Fuel Consumption

[Rick R.]

Just back from a three day cruise on our 32-200.

When I topped off the fuel tank yesterday I was shocked to see that it only took 3.2 gallons since the last top off 11 engine hours ago.

I have been keeping track of fuel consumption since we purchased her three years ago and figured we are getting about 2 to 2.5 hrs per gallon but this is crazy over 3.4!:nerd:

Anyone else here get this kind of performance from their Universal M25?

 

[Rick R.]

A happy fuel stop.

 

[Dan Callen]

Just back from a three day cruise on our 32-200.

When I topped off the fuel tank yesterday I was shocked to see that it only took 3.2 gallons since the last top off 11 engine hours ago.

I have been keeping track of fuel consumption since we purchased her three years ago and figured we are getting about 2 to 2.5 hrs per gallon but this is crazy over 3.4!:nerd:

Anyone else here get this kind of performance from their Universal M25?

Rick- I have a 1989 Ericson 32-3 with the M25XP. I average .47 gal/hr. @ about 2000 rpm's. Wind, current etc. will affect consumption to some degree. Hope this helps. Dan Callen Ericson 32-3 Andiamo.

 

[Rick R.]

Rick- I have a 1989 Ericson 32-3 with the M25XP. I average .47 gal/hr. @ about 2000 rpm's. Wind, current etc. will affect consumption to some degree. Hope this helps. Dan Callen Ericson 32-3 Andiamo.

Thanks Dan. Maybe we motor sailed more during the 11 hours.

 

[Christian Williams]

I also see very low gph like Rick.

I put it down to my hour meter (Hobbs meter), which of course is on whenever the ignition is on and reads the same for idling as for 80 percent power.

My Hobbs is original equipment, and after moving those numbers for 29 years may not be an atomic chronometer. Easy enough to check against an Iphone timer, I guess.

 

[supersailor]

Fuel Comsumption

Nope! Tracks well with mine. Fuel consumption of well under 1gph a hour. Small diesels pushing boats under hull speed are efficient.

Bob Morrison

 

[Rick R.]

Wow I'm impressed!

One of my clients just bought a 43' Hatteras in Key West and motored it home to St Petersburg. He said he not burned 250 gallons of diesel. Heck, I could have done that trip for less than a tank!

 

[supersailor]

43' Hatteras

Did your friend also mention the 750 gallon tank capacity? It costs a lot to push 40,000 lbs at more than hull speed.

Also, don't trust your fuel gauge. Mine just went dry with the gauge showing 3/4th a tank full. I now note the hours at fill up and figure the hours to empty at .6gph and tape it to the chart table. E-34's are damn hard to row.

Bob Morrison

 

[Rick R.]

Did your friend also mention the 750 gallon tank capacity? It costs a lot to push 40,000 lbs at more than hull speed.

Also, don't trust your fuel gauge. Mine just went dry with the gauge showing 3/4th a tank full. I now note the hours at fill up and figure the hours to empty at .6gph and tape it to the chart table. E-34's are damn hard to row.

Bob Morrison

Good advice Bob.

I only trust my hour meter and logbook where I notate every time we add fuel and the engine hours.

 

[Stu Jackson]

I've been tracking our fuel consumption for the past 16 years with our M25. The XP is essentially the same engine. We get 0.493 gallons per hour. Headwinds and current have nothing to do with fuel consumption because the engine is running regardless of wind & current, and my experience is that idle time and cruising speed average out over the course of operations and are therefore meaningless in this discussion. The only time headwinds and current affect things are if you're measuring miles per gallon and no one I know does that except powerboaters. I put my data on a spreadsheet. http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,3841.0.html

Headwinds & current come into play if you're trying to figure out your operational range.

 

[Randy Rutledge]

Rick,

Looks like you stopped in by LuLu's for fuel. Are you going to be at the BEER cruise this year? I will be bringing the Mirage 236 not my Ericson, hope to see you there.

 

[Rick R.]

