Fuel consumption gauge for a Wakesetter VLX 2008

[roberni]

Hello

I'm wondering if anyone here has some good experince with measuring precisely the fuel consumption on their boat?

I want to know if it exists any fuel consumption instrument which can tell me precisely how much fuel the motor has used after EVERY SINGLE wakeboard session me and my friends have. E.g. if a friend has been riding for 20 minutes, I would really like to know precisely how much money to charge him.

As the boat owner I always end up during the season to pay for parts of my friends riding sessions. I badly need to find a fair solution to this problem.

Best regards,
Robert
NORWAY

[RTS]

Hello

I'm wondering if anyone here has some good experince with measuring precisely the fuel consumption on their boat?

I want to know if it exists any fuel consumption instrument which can tell me precisely how much fuel the motor has used after EVERY SINGLE wakeboard session me and my friends have. E.g. if a friend has been riding for 20 minutes, I would really like to know precisely how much money to charge him.

As the boat owner I always end up during the season to pay for parts of my friends riding sessions. I badly need to find a fair solution to this problem.

Best regards,

Robert

NORWAY

Plenty of systems out there to monitor fuel flow. Price will go up depending on your required level of 'precision'. Something like this might work.

http://www.amazon.com/Floscan-7000-20B-1-Single-Engine-System/dp/B000K2KCOC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431816775&sr=8-1&keywords=floscan+7000

I'd look at ones designed for aircraft...they are very precise.

However, before I dropped the coin on a system to precisely monitor your customers, I mean friends, fuel usage on your boat, I would consider a couple other things:

1. Once you have the precise total for each friend, what do you multiply by? The price you paid for the gas in the tank, or the price being charged that day at the pump? As a friend, I would be absolutely pissed about paying $3.10/gallon for the fuel already in your tank if the price that day at the station was $3.05.

2. Your gonna need a totalizer for your tow vehicle, also. No sense letting that slide.

3. Get some better friends if they are not willing to pay what you ask if you must ask for money to offset fuel cost.

4. Consider a cheaper hobby

5. Learn to 'ghost surf'. That will actually solve all your problems right there. Search this site for how to do it. Best thing ever for making sure no one is taking advantage of you. No worries about someone sneaking one of your beers, either....BONUS!!!

EDIT: And something tells me I've just been punked...no way OP's post is serious. If it was a goof...well played, sir.

Edited May 16, 2015 by RTS

[roberni]

Plenty of systems out there to monitor fuel flow. Price will go up depending on your required level of 'precision'. Something like this might work.

http://www.amazon.com/Floscan-7000-20B-1-Single-Engine-System/dp/B000K2KCOC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431816775&sr=8-1&keywords=floscan+7000

I'd look at ones designed for aircraft...they are very precise.

However, before I dropped the coin on a system to precisely monitor your customers, I mean friends, fuel usage on your boat, I would consider a couple other things:

1. Once you have the precise total for each friend, what do you multiply by? The price you paid for the gas in the tank, or the price being charged that day at the pump? As a friend, I would be absolutely pissed about paying $3.10/gallon for the fuel already in your tank if the price that day at the station was $3.05.

2. Your gonna need a totalizer for your tow vehicle, also. No sense letting that slide.

3. Get some better friends if they are not willing to pay what you ask if you must ask for money to offset fuel cost.

4. Consider a cheaper hobby

5. Learn to 'ghost surf'. That will actually solve all your problems right there. Search this site for how to do it. Best thing ever for making sure no one is taking advantage of you. No worries about someone sneaking one of your beers, either....BONUS!!!

EDIT: And something tells me I've just been punked...no way OP's post is serious. If it was a goof...well played, sir.

Thanks for your reply! Of course I already know there exists system for monitoring fuel flow, but I wanted to know if it was any particular system which was commonly in use when it comes to wakeboard boats. Here in Norway I guess it's about five real wakeboard boats in total, so I don't really have anyone to ask for advise about this problem.

