navman 3100

piers

Seaman
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Messages
56
anyone have any experience with a navman 3100 fuelflow meter.Thinking of buying one thanks.<br /><br /> Thanks PT
 

bossee

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 18, 2002
Messages
727
Re: navman 3100

Hi,<br />Yes I have one.<br />Use it with a Yamaha F115 4-stroke.<br />I have it interfaced with my GPS navigator/Chartplotter so it display also nautical mile per liter(or gallon) so you get fuel economy then. Notice that it does not display liter(or gallon) per nautical mile. You can also display liter(or gallon) per hour.<br />It will display many other interesting numbers also.<br />The only negative thing about the 3100 I can think of is that it needs calibration with 20 or more (exact amount) liter or corresponding gallons of fuel to be accurate. The more amount of exact fuel You calibare with the better precision. Without calibration the error is + - 10%. Calibrated it should be just a few % error.<br /><br />You can read the complete manual in PDF on Navman homepage if You want to have a look what it is capable of before You buy it.<br /><br />I have also made another post about this topic that You can find here:<br /> http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=27;t=001588#000001 <br /><br />Good luck!<br />/Bo
 

piers

Seaman
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Messages
56
Re: navman 3100

Thanks for the info BO.It seems like a good product.You seem to be happy with it.I have twin outboard 150's so any savings on fuel is a good thing.I downloaded the manual off the website.I just have to see if it will fit in my panel.The set up seem s fairly straight forward.Have you found the fuel used that the guage says you have burned to be fairly accurate with what you acctually have burned?<br /><br /> Thanks PT
 

piers

Seaman
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Messages
56
Re: navman 3100

Thanks for the info BO.It seems like a good product.You seem to be happy with it.I have twin outboard 150's so any savings on fuel is a good thing.I downloaded the manual off the website.I just have to see if it will fit in my panel.The set up seem s fairly straight forward.Have you found the fuel used that the guage says you have burned to be fairly accurate with what you acctually have burned?<br /><br /> Thanks PT
 

Dunaruna

Admiral
Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
6,027
Re: navman 3100

I also have one and I love it. Accuracy is totally dependant on the initial calibration, get that right and your good to go.<br /><br />Aldo
 

flips

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 18, 2001
Messages
160
Re: navman 3100

Hi looking to buy fishfinder want gps and fuel<br />monitor. Been looking at posts for long time and<br />getting very lost. navman colour is what i want but i cant put a package together in my head<br />as i have not owned any of these before,its bit much to take in the little brain . I dont mine paying abit for a good set up but i hate adding on later and paying more for mistakes. any help on finding a good package would be great <br />thank Flips
 

jollymon

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
May 2, 2002
Messages
293
Re: navman 3100

I have the Navman 4100 Fishfinder and 5100 Chartplotter. I also have the fuel module, that will hook into either one of them.<br /><br />I have used it on both the 4100 and 5100, and found once I got it calibrated to be very accurate and handy. I only have a 23 gallon tank, with a very inaccurate gauge. <br /><br />Navman has been very responsive when I have had questions, and the one time I had a problem the worked very quickly to reslove it. I had a bad transducer, and I was leaving for vaction in 3 dyas. The sent the replacement part fedex next day.<br /><br />The only thing I do not care for is the do not give you a mount for the sender for the fuel computer. I must be mounted verticle. I mounted mine using a Stainless steel clamp. It has been there for 2 years without a problem.<br /><br />In my opion you can not go wrong with the Navman unit!!
 

islandboat

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 10, 2004
Messages
127
Re: navman 3100

I also have the navman 4100 color fishfinder and fuel monitor sender. It works fine. I compared the price of the 3100 gauge and the price of the 4100 ff and opted for the fishfinder as it had more options. The fishfinder is just a backup to my Sitex. I kept the original fuel sender hooked up and moved it to the inside of the console just as a reference gauge. I once fueled up and forgot to enter the amount in the navman. To calibrate the unit I filled the tank and ran out 100 gallons, then refilled the tank later that weekend. It was only off about 2 gallons.
 

piers

Seaman
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Messages
56
Re: navman 3100

I have a twin eng. set up, so I guess the way to calibrate the unit would be to fill up the tank and run one eng. for the req. time ie. 4 gals. of burn.Fill up and compare it with the fuel used on the 3100.re-cal. if req. and then do the same for the other eng.It is to much of a pain to use a portable tank as the manual suggests.Do you find that the senders are quite a bit out when you do the comparison with the actual burn before you recalibrate?<br /><br /> PT
 

