According to Seafish a range of complete fuel monitoring systems has been tested at the Camborne School of Mines (University of Exeter) test cell facility. It is said that in spite of having proven fuel saving benefits from fitting a fuel flow meter, it is important to fit that the most suitable fuel flow meter for maximum return on investment.
The study is said to looked at precision ‘out of the box’ for a range of fuel flow meters. The study also considered how best to fit the devices and their cost to fishermen. Four complete systems were reviewed: the Floscan C/M 65000, The Oval MIII Flowmate, the AIC 4008 and the P.H. Fuel consumption meter. It is informed that all of the systems come with a wheelhouse display unit as part of the package. The units can all display and record the fuel flow rate and display total fuel flow. By monitoring flow rates on the displays, skippers can adjust the revolutions of their engines and the propeller pitch to find the optimal fuel consumption level and the most economic speed.
Richard ‘Gus’ Caslake, Project Manager at Seafish Research and Development, opined that to maximise the benefits from fitting a fuel flow meter, vessel operators need to know the diesel feed and return rates at full power for the engine so that the most suitable fuel flow meter can be fitted. He told this is an area that Seafish has been looking at for some time.
