diy fuel flow meter 4.5lt mpi mercruiser

[idomeneus5]

Hi all, just back from the Melbourne boat show. Where do they get the "stand people" from. Both the Mercury & North Star people didn't "appear to have a clue". My simple question was. Can I retro fit a/your fuel flow meter to my mercruiser. (like the UK, petrol here in Australia has gone through the roof. A$1-70 ltr = GBP3-30 gallon approx)
I emailed Northstar (USA) a while back, their response was "yes it will work providing there is no fuel return line" there isn't. North star rep last night reckoned the fuel would go in spurts (because of the electric fuel pump) so meter would be inaccurate and "figures would need to be averaged out". Merc rep, stock answer on this (and a couple of other questions) "contact your dealer". Would like to do it myself as I can purchase the unit from USA and get it posted to me here for half the price of buying the same unit here. Has anyone retro fitted a Northstar F210 fuel flow meter to a MPFI merc, (Pref 4.5ltr) how easy was it, what were results like??

any help greatly appreciated, thanks, Peter.

 

[alan006]

There was a post on here about a week ago about a chap who had fitted a fuel flow meter on his v8 EFI Mercruiser. If I understand his results correctly it worked ok once he had sorted out the problems with priming the fuel pump after fitting the meter.

 

[pissativlypossed]

Hi Alan, I have no knowledge of fitting a fuel flow meter, but may I suggest you enjoy your boating and don't worry to much about fuel consumption, it only spoils the experience when you realise how much it costs.

 

[spannerman]

The stand folk are usually the least intelligent when it comes to product knowledge, they are salesman not technicians as a rule. I love baffling them with questions, even my wife has confounded several by just asking about shore power v generators!
The fuel flow meter will work and not in spurts as then fuel delivery is pretty constant when cruising and the individual injector pulses won't affect the readings, however having fitted one to my V8 it became the object of my attention when driving and actually as stated spoils your enjoyment, I wouldn't fit one again as the engine is going to burn the same amount anyway, the differences by trimming are not worth worrying about. 3500 rpm is usually the most economic on gas engines.
Just enjoy the boat.

 

[Ballistix]

It was me, my V8 had a return flow too. Caused chaos. I've spoken to FloScan who have suggested stuffing it in front of the water separator, which is where the return line goes into too...thus the return not effecting the metering.

Yet to do this, doing it Tuesday, it's my last attempt...I wish I hadn't put a hole in my dash tbh but now I have I have to get it working. I still think it's worthwhile knowing what you have in the tank for trips, I'm not that interested in driving differently to effect the consumption, more making sure I have enough for a planned trip.

T