NMEA2000: do we configure generator as ENGINE3 on a twin screw boat?

[vas]

Yanmar 2cyl engine for my MASE generator rebuilt is finished, going back in early next week.
Scrapped the coolant temp and oil pressure switches and replaced with proper pressure and temp sender. Further I'm adding a coolant pressure sender and if I manage an EGT sensor.
All that go in yet another black box which also will be operating the starter, the fuel stop valve and a custom job (using another stop solenoid) that will be pulling the governor to idle when generator starts and before it shuts down (to avoid having the rebuilt the motor in another 1000h...
So big (probably white) box with 4 relays an arduino board and a few chips, job done.

Now, since my original box/board starting the MASE has died and took the dash display with it, I need to control the generator from my custom touch screen that operates the fin stabs.

I can have a custom sentence to operate it from the touch screen and even have a two way comms with the generator, no problem.
Wonder if for temps/pressures/etc I should use ENGINE 3 as a node to do that and be able to present it in N2K dash or don't bother and do only custom sentences...

So basically q is for JFM or whoever else has his gen in N2K

cheers

V.

PS. I should at some point post a whole report on the N2K tools I've built with the help of Timo's libraries..

 

[jfm]

Yes interested to hear more on n2k tools.

I have a separate n2k network for the gensets. Reason is only that with Garmin if I have 4 Diesel engines on one network my total litres per mile figure includes gensets, which I don’t want. I can’t configure it to do fuel off engines 1&2 only. So I measure total fuel burn since last fill up on 2 networks, and mentally add the 2 numbers, to know how much fuel I have left.

A sideshow benefit is a gps mushroom on the gensets network so I have back up lat& long on the Garmin displays for the genset n2k network. In case main network failed.

 

[MapisM]

with Garmin if I have 4 Diesel engines on one network my total litres per mile figure includes gensets, which I don’t want.

That's understandable, but don't you have the real time l/Nm numbers also in your Cat MPD displays?

 

[jfm]

Nope. I might be missing something but I don’t know how to get STW or SOG into the j1939 canbus, nor how to get the cat screens to make the calculation of litres per nm and display it. I can only get Garmin to do this. Also Garmin calculate “fuel remaining” because Garmin can store my 7500 litre value for total tankage. For that value of course I would prefer all 4 engines to be on the Garmin n2k network!

Obviously the Cat displays show burn rate lph and trip fuel used.

 

[MapisM]

Coming to think of it, probably there's nothing you're missing.
In the Cat powered boat where I had in mind to have seen the L/Nm number, it was the total of both engines, so more than likely it was on the MFD rather than on the engine displays.
Which btw (though I'm sure you already know), on top of the trip fuel, show also the total fuel burnt by the engines throughout their whole life.
Very useful when buying a used boat!