Anyone have or installed a Floscan?

[Wizard]

Just bought a Floscan 6520, older model, but still new in the box. Just looking for any comments on installing or operating.

[NoSlack]

With all flow sensors it's important to install the sensor in a straight run of pipe. The rule of thumb is you need 10 pipe diameters in front of the sensor and 5 down stream.

For example, if you were working with 1" pipe you need 10" of straight pipe before the sensor and 5" after the sensor. 3/8" pipe go with 3" in front and 1 1/2" after the sensor. The thought behind the straight run of pipe is to get the turbulence out of the fuel for a more accurate reading.

One more installation tip: don't mount the sensor in the highest part of the fuel line. Any air in the system will get trapped at the high point and cause the reading to be erratic. This is a common mistake in the installation. Most of us mount stuff were it's easy to reach not were it will work the best.

One more thing to check out: The part number on the box will read something like this 6520-CAT-20. That number would be a series 6500 gage for Caterpillar 3208 / 3406 / 3408 (up to 375 HP) 0-20 GPH.

Every engine manufacture has a different supply vs return ratio. Flow scan's web site calls for a 6532-BOS-2K for the KAD42 and 43 engines.

Mike

[Wizard]

Well I didn't buy it new, so no opportunity to get the exact recommend shiznit. This is a FloScan 6520 Bosch 2 kit. Diesel Analog guage with totalizer, input and return valves, decent hose extension input/output kits, and two pulsation dampeners. I guess I'm in for trial and error, or deinstall and resell. $300 used vs. about $700 new. I have a feeling it will be ok if I install in the right levels so there are no air bubbles.

[NoSlack]

The difference between the 6520-BOS-2k that you have and the 6532-BOS-2k that Flow Scan recomends it the max GPH they will read (20 vs 32). The only time you might have a problem is when you are getting on it real hard and suck up some extra fuel.

I think Charlie has the 10 GPH model and sees it peg out when he hits the upper RPMs but gets great accuracy on the low end. The 20 GPM model may work out just fine for your HP.

Mike

[yellowfin1]

Good morning Glenn,

I have the 6500 series FLOSCAN with 10GPH max reading which was installed at the shop. I was going to do it myself but as long as I was getting a repower I thought why not have them install the FLOSCAN too. I have been on at least three trips where I filled up completely and ran long distances then filled up again. I have never had better than about 8% accuracy thus far even after adjusting the switches to calibrate it. After talking to the guy at FLOSCAN he indicated that the AD-41 has a very low fuel consumption rate and it will be very difficult to get much more accuracy than that. I have set the switches to the recommended position in the manual and according to the FLOSCAN guy, I should be seeing at least 1/2 gallon per hour on the guage at idle. I still do not but, at least I do always have a good idea of how much fuel I am burning , have burned, and more importantly how much fuel I have remaining. I'm curious to know if Charlie is getting more accurate results. Charlie? Anyways, if you would be interested to look at how mine was installed you are welcome to stop by the house and check it out.

Just e-mail me if interested.

Scott

[DOGHOUSE26]

Scott,

Does yours peg out @ 10GPH running 80-100% throttle also?

Could you tell us what are you readings @ 1800, 2100, 2700, 3000 ,3200, etc.

Mike, I'm curious what your numbers are also at those RPMs :)

[yellowfin1]

Jeff,

No mine does not peg out even up to 3400 RPM. I cannot provide the exact GPH readings for those RPM's right now but, will record them this weekend. I beleive I am seeing about 1.5 GPH at 1800RPM sine that is pretty close to trollong speed for me and I was very interested in that.

Since are boats are all about the same (assuming you have the AD-41) then our settings on the FLOSCAN should be the same right? Also assuming the same size fuel line is being used. I'll recored the data and what settings the switched are in and let you know.

Scott

[DOGHOUSE26]

Very Interesting!

Mine's a 41P also; I don't have floscan on this boat.

