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Flow meter

F

Franz Eckert

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi there.

Maybe some of you gurus have an inexpensive idear of how to make a flow
meter that can measure the usage af gas to the engines. I don't really care
if it is analog or digital, as long as i can built it myself :)

With kind regards, Franz ( Denmark)
 
F

Franz Eckert

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi Larry.

Actually i have found a flow measuring device, rather cheap too. But i
should have pointed out that i was in search for the schematics for
the read out device.

So what i need is a schematic that i can make a digital or analog
read out of the impulses from the flow sensor. And it would be nice if it
was not
Dependent on a notebook.

Nice links, but 'damn' they are expensive :)
Wkr
Franz
 
L

Larry

Jan 1, 1970
0
So what i need is a schematic that i can make a digital or analog
read out of the impulses from the flow sensor. And it would be nice if
it was not
Dependent on a notebook.

How about a cheap pulse counter?

http://private.addcom.de/KeithWilson/Projects/imco.htm
http://www.boondog.com/\tutorials\8254\8254.htm

Any simple analog tachometer circuit could easily be recalibrated to be
used to count these pulses:
http://www.mindspring.com/~corvair/earlytach.html

This NE555 common timer IC schematic would be ideal!
http://www.electronics-tutorials.com/devices/555-tachometer.htm
You didn't say how big the pulses are coming from the device. This circuit
converts any bigger-than-5V pulses to 5V with the zener on pin 2, If your
pulses are smaller, simply add a transistor amp to make them bigger on the
input where the points go. Take the scale out of the meter movement, paint
it white and make a new scale in litres/hour with your boat's maximum fuel
consumption about 90% of the scale. The 50K resistor and .1uF cap over the
meter sets the timing. Fool with those values to make it read your slower
pulses. You might want to add a big electrolytic cap right across the
meter if the meter pulses in so slow an application, smoothing it out. The
theory is on the page.
 
F

Franz Eckert

Jan 1, 1970
0
Heeeyyyy Larry.

If you ever come around on my edge of the universe, i will sure buy you a
large beer.
This is exactly what i was searching for, youre a genious.

Wkr
Franz
 
J

johnhh

Jan 1, 1970
0
What did you find for flow measuring?

Franz Eckert said:
Hi Larry.

Actually i have found a flow measuring device, rather cheap too. But i
should have pointed out that i was in search for the schematics for
the read out device.

So what i need is a schematic that i can make a digital or analog
read out of the impulses from the flow sensor. And it would be nice if it
was not
Dependent on a notebook.

Nice links, but 'damn' they are expensive :)
Wkr
Franz
 
F

Franz Eckert

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi there.

Goto www1.uk.conrad.com and search for component number 187151 - 14

That should do the trick, don't you think?

Wkr
Franz
 
L

Larry

Jan 1, 1970
0
youre a genious.

Shhhh....don't tell everyone! The government will have me working on
Shuttle problems if this gets out!....shhhh....(c;

Any great Danish beer would be ok....(c;
 
L

Larry

Jan 1, 1970
0
That should do the trick, don't you think?

Wkr
Franz

My friend, Dan, had a Hatteras 56 motor yacht with twin Detroit Diesel
9V92TA beasts turning 32", 4-bladed wheels. I used to call it "The Train"
because of its 32 volt electrical system, like a train. The engines were
735hp each with the twin turbochargers, one on each bank of 4 cylinders on
each engine.

One day I was "cleaning out the soot" about 5 miles offshore in the
Atlantic from the main helm below and Dan happen to catch a glimpse of the
dual-reading Flowscan flow meters. I thought he was going to have a heart
attack when he saw how HIGH I could make them read "cleaning out the soot".
Kay, his wife, thought it was wonderful as she came up on her plane steady
as a rock from the Naiad Stabilizers I had repaired a couple of weeks
previous. (Blown fuse buried under the engine room false decking.)
"Geez!", he exclaimed. "I didn't know you could make them read THAT
HIGH!", he kept on over the roar of nearly 1500 hp of 2-stroke diesel
power.

