel flow meter) on my boat.

Regards
Honda.

[den001]

thanks Honda,

i was going to ask another question but dont want to start another thread...

when i buy the hds 5, are the world base maps any good ? should i buy a card for sydney? whats the advantages of a map card?

cheers

[burleygu]

the base maps will show you a base map they will show you australia sydney harbour etc. however a navonics chart will show you channel markers detailed contour lines depths obstructions wrecks etc. 100 times better then a base map

[ngc1955]

I am trying to set up my HDS8M to my Suzuki 200hp four stroke for fuel management. I had the engine interface & adaptors installed when the boat was built (March 2011), the boat has twin tanks. At the moment I get information on the side of the HDS8m screen like litre/hour, revs, temp etc. Can I use the Lowrance set up with what I have or do I need additional fuel flow sensors. Help

[Moonlighter]

Twin tanks makes it interesting. I run a Suzuki 115 on an mnea 2000 network with 2 x HDS 5's. Bu I have a single 100 litre tank. With mybsetup I can easily get all the fuel flow/remainingbdatabto show on with HDS.

Have you set up your fuel tank sizes in the Lowrance? I think the best way may be to set the total fuel volume of both tanks and then set the low fuel level value at the volume of the main tank, that way you will know when you need to change tanks.

[ngc1955]

I have set up the fuel tanks sizes, but you should be able to tell the unit which tank you are drawing from. Do you know how