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Random Quote: Three things in life that are certain; death, taxes, and TOM @ bennett trim tabs
I just did two of them on a pair of older Chrysler 318's. His Garmin system consisted of a networked 4212 and 4208.
First off, the wire bundle from garmin is like 25'. BUT, the N2K line is like 3'. So, if you want to run the GFS10 from an engine forward, you need to spend for a N2K extension cable to span the same distance to your plotter--from the engine! That was kinda tacky.
The customer decided not to hook up the fuel gauge to the system--seemed kinda dumb to me anyway. The GFS10 will keep a record of fuel used--senders are notoriously inaccurate anyway. Better off leaving the two seperate-IMO. Anyway, once you've connected the N2K bus to your plotter, it's pretty easy. Under the menu's you will see a serial number that the system will asign to EACH GFS10 you install on the N2K bus.--then to your plotter via a single cable. (If you network more than one plotter, EACH PLOTTER must have a N2K line going to it.) If you don't, the other plotter won't even see it! Anyway, I was indeed pleased with the data. It didn't take long to notice the customers port motor was in need of a tune up. He was clearly burning more fuel that the other--Funny, now he knows why the other motor was a pain to start.
Point to remember, you need to power the N2k bus off another 12v switch. That power adapter feed is not included in the kit. So, after $200 bucks, now add a 20' N2K extension cable an a N2K power tap.
All-
I have been looking at picking one of these up and found the price varies greatly depending on where you get them. Not sure what BOE has them for but the cheapest I have found is here. http://www.blackbearsportinggoods.co...71-00&click=13
Can you attach the fuel level input to the input going to the fuel gauge without disconnecting the gauge itself? I like having the analog gauge for quick reference. I was told it may cause a problem since the current draw or impedance may be effected by having both the gauge and the GPH connected to the sending unit at the same time.
The fuel flow meter, will NOT connect or have anything to do with your fuel gaige, or fuel tank sending unit. The fuel flow meter connects inline with your fuel supply hose and measure the amount of fuel pasing thru. It has nothing to do with how much fuel is left in the tank.
The fuel flow meter, will NOT connect or have anything to do with your fuel gaige, or fuel tank sending unit. The fuel flow meter connects inline with your fuel supply hose and measure the amount of fuel pasing thru. It has nothing to do with how much fuel is left in the tank.
I thought I read or was told that the GFS can also be used to monitor the fuel level in the tank. Did I misunderstand something? If it doesn't that my question is a moot point. If it can, then I would like to use both the analog guage as well as the Garmin if that is possible. The manual indicates there is a connection to the fuel gauge so some clarification on the use of that connection would be great. I assume this is the connection from the sender to the gauge.
In the mean time, I went ahead and ordered a pair of the sensors and a long NMEA cable to install them in my boat.. I still plan on leaving the existing fuel flow sensors in the boat as well. I will likely install the Garmin ones before the existing flow sensors but after my 10 micron filters. Should be a simple install which I like!
Got mine from Jim at BOE.. He matched the prices I found and shipping was free! I did opt to use his next day air for $25 instead of the free ground service.. He will match blackbeards prices which were below the $140 mentioned above.. Give him a call!
The fuel flow meter, will NOT connect or have anything to do with your fuel gaige, or fuel tank sending unit. The fuel flow meter connects inline with your fuel supply hose and measure the amount of fuel pasing thru. It has nothing to do with how much fuel is left in the tank.
Birdman-
You may not be aware .........but you can.
Step 3 in the following manual illustrates connectin to a fuel sender's input. (gauge)
From what I understand the fuel gauge hookup is an option. I don't see any use for it when the GPS will track how much gas you put in and how much has been used, but for some reason you can hook up the tank to the garmin. I would keep them seperate in case for some reason one dies you have a backup, not that the fuel gauge is even that accurate.
At the end of this video you'll see the fuel data windows as displayed on a Garmin 545. The windows will be a little different on the 4000/5000 series. The video is of the sim mode indicating two fuel tanks and four motors.
My GFS10's arrived Thursday and I just finished the install. I changed my fuel lines from the tanks to the engines as well as the filters while I was at it so it took a bit longer than just the install. Install was pretty simple short of changing the fuel lines. I opted to hook up the fuel gauges to the GFS10 knowing that I could easily disconnect them if needed. I need to run the boat and burn some fuel to get some additional calibration points for the Fuel tank levels.
One thing Garmin should do is add serial numbers to the end of the power/fuel gauge cables for those of us with twins. I should have numbered them to match the fuel meters that go inline on the fuel system prior to running the cables to make the port/starboard connections at the gauges easier. I was able to easily figure out which is which with some experimentation with the wires at the gauge.
It is a pretty cool device when coupled with my 4210. I like the idea of having gallons per hour but love the idea of not having to think to determine miles per gallon! This slick little device will pay huge dividends when trying to figure out optimum cruise speed and trim levels on my boat and take most of the brain work out of it!
Thanks THT and Tommy as I would not have even realized this existed without this thread!
heres a pic of the screen you can view once you install the gfs 10. This is from my 4210.
You can also overlay the fuel flow info(displayed numerically) on to other overlay screens
I have found the fuel flow information to be very accurate and makes it easy to find the "sweet spot" for cruising speed to get the best fuel economy, which varies by how loaded the boat is..
You can also use Lowrance EP60's for a fraction of the cost of the Garmin sensors. I recently installed a Garmin 4210, and used my existing EP60's, worked like a champ. Fuel usage was within .6 gallons on first fillup.
Garmin Fuel Sensor w/4208 