I miss his boat. I spent many weekends in its bilge fixing the twin
gensets (8KVA and 20KVA Onans), 5 zone air conditioners, dual Galley Maid
water pumps and their controls that never worked. It took hours to pump
the green frog water out of the main fresh water tanks after i got them
running. That water had been growing in there for years! They were like
trying to fill a swimming pool with a garden hose...

After he sold it, Kay said she was going to buy us a big diesel engine on a
stand and put it in their new garage to make us happy....(c;
 
E

Ed

Jan 1, 1970
0
If you feel nostalgic, feel free and change my oil in my 671s or clean
out my breathers. I won't even charge you for the experience!!!!
 
L

Larry

Jan 1, 1970
0
If you feel nostalgic, feel free and change my oil in my 671s or clean
out my breathers. I won't even charge you for the experience!!!!

Had a 6-71 hooked to a big DC generator aboard USS Everglades AD-24 to
power my calibration lab through a DC to 60Hz m-g set, 25KW? Something
like that. Great engine. Uncle never complained about all the hours I put
on her...(c;

Er, ah, I'll pass on the oil changing....thanks.
 
B

Bruce in Alaska

Jan 1, 1970
0
Larry <[email protected]> said:
My friend, Dan, had a Hatteras 56 motor yacht with twin Detroit Diesel
9V92TA beasts turning 32", 4-bladed wheels. I used to call it "The Train"
because of its 32 volt electrical system, like a train. The engines were
735hp each with the twin turbochargers, one on each bank of 4 cylinders on
each engine.

I hate to break it to you.. but Detroit diesel NEVER made a 9V92
engine.... Maybe it was a typo for 8V92.....


Bruce in alaska
 
F

Franz Eckert

Jan 1, 1970
0
Okay Larry, let me tell you my story.

Here in Demark we pay so many taxes, that we have to do everything ourselves
:)

For 5 years ago i bought a old military coast control boat.
30 feet, 5 tons, two Mercedes 180 installed.

I was happy, my own boat, yappiiii.

But then the engines began to fail, they were old, very old. I took out one,
and send it for a complete overhaul.
That costs me in the area of 2000 Dollars. NO MORE i said.
So when the second began to fail, and was due to a overhaul, i simply took
out the old engines, and then started
to remove all the old wood that was rotten. One thing lead to another, ans
soon i was standig there with a 30 foot
open rowboat. Everything was rotten. I had to reinforce the bow with 10
layers og glasfiber, because there was
absolutely no wood underneath.
At the same time i removed about 15 pipes through the hull, they were of no
use, and i don't know what they ever where there for.
So i started looking around for some suitable engines (cheap), and found two
Golf Diesel 1.6 liters on the Internet, they costs me about 80 $.
It took me (and a friend) about 2 months making my gears fit on the new
engines, but finally we succeded.
Then i started rebuilding the entire boat, completely new interior, and new
top.
It has taken me almost 3 years, and i am still not done yet.
The gears were of the type with a loooong gearchange handle, so usual morse
cable would not hold for long ( i had already broken 3).
So i thought that maybe air pressure and one air piston on each gear maybe
could do the trick. And despite what everybody told me, i made it work.
I also had to make a new fuel tank. There were two in the old days, but they
flowed from one tank to the other, in a 1/4 inch hose, that took about 1
hour before they leveled out. The fuel outlet was in the bottom of the tank,
so my filters keept getting real dirty.
Almost everything was made by peoble that had absolutely no idear about what
they were doing. So redoing the boat was a good idear, it has become much
stronger and reliable, and now i know exactly how everything is put
together.

So now i can enjoy sailing again, but there still needs a lot of finishing
touch to the boat.
Tell me, just to make me real shitty overhere, what is the comon price on
two used disel engines, around 70-100 HP, with gear and everything?

If you like i can send you a link to some pictures that illustrates me
rebuilding the boat.

Wkr
Franz
 
O

Ole Skovrup

Jan 1, 1970
0
Okay Larry, let me tell you my story.

