Mooneymite Posted December 30, 2011 Report Posted December 30, 2011 My 74 C model is minimally instrumented. Since, by some miracle, I seem to have "a little" cash left over after Christmas, I'm thinking of adding a fuel-flow indicator such that my GNS-430 will provide more accuratel fuel information. (Yes, I have considered more elaborate instrumentation that includes fuel flow, but I have rejected based on a cost/benefit analysis.) After surveying the Aircraft Spruce catalog, I see there are three choices: JPI's FS450 $480 ADI's FU60 $225 EI's FP5 $498 Did I miss another manufacturer? The ADi model makes no mention of outputs to the GPS, so unless someone knows something about it, I can discount that one. The JPI seems very nice and I actually have taken delivery of that model...still sitting in the box. However, after I made the purchase, I discovered that EI is offering a $100 rebate between now and March. Soooooo, I"m leaning toward the EI model now, since $100 is a large inducement. Before I take the JPI unit back, I want to find out what the "group wisdom" is on these two units. Customer support? Ease of installation? Accuracy? Ease of use? Reliability/warrangy? Anything that would make the JPI unit worth the extra $100? Thanks for sharing your opinions. Mooneymite. Quote
Mooneymite Posted December 30, 2011 Author Report Posted December 30, 2011 Quote: JimR Disregard. I see now that you already know about the $100 rebate offer. I just took advantage of it and am looking forward to installing the FS-450 at my next annual inspection. Jim Quote
jacobwall Posted December 30, 2011 Report Posted December 30, 2011 I am also curious on this as well. Quote
danb35 Posted December 31, 2011 Report Posted December 31, 2011 I have the FP-5L in '48Q, and I'm very happy with it. I would expect the LCD on that to be easier to read in bright sunlight than the LED display on the FS450, and the backlighting makes it very readable in low-light conditions. OTOH, the FS450 has two LED displays; one shows the fuel flow all the time, while the other can be switched among a number of other parameters (fuel used, fuel remaining, time remaining, etc.). I'd appreciate this feature, though not enough to change out the instrument. I've had excellent experiences with EI's customer and tech support; I've heard mixed reports of JPI's, though I have no personal experience with them. If you don't have some sort of multi-probe engine monitor, it would be a very worthwhile investment--something like the EI UBG-16 or the JPI 700. Quote
Mooneymite Posted January 8, 2012 Author Report Posted January 8, 2012 Well, based exclusively on purchase price, I bought the FP-5L and am now working on the installation....hopefully, my friendly mechanic will be as enthusiastic as I am about the installation.... Quote
MARZ Posted January 9, 2012 Report Posted January 9, 2012 I picked up the FS450 at Oshkosh last year - caught it with a 200.00 rebate - for now I haven't interfaced it with the 430 but will at somepoint in the future. Worked on the K factor for about 5 flights and got it down to .2 in 20 gallons to the conservative side (says it burned .2 more than actual) and will probably leave it at that. It's a GREAT tool to have no matter the make - but as all things... garbage in garbage out... make sure to update your check list !!! Quote
MATTS875 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Posted January 9, 2012 I also purchased the FP-5L and had it connected to the garmin 430.Not sure if I know what I am doing but does not seem to do a lot of good. The mechanic charged me an additional $175.00 to connect though.BUt I do like the FP5L Quote
MARZ Posted January 9, 2012 Report Posted January 9, 2012 The 430 connection will give distance and ETE which in turn will allow an estimated fuel required / fuel reserve - but that information is based on a snapshot in time gallon per hour burn. Its a nice feature if you spend the majority of your flight in cruise, not so much if you are varying your burn a lot (climbing, descending) Quote
OR75 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Posted January 9, 2012 fuel flow meters are an interesting piece of equipment from an install standpoint. It requires an A&P know-how with the powerplant to install new fuel hoses and the sensor, and avionics to install indicator on the panel and connect to the GPS. The connection to the GNS 430 is not too difficult if the 430 wiring is clean and not too cluttered. Look at the GNS 430 installation manual. just connect 2 wires to RS232 in and out pins (pins 56 and 57 of the P4001 connctor in the back). Of course , the A&P will need the right sub-pin part (get the right part !!) and a crimper. Enter the setup to configure for the right fuel flow RS232 protol (usually Shadin). For the FS450, you have the option of setting the "fuel required" to either next waypoint of the flight plan or final destination (total fule required for all segments) I found the FS450 dat very accurate and I did not need to change the K factor. Quote
Awful_Charlie Posted January 9, 2012 Report Posted January 9, 2012 Quote: Mooneymite Well, based exclusively on purchase price, I bought the FP-5L and am now working on the installation....hopefully, my friendly mechanic will be as enthusiastic as I am about the installation.... Quote
jlunseth Posted January 9, 2012 Report Posted January 9, 2012 FWIW, I have found that the fuel flow meter in my aircraft is the single most accurate measure of fuel left in the tanks that I have. I also have the JPI 930, but its readouts depend on the original factory senders in the wing tanks. The provide very uneven readings, and typically read empty when a tank still has 5 or 6 gallons left, which means for my two tank system that the guages are unable to track nearly an hour's worth of fuel. I also have wing sight gauges but those are worse, reading empty with about ten gallons left per tank, or a total of 20 for both sides (capacity is 75.6). The fuel flow meter, on the other hand, is accurate to 0.1 gallons out of 50 gallons used. So long as I have a good idea of how much fuel I started out with (and that is the trick), the fuel flow meter is a super accurate instrument. Quote
MARZ Posted January 9, 2012 Report Posted January 9, 2012 For calibration purposes I am using the tabs at fill up - that eliminates the guess work as far as a starting point, I park the plane at the same place on the ramp when I fill and have them fill to just touching the bottom of the tabs Quote
Mooneymite Posted January 10, 2012 Author Report Posted January 10, 2012 Quote: Awful_Charlie Careful - I'm not sure which flow sender unit that is, but the FloScan manual states: "Do not place an angled elbow joint immediately prior to the input port of the fuel flow transducer. There should be two inches of straight flow immediately before the transducer input port." Not doing this may mean you have problems getting the K factor to consistently reproduce the actual fuel flow Ben Quote
flyboy0681 Posted January 10, 2012 Report Posted January 10, 2012 My GTN-750 is connected to the fuel flow supplied by the EDM-700. The amount of information returned and displayed is invaluable - and most of all - highly accurate. At any moment I can get a picture of my endurance in terms of hours (hopefully not minutes) and distance. It's well worth the money required to get the two interfaced. Quote
MARZ Posted January 12, 2012 Report Posted January 12, 2012 Quote: flyboy0681 At any moment I can get a picture of my endurance in terms of hours (hopefully not minutes) So many jokes - I must resist - I must resist..... Quote
flyboy0681 Posted January 12, 2012 Report Posted January 12, 2012 In that respect I must admit that at my age I have to agree with the words of Groucho Marx who once remarked "it takes me all night to do what I used to do all night". But I prefer to live with "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy". Quote
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