Thanks,
Jeff

[Wizard]

My boat gets about 2KMPG to 2.2KMPG on average at cruise. I think the max GPH of 20 will be fine since my boat can't do 40 knots. The highest I should see is about 12.5 GPH at my fastest 25 knots cruise speed.

I would like to see how it is installed on those of you that have them before I do mine.

Thanks for the advice and feedback.

[DOGHOUSE26]

Overall trip milege I am averaging anywhere from 2.2 to 2.7 NMPG :D

[NoSlack]

Jeff

My experience with Flow Scans is from work. I installed 3 units on our Cat 3208 fire pumps several years ago. The Cats are in hot standby with a jacket water heater that keeps the block at 165 degrees. If we loose fire main pressure they start and are at full load within a second.

That might sound like tuff duty for a diesel but they've been run like that once or twice a week for the past 15 years without a hitch.
The Cat run at 2800 RPM and burn 8 GPH at full rack.

I've never been able to talk myself into putting one on the boat. I run my engine were she sounds the happiest. If I had a Flow Scan and could see that adjusting the trim or RPM would better my economy 5%, that would only save me 2 1/2 gallons over the course of a long day offshore. Even at $2.00 a gallon, I would have to run $10,000 worth of diesel through my engine to save the $500 cost of a Flow Scan.

Mike

[DOGHOUSE26]

I like the 3208s for industrial applications; I installed maybe 30 or so in small co-generation applications @ McDonald's and other small restaurant owners back in the early nineties; we would get 10,000 hours out of them on propane or CNG and not even one breakdown, we just adjusted the valves every 5,000 and I think we got 22,000 out of one of them.

With 150 gallons of fuel I really don't need a floscan;that's 3 average tuna trips(30-40nm from MB) for me and this is the first boat I have owned with a reliable fuel guage! I will never let the tank get that low for fear of filtering all the crud out of the bottom of the tank. :eek: I just think it's nice to know how much your burning @ a given RPM. I was curious of the difference between your 40B and our 41s at the same RPM to determine how much the extra 35 horses cost to feed.

[NoSlack]

I think the 41s are better on fuel than 40s. You're pushing 75% more boat around, getting 2.2 to 2.7 NMPG and I'm somewere around 2.6 to 2.8 NMPG.

With a 41 installed in a 23', I would think you could cruise at 25+ knots with the engine lightly loaded and be well above 3 on your milage.

Mike

[chrisc]

Re: Floscan accuracy, I've been able to get mine tuned to within 1-2% accuracy. However, I've made the adjustments over a long period of time to reflect how I run the boat on very long trips (modest cruise speed with a mix of trolling). When making short trips up and down the coast, usually at a fast or very fast cruise speed, it's common for me to be off by 5-10%. The trick for me was figuring out the ratio between idle/troll time and cruise time, and then tweaking the No Load Idle Consumption setting. In my case, I set it to a lower GPH usage than actual, then adjusted the other switch setting from there to get an accurate average. FYI, when idling I essentially get no fuel consumption reading.

Chris.

[yellowfin1]

Chris,

Thanks for that feedback. That was exactly my concern. I was woried that at very slow speeds and at idle that my fuel was not going to be calculated accurately. Example if I let the boat warm up at the dock for 10 minutes at idle and then let the engine idle during a rock cod drift for 15 minutes several times during a trip then my accuracy will basically suck. My gauge indicates about 1/4 GPH at idle. I believe that in reality the ad-41 is really consuming at least 1 gallon per hour? Close enough I guess. I am still happy that I know I am within about 10 gallons of being empty (not that I would ever let it get that low on purpose). Even with the FLOSCAN i will always continue to plan any long trips with at least a 10% buffer for safety.

[Nomad]

Sorry for the delayed response. My FloScan died last summer when Russ called me in on a paddy and I pegged it the needle. The needle stuck and died. I may replace it with a new one his summer.I calibrated the unit over time by adjusting the dip switches for the variance in actually fuel consumed vs the reading. The only problem was that if I ran with the needle pegged for any length of time I couldn't get an accurate reading. 10 GPH is not enough for the 41