How much fuel should I be using?

[dobson_c]

Hello all,

I have a 2001 228 Seafarer with hardtop and a 200HP HPDI on the back.

Over four days last weekend I travelled around 100 nautical miles and used around 50 US gallons of fuel and a gallon of 2-stroke.

Is this about right for people on this forum with 228's too?

I know there are a lot to consider, but to assist here are the conditions we boated in:

- mainly river boating
- generally started with a full tank of Gas (92 gallons)
- about 2/3 of the time there were 3 of us in the boat and for the other 1/3 there were 6 of us
- we spent about 2/3 of the time cruising at 4000 --> 4400 RPM and 20 --> 24knts. The other 1/3 of the time we were at around 4, 6, or 8 knts. I used the trim often to get the boat planing and to get the best out of the motor
- wind and seas were minimal

The performance data at Yamaha and Grady say at 4000 RPM I should be getting about 3.5MPG. At 50 gallons, that's 175miles. I got around 100 miles. There's obvioulsy different conditions, and starting and stopping makes a difference, I just wondered if I was running approximately at the same efficiency others on this site had experienced.

Unfortunately my boat didn't come with the fuel flow gauge, so its difficult for me to see much fuel the the boat is using at any given time. Is there an after market fuel flow meter I can install in the fuel line and have mounted near the other guages?

Thanks in advance

 

[gwwannabe]

Based on the info I've seen here regarding HPDI economy, I would guess you're on the low end. My 200 HP Johnson (carb motor) gets me about 2.5 MPG so I would expect an HPDI to do better than that.

Regarding fuel flow meters, there are two common choices. Floscan, which is pretty pricey and Northstar, which is a lot less expensive. The Northstar unit is marketed under several other brands but they all look alike so watch the price.

I have the Northstar and it works very well. It does everything I need it to do and gives me the data I need to select optimum cruise speed and trim. The price of the Northstar varies all over the place so search the Internet extensively. Installation isn't hard at all.

Gary 89 Overnighter

 

[Parthery]

I had an 01 226 with a 200 HPDI. It had the Yamaha Fuel Mgmt system. I typically saw 2.0 - 2.3 mpg depending on how hard and fast I pushed it.

Its a heavy boat, particularly if you have a hardtop. The 228 has another couple hundred pounds for the bracket. I think your consumption is right in line.

You might want to make sure you aren't carrying a bunch of extra stuff that you don't need. The cabin tends to become an oversized lockable locker....

 

[Curmudgeon]

Heavy boat, low end horse power, sounds about right ... :?

 

[Strikezone]

My 225hp OX66's numbers are about in line with what you're saying. A 140-150 mile roundtrip offshore trip will usually burn 70-75 gallons and close to 2 gallons of two stroke oil. That's with 4 guys, ice, tackle, and a boat full of fish on the way home .

I would think the HDPI would get a little better fuel economy but maybe not.

 

[Cocoliso VI]

Heavy boat with heavy load ( 6 people ) 2 mpg is not too bad. I do however question the speed vs rpm numbers. Are you properly propped for that boat. It seems that 4000 rpms for only 20 Kts is a bit on the low side. You say you had to play with the trim to get the boat planing right, this could be a prop issue or just plain too much load for that boat/motor combo.

 

[ocnslr]

Hey dobson, I can't speculate on the fuel burn for your boat, but you are using both NAUTICAL MILES and MILES in your post, and there is a significant difference.

Performance specs will almost always be in Miles/gallon, as it is a higher number than NM/gallon.

Brian

 

[jekyl]

G'day C hris,
Having used the 200hpdi's (and they are usually very efficient) for 2 years I would suggest that 6-8 knots is going to be a really uneconomical speed to get around at and also there is a considerable difference in fuel efficiency between 4,000rpm and 4,400 .

So all things considered it's probably ok but not great.

At displacement speeds try to stay under 1500rpm and no more than 4,2000rpm at cruise for best economy, with minimal trim tab usage. maybe get your load to move around so that you don't need too much tab.

Also something I have been experimenting with is the fact that our fuel is lower octane than U.S. so not as economical....

 

[dobson_c]

Thanks for the responses guys.

100NM is about 115 miles. 3.5MPG should equate to around 33 gallons. I used around 50 gallons. Given all the stop starting, trolling and maintaining speed limits (4, 6, 8 knots), an extra 17 gallons over that distance of travel is probably about right?

I'm heading offshore for our winter in hunt of Tuna, so will have some better ideas later.

Jekyl - did you use a fuel flow meter for the HPDI's? If so, which one?

 

[Sterling Douglas]

Seems great to me

I just got a 1995 228G with Hardtop and 225 Johnson Ocean Runner. I have the auxilary fuel also. I have now made two trips offshore and got about 1.7 mpg. Your fuel economy seems great and I wish I got more.

I don't see how you could get over 3 with 2 strokes.

 

[Korona]

You're right on with fuel and oil consumption. I run a NAVMAN fuel consumption guage on my '81 22 Bimini w/200 HPDI and get between 1.8 and 2.2 NM/Gal, depending on load, sea conditions, wind, etc. 50:1 oil use is good, too. Love my NAVMAN.