Rick,

Looks like you stopped in by LuLu's for fuel. Are you going to be at the BEER cruise this year? I will be bringing the Mirage 236 not my Ericson, hope to see you there.

Close Randy, it was The Wharf 1 mile east on the ICW.

We are going to be sailing in the British Virgin Islands and won't get back to Pensacola till Sunday the 15th. Are you staying around for a while afterwards?

 

[Rick R.]

Update - Better than before?

Stopped by the fuel dock before heading out the other day. We put 15 hours on the motor since the last fill. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I could only take on 4.4 gallons of diesel before it back flowed. :nerd:

Economical!

 

[SeaRogue]

As a data point when I bought my E 32-3 in Niceville and brought it home to Treasure Island it was a 30 hour motor across a calm gulf. The distance was 165 NM and I topped off with 10 gallons at the end of the trip. I don't remember whether the fuel tank was filled in Niceville or Appalachicola. The 165 nm distance is from Appalachicola. In any case I was astounded at the great fuel consumption.

I agree with another poster that you cannot rely upon the fuel guage. My tank recently ran dry with 1/4 showing on the gauge. Can you adjust the fuel guage?

 

[Rick R.]

As a data point when I bought my E 32-3 in Niceville and brought it home to Treasure Island it was a 30 hour motor across a calm gulf. The distance was 165 NM and I topped off with 10 gallons at the end of the trip. I don't remember whether the fuel tank was filled in Niceville or Appalachicola. The 165 nm distance is from Appalachicola. In any case I was astounded at the great fuel consumption.

I agree with another poster that you cannot rely upon the fuel guage. My tank recently ran dry with 1/4 showing on the gauge. Can you adjust the fuel guage?

Agreed on the guage. I only use the hour log to track fuel status.

 

[supersailor]

Fuel Gauge

The original fuel gauges on these boats are junk They may or may not work. The float can fill and sink. If the boat is moving at all they can pitch between full and empty. On the E-34 the gauge is on the tank under the double berth which makes it extremely convenient, especially when under weigh, The E-34's tank is exceptionally shapely being shaped to the aft bottom of a shapely hull and pressing tightly against the underside of the berth. A 3"X6"X6" drop is inset in the front for the fuel fill, sending unit fuel pickup, and return line. This means that the fuel level needs to drop 3" before the gauge begins to realize that the tank is not full. Nearly half the tank is used at that point. Then the rest runs down quickly due to the double V shape. This makes the gauge almost a full-empty indicator with the reading of not quite full meaning head for the fuel dock. I have been working with Wema to come up with a sender with at least a mollicum of accuracy. They say it can be done and they have all of the drawings for the tank. Unfortunately, I have been dealing for six months with them and every time I inquire, I get we'll get back to you with the status. On my last query, I mentioned that the sailing season is here and I have a hole in my nav station panel for a gauge and several loose wires strung from the tank to the nav panel and that I really want to deal with Wema but the time is arriving that I need to talk to Moeller. We'll see if I get anything.

My really accurate way of dealing with the fuel level is I write down the engine hours at fill up and put the amount of the fill up. Then put the hours that the tank will be empty based on prior fuel use. On my boat, I have been getting about .49 gal/hr so rounded off to .5 that is 60 hrs till bone dry. I use a 10 hr reserve time (5 gal) and the tank better be filled by then. I put the piece of paper with the hours at fill up and the hours to be filled by at the top of the breaker panel near the hour meter making it impossible to miss it. It's also right next to the cabin light breaker doubling the chances of looking at it. Haven't run out of fuel since starting this system. I also recalculate the useage per hour each time to see if there are any changes. Any changes could indicate engine proble0ms.

I will let everyone know if I have success with Wema. This design would work with all the 34-2's and 35-3's.

 

[mkollerjr]

Filling up in Portland, the attendant would always look all irritated and have an attitude when we (sail-boaters) would pull up, make him get up from the TV, and then pump us a whopping 4 gallons of fuel (if that). Where's that power boat with the several hundred gallons of fuel capacity?

Mark