Here in Demark we pay so many taxes, that we have to do
everything ourselves
:)

For 5 years ago i bought a old military coast control boat.
30 feet, 5 tons, two Mercedes 180 installed.

I was happy, my own boat, yappiiii.

But then the engines began to fail, they were old, very
old. I took out one, and send it for a complete overhaul.
That costs me in the area of 2000 Dollars. NO MORE i said.
So when the second began to fail, and was due to a
overhaul, i simply took out the old engines, and then
started to remove all the old wood that was rotten. One
thing lead to another, ans soon i was standig there with a
30 foot open rowboat. Everything was rotten. I had to
reinforce the bow with 10 layers og glasfiber, because
there was absolutely no wood underneath.
At the same time i removed about 15 pipes through the hull,
they were of no use, and i don't know what they ever where
there for. So i started looking around for some suitable
engines (cheap), and found two Golf Diesel 1.6 liters on
the Internet, they costs me about 80 $. It took me (and a
friend) about 2 months making my gears fit on the new
engines, but finally we succeded. Then i started rebuilding
the entire boat, completely new interior, and new top.
It has taken me almost 3 years, and i am still not done
yet. The gears were of the type with a loooong gearchange
handle, so usual morse cable would not hold for long ( i
had already broken 3). So i thought that maybe air pressure
and one air piston on each gear maybe could do the trick.
And despite what everybody told me, i made it work. I also
had to make a new fuel tank. There were two in the old
days, but they flowed from one tank to the other, in a 1/4
inch hose, that took about 1 hour before they leveled out.
The fuel outlet was in the bottom of the tank, so my
filters keept getting real dirty. Almost everything was
made by peoble that had absolutely no idear about what they
were doing. So redoing the boat was a good idear, it has
become much stronger and reliable, and now i know exactly
how everything is put together.

So now i can enjoy sailing again, but there still needs a
lot of finishing touch to the boat.
Tell me, just to make me real shitty overhere, what is the
comon price on two used disel engines, around 70-100 HP,
with gear and everything?

If you like i can send you a link to some pictures that
illustrates me rebuilding the boat.

Wkr
Franz


Yo, Franz
Would love to see that!

The last madman ist born yet - I thought it was me....
I have started out on a 28-footer GRP fishing boat hull, sawn
in 3 pieces (and then some)to get decommission pay from the
guvinmint.
I now have the MF aligned and put together - almost all holes
patched, filled, ground etc - and now it awaits osmosis
coating on a totally raw bottom.

But I get off the track....

We're talking engines here...
Well at the local scrapyard I could get a renovated drive line
105 HP marine diesel engine with gear, driveshaft, stern tube
and prop for roughly 10,000 USD + 25% taxes (The VAT has never
caught on in Jutland, however).
And we are talking about us normal, half-broke guys, right?

So good & wise people said:
Since running a diesel with a propeller means 75% output on
the prop, and since the load on the engine corresponds to
constantly driving uphill, go for someting big and solid (I
need 1.5 t. of ballast anyway) and prefreably 6 or 8 cylinders
to minimize vibration.

So my choice of engine turned out to be a Nissan diesel
(Patrol style) 6-cyl. 130 Hp about 15 yr. old diesel. reputed
to be indestructible.
Of course I have to construct a watercooled exhaust flange in
order not to get an exhaust that's too hot to handle, and
provide it with a fresh water cooling system (Sea water won't
do for a number of reasons).
No sweat - almost.
But I got the first one for free - we will test run that one
during the winter and if it turns out OK, we drop it in.
The engine room is made with ample space for a bigger engine,
though.
But the bottom line of this long yarn is that I can get a
renovated and tested Patrol engine for roughly 2000 USD.

The Golf diesel is a good one - but beware the cooling!

And anyway it's better to lose an engine than THE engine :)

Good Luck
Ole
 
F

Franz Eckert

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi there.

