NMEA monitoring of Onan GenSets


Eloi Bamberg
 

Hello,

to monitor voltage and ampers, I put the following monitor above the 220v panel, it works fine and costs only 20 Euros.

KETOTEK Voltmètre Ampèremètre Numérique AC 80-300V 0-100A Tension Courant Metre Volt Amp Afficheur Voltmètre Ampérage Multimètre 2 en 1 avec Transformateur de Courant : Amazon.fr: Bricolage

Eloi
SM2k RedLion 426
Mindelo, Cape Verde


Bill Kinney
 

Jay,

I think you'll find that the MDKDN does not have the kind of sophisticated electronic engine controls that are needed to generate the kind of advanced data you are looking for. For example, its fuel injection system is mechanically controlled, so short of adding a very expensive pair of fuel meters, the fuel consumption can not be measured.

Even the NIM you are looking at only reports out AC voltage, AC frequency, coolant temperature, oil pressure, battery voltage, hours, pre-alarm and fault information.  No electrical power data, and no engine load data.

A simple meter to measure output AC Amps will tell you pretty much everything you need to know about the loading.  

Bill Kinney
SM160,  Harmonie
Le Marin, Martinique.
http://www.cruisingconsulting.com


Dan Carlson
 

Hello Jay, 

If you don't have a device like Bill referenced that measures the voltage, current and frequency of your AC supply (at the main AC breaker box), then that is the simplest place to start. That allows you to not only monitor the load on your generator but it will also allow you to monitor your load on shore power, which is also important. And it can also give you visibility to low or high shore power voltage, and confirm the frequency (Htz) of the shore power (which varies across places like the Caribbean).

If you have the 11kw model, then pulling 30amps is only utilizing about  two-thirds of the capacity. 

Best regards Daniel and Lori Carlson on sv BeBe, SM #387


On Wed, Nov 9, 2022, 5:13 PM Jay Feaver via groups.io <jay=feaver.ca@groups.io> wrote:
Hi Everyone,

I have a question about Generator monitoring.   I would really like to be able to see engine load, AC power supplied, and fuel consumption rate.   A nice bonus would be temperatures etc. The main reason is engine health: I suspect we are significantly under loading our generator and would like to be able to keep an eye on that.  

My first reaction is to connect the generator to our NMEA bus but it seems like a real pain.   If I understand correctly to do this with Onan I need to add a NIM (basically a network interface) to the generator and then a J1939 to N2k converter to get to NMEA.   It's a bit of an expensive sequence and I haven't yet been able to get a list of what PGNs the Onan NIM can generate.  

So I have a question: Has anyone tried this yet?   In particular is anyone monitoring the load on the generator.   If so did you do it via the Onan interface or did you do it externally with a shunt or current clamp?

Thanks in advance, Jay

Some details for techies -
I have an MDKDN ONAN Generator.
the module recommended to me is - 0541-1195-03 SAE J1939 Network Interface Module
Then a yacht devices YDEG-04 NMEA Engine Gateway

I think I want the J1939 PGNs:
       64911 - GTACPP - Generator Total AC Percent Power
       61444 - Percent engine/inverter load


 



CW Bill Rouse Amel Owners Yacht School
720 Winnie, Galveston Island, Texas 77550 
   

On Wed, Nov 9, 2022 at 4:19 PM Bill Rouse <brouse@...> wrote:
Jay, if I were you, I would look at Blue Sea M2 solutions




CW Bill Rouse Amel Owners Yacht School
720 Winnie, Galveston Island, Texas 77550 
   

On Wed, Nov 9, 2022 at 4:13 PM Jay Feaver via groups.io <jay=feaver.ca@groups.io> wrote:
Hi Everyone,

I have a question about Generator monitoring.   I would really like to be able to see engine load, AC power supplied, and fuel consumption rate.   A nice bonus would be temperatures etc. The main reason is engine health: I suspect we are significantly under loading our generator and would like to be able to keep an eye on that.  

My first reaction is to connect the generator to our NMEA bus but it seems like a real pain.   If I understand correctly to do this with Onan I need to add a NIM (basically a network interface) to the generator and then a J1939 to N2k converter to get to NMEA.   It's a bit of an expensive sequence and I haven't yet been able to get a list of what PGNs the Onan NIM can generate.  

So I have a question: Has anyone tried this yet?   In particular is anyone monitoring the load on the generator.   If so did you do it via the Onan interface or did you do it externally with a shunt or current clamp?

Thanks in advance, Jay

Some details for techies -
I have an MDKDN ONAN Generator.
the module recommended to me is - 0541-1195-03 SAE J1939 Network Interface Module
Then a yacht devices YDEG-04 NMEA Engine Gateway

I think I want the J1939 PGNs:
       64911 - GTACPP - Generator Total AC Percent Power
       61444 - Percent engine/inverter load


 

Jay, if I were you, I would look at Blue Sea M2 solutions




CW Bill Rouse Amel Owners Yacht School
720 Winnie, Galveston Island, Texas 77550 
   

On Wed, Nov 9, 2022 at 4:13 PM Jay Feaver via groups.io <jay=feaver.ca@groups.io> wrote:
Hi Everyone,

I have a question about Generator monitoring.   I would really like to be able to see engine load, AC power supplied, and fuel consumption rate.   A nice bonus would be temperatures etc. The main reason is engine health: I suspect we are significantly under loading our generator and would like to be able to keep an eye on that.  

My first reaction is to connect the generator to our NMEA bus but it seems like a real pain.   If I understand correctly to do this with Onan I need to add a NIM (basically a network interface) to the generator and then a J1939 to N2k converter to get to NMEA.   It's a bit of an expensive sequence and I haven't yet been able to get a list of what PGNs the Onan NIM can generate.  

So I have a question: Has anyone tried this yet?   In particular is anyone monitoring the load on the generator.   If so did you do it via the Onan interface or did you do it externally with a shunt or current clamp?

Thanks in advance, Jay

Some details for techies -
I have an MDKDN ONAN Generator.
the module recommended to me is - 0541-1195-03 SAE J1939 Network Interface Module
Then a yacht devices YDEG-04 NMEA Engine Gateway

I think I want the J1939 PGNs:
       64911 - GTACPP - Generator Total AC Percent Power
       61444 - Percent engine/inverter load


Jay Feaver
 

Hi Everyone,

I have a question about Generator monitoring.   I would really like to be able to see engine load, AC power supplied, and fuel consumption rate.   A nice bonus would be temperatures etc. The main reason is engine health: I suspect we are significantly under loading our generator and would like to be able to keep an eye on that.  

My first reaction is to connect the generator to our NMEA bus but it seems like a real pain.   If I understand correctly to do this with Onan I need to add a NIM (basically a network interface) to the generator and then a J1939 to N2k converter to get to NMEA.   It's a bit of an expensive sequence and I haven't yet been able to get a list of what PGNs the Onan NIM can generate.  

So I have a question: Has anyone tried this yet?   In particular is anyone monitoring the load on the generator.   If so did you do it via the Onan interface or did you do it externally with a shunt or current clamp?

Thanks in advance, Jay

Some details for techies -
I have an MDKDN ONAN Generator.
the module recommended to me is - 0541-1195-03 SAE J1939 Network Interface Module
Then a yacht devices YDEG-04 NMEA Engine Gateway

I think I want the J1939 PGNs:
       64911 - GTACPP - Generator Total AC Percent Power
       61444 - Percent engine/inverter load