Dunaruna

Admiral
Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
6,027
Re: navman 3100

Flips, best to start a new thread if you have a question not related to the initial topic, but seeing as we're here.......<br /><br />The only navman unit that is GPS/fishfinder is the 6600 which has a 800 x 480 pixel (7") split screen, you can view just 'chart' or 'chart/chart' or 'chart/FF' or just 'FF'. When viewing a split screen both halves are a lot smaller than just a single view. IMO its best to buy two seperate units (a GPS and a FF), your eyes will thank you.<br /><br />All of navmans color GPS units have the fuel flow software built in and will interface with their optional fuel kits. In their color FF range only the 4380 & 4500 will interface with the fuel module. <br /><br />If I was updating my gray scale models I would probably go for the 5500 GPS and the 4350 FF.<br /><br />Aldo
 

flips

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 18, 2001
Messages
160
Re: navman 3100

Dunaruna, i know i should have started a new thead but, you guys know what is and i was taking a shortcut sorry. but i have been getting lost in the info, not all that smart in elec new stuff, motors and repairs i can handle.
 

piers

Seaman
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Messages
56
Re: navman 3100

It seems the best place for me to mount my transducers is on the transom, vertical above the fuel tank,but they will be just downstream of the fuel bulb on both fuel lines.I don't think this should be a problem but does anyone have any comments.Also am I on the right track for calibration refered to on a couple replys earler.<br /><br /> Thanks PT
 

Dunaruna

Admiral
Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
6,027
Re: navman 3100

PT, the main concern with the transducer is air bubbles, that why navman says to mount it vertical. If its at all possible to mount it BELOW the fuel tank then horizontal is o/k (I got that info from a navman tech - its not in the manual). In regard to calibration, once you know the exact capacity of your tank you are 90% done, the rest is simply playing around with the refresh rate until you are confident that it o/k. Like trophy said, after a few fill-ups you will become familiar with its accuracy. When I fill now I'm always within 2 or 3 litres of what the fuel computer says - pretty damn accurate.<br /><br />Aldo
 

piers

Seaman
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Messages
56
Re: navman 3100

Thanks for all your comments it sounds like a good unit.I am looking forward to a little less fuel burn once I find the sweet spot.<br /><br /> PT
 

dajohnson53

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
1,627
Re: navman 3100

Originally posted by prawntrap:<br /> I have a twin eng. set up, so I guess the way to calibrate the unit would be to fill up the tank and run one eng. for the req. time ie. 4 gals. of burn.Fill up and compare it with the fuel used on the 3100.re-cal. if req. and then do the same for the other eng.It is to much of a pain to use a portable tank as the manual suggests.Do you find that the senders are quite a bit out when you do the comparison with the actual burn before you recalibrate?<br />PT
I think you'll find that it is between 5 and 10% before recalibration. I don't have a Navman, but a Standard Horizon - but I believe it uses the same pickup and essentially the same gauge, and therefore think they would be similar. Mine stted in the specs that accuracy should be within 5%, and it turned out to be within 5% right out of the box (1 gallon off in 20 burned) <br /><br />As for calibration, your method would work, the accuracy depending on how accurately you can measure actual fuel burned when you top off the tank. If you're in a "safe place" where it wouldn't be a problem to run the tank dry before the test, fill with a measured amount, and then run dry again, that's what I'd do. I've never had a built in boat fuel tank with which I could really accurately "top off". There would always seem to be a couple gallon variation and even a 1 gallon uncertainty in a 20 gallon test would most likely be as much or more than the factory calibration variance. If you run a 4 - 5 gallon test and have any uncertainty when you top off, I think your calibration is likely to be worse than from the factory. The more gas you use for calibration, the more accurate it will be and the less meaningful the uncertainty. I used 20 gal. I started by running my tank dry, filled with a measured 20 gal, and ran it dry again.
 

piers

Seaman
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Messages
56
Re: navman 3100

Thanks D,<br /><br /> My plan was to fill the tank, which is 135 gal. and then go and burn aprox. 4-5 gals. useing just one engine, then top it off back at the fuel dock and compare with the guage the diff.. recalibrate is necc.Do the same for the other tank.I guess I already said that in my first post, anyhow,the run dry procedure sounds like the best way but would not work with my set-up.I think this plan should work , the only unknown would be if there is a air bubble in the tank before or after the test when I re-fill.<br /><br /> Thanks PT
 
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