Nope, if you make a T piece on the return fuel, you won't need more that
one.
The return fuel is only there because you need a way to get the air out of
your system, once it is out, you can simply return the (return) to your fuel
system.
So if you put the flow sensor on the intake from the tank, and then make
your return system from the pump go in after the flow sensor, you would have
an accurate measuring. But offcourse you would have to remember to switch
the return system back to the tank if you change filters or anything else
that lets air in to your fuel system. Everything depends on that you don't
have any leaks in your fuel line.

Wkr
Franz
 
G

Glenn Ashmore

Jan 1, 1970
0
I am afraid the returned fuel does a lot more than just remove air bubbles.
Routing it directly back into the engine is not a good idea. The extra fuel
cools the injectors. When it does it gets hot. When it gets hot the
specific gravity goes down and when the specific gravity goes down it
contains less energy per unit of volume. The engine's power rating
decreases about 2% for every 15C increase in fuel temperature. The hot
fuel also does not cool the injectors properly so they no longer deliver the
correct amount of fuel.

The extra fuel should be returned to the tank to cool off and the tank's
return fitting should be located away from the pick up for the same reason.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com
 
G

Glenn Ashmore

Jan 1, 1970
0
I should add:
As the injectors heat up beyond their design temperature they deliver less
fuel which leans out the mixture. Lean engines run hotter which heats up
the injectors more which heats up the fuel more. As the fuel heats up its
vapor pressure goes up. When the vapor pressure exceeds the boost pump
pressure it makes bubbles and bubbles make VAPOR LOCK.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com
 
M

Matt Colie

Jan 1, 1970
0
Actually, both Meihdert and Glen are correct.
And, if you were to try to subtract the return flow from the supply,
there is a good chance you will get negative fuel flow at low loads
unless the temperature correction is Perfect...(Somebody tried it - Once)

What he can do is get or build a little tiny cooler. Put it in the
return line and then route the return line to the lift pump's fuel
filter and put an upside down empty filter housing after that to collect
bubbles.

This is substantially what we did in any number of diesel engine labs
over the last multiple decades. Or maybe we used a cooler and a
float/level tank (like a giant carburetor float bowl) but this would be
most unsuitable for a boat.

Matt Colie (a Detroit lab rat for a couple of decades)
Lifelong Waterman, Licensed Mariner and Congenital Sailor
 
G

Glenn Ashmore

Jan 1, 1970
0
Meindert Sprang said:
Aren't you mixing up diesel and gas engines now? As far as I know, you
regulate the power of a diesel with the amount of injected fuel, as
opposed
to the intake valve of a gas engine. So you cannot have a lean diesel
engine, right?

I don't think so. An injector is very precisely machined. As it heats up
the plunger expands. Because it is longer than wide its displacement
decreases so less fuel gets injected. Unless the engine has a sophisticated
EDC that compensated for temperature you will get a leaner mixture. It
can't lean out as much as tightening down a gas carburetor but it does
reduce fuel flow while the same amount of air is being introduced into the
cylinder.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com
 
G

Glenn Ashmore

Jan 1, 1970
0
Meindert Sprang said:
I don't understand this. If the injector gives less fuel, won't the engine
simply go down in revs?

Oops! Small brain fart. You are right. It will reduce power, not increase
the combustion temperature.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com
 
M

Me

Jan 1, 1970
0
Franz Eckert said:
Hi there.

Nope, if you make a T piece on the return fuel, you won't need more that
one.
The return fuel is only there because you need a way to get the air out of
your system, once it is out, you can simply return the (return) to your fuel
system.

If only you had a "clue" about the technology your spewing about.....
The Return line isn't there to bleed air out of the injector lines...
ALL Diesel Injectors are Fuel Cooled, and the Injector Pump ALWAYS
puts more fuel up the Injector lines than the Injector puts into the cyl.
The difference is drained back to the fuel tank via the Return Line.
If you don't have a Return line your going to be spilling the extra fuel
somewhere. Just try this experiment, if you think different....Take
your Return Line and plug it off, to say 60Psi...when your Return Line
fills up, one of two things will happen. Either your engine will stop
running due to overpressure on the injecter Returns, or you will burst
the plugged off Return Line and spew fuel out the break.

Me
 
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