I've checked out your link, the FloScan 7000, and that's exactly what I need. Thanks. I just can't seem to find out if it is a complete installation set, or if it's just the instrument. What about the sensor, wiring, etc.?

3. No, they're ok. It's just difficult to calculate the price when we don't know exactly their fuel consumption

4. I ride more cable than boat

5. Haha, no thanks.

Regards,

Robert

[RTS]

Well, I guess your post was serious....so my apologies for my wise crack comment(s) above.

These type of fuel monitoring systems are not common (in fact, pretty much unheard of) on recreational towboats, so it will be tough to get the information you are looking for...even on this site.

People around here monitor fuel flow by looking at their credit card gas receipts at the end of the month.

[Dodger40]

My old boat had Mercruiser Smartcraft gauges and it did keep track of how much fuel I burned. The previous owner used it as a gas gauge. I think your best bet would be to get an average amount of gas you burn per hour and time how long your friends are behind the boat.

It seems like a lot of work to me, which is not why I take my boat out. Is this your business? If so I totally get why you would need to charge. Most guys who charge do so by the 20 minute increment.

[roberni]

Well, I guess your post was serious....so my apologies for my wise crack comment(s) above.

These type of fuel monitoring systems are not common (in fact, pretty much unheard of) on recreational towboats, so it will be tough to get the information you are looking for...even on this site.

People around here monitor fuel flow by looking at their credit card gas receipts at the end of the month.

No problem, thanks again for your replyes.

Maby I should reconsider continuing with my old system which is a fixed amount per minute, just make better sure it's always high enough so that I don't end up loosing money. Another problem is that we need to drive the boat for about 20 minutes each way to get to our wake spot. Hmm... Anyway, it helped to get som feedback on this problem

[roberni]

My old boat had Mercruiser Smartcraft gauges and it did keep track of how much fuel I burned. The previous owner used it as a gas gauge. I think your best bet would be to get an average amount of gas you burn per hour and time how long your friends are behind the boat.

It seems like a lot of work to me, which is not why I take my boat out. Is this your business? If so I totally get why you would need to charge. Most guys who charge do so by the 20 minute increment.

Hello

It would just be so much easier and fair to know the amount of fuel burned after every session. It's so many variables, like how much ballast you take on, if the wedge is down or not, how many passangers, etc. They all affect the amount of fuel burned...

You too have the VLX? Can I ask you how much gas you burn on a 20 minutes wakeboard session on average? And with how much ballast?

No, I'm not running a business with my boat, I just realizing more and more that I can't afford paying for parts of my friends sessions - and it's my responsibility to figure out a charge which is fair for both me and them

[Dodger40]

Hi There,

I imagine gas is way more expensive in Norway then in the U.S. Yes I do have a VLX. I've never sat down to think of the gallons per hour, but I would imagine it is between 7-10 gallons per hour, maybe more depending if you run extra ballast and wedge. Surfing will consume more. In a day with 4 adults and two children getting 2 pulls each we burn between 1/2 to 3/4 a tank. If we take friends or family they either fill our tank every other time or give us around $40. I have never asked for the money, but it is always appreciated because our hobby isn't cheap! Gas here is around $3.00 a us gallon. I imagine you are paying for liters?

[roberni]

Hi There,

I imagine gas is way more expensive in Norway then in the U.S. Yes I do have a VLX. I've never sat down to think of the gallons per hour, but I would imagine it is between 7-10 gallons per hour, maybe more depending if you run extra ballast and wedge. Surfing will consume more. In a day with 4 adults and two children getting 2 pulls each we burn between 1/2 to 3/4 a tank. If we take friends or family they either fill our tank every other time or give us around $40. I have never asked for the money, but it is always appreciated because our hobby isn't cheap! Gas here is around $3.00 a us gallon. I imagine you are paying for liters?

Thanks for the data. Ok, I think I understand now why my situation is more problematic than for you guys in the U.S. Based on the prices you just wrote, it costs more than three times as much for the gas here in Norway