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NMEA monitoring of Onan GenSets
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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 |
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Jay, if I were you, I would look at Blue Sea M2 solutions Temperature monitor: https://www.bluesea.com/products/1841/M2_OLED_Temperature_Monitor Volts, Hertz, Amps: https://www.bluesea.com/products/1838/M2_AC_Multimeter
Hi Everyone, |
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And this one is new from Blue Sea: https://www.bluesea.com/products/1850/M2_Vessel_Systems_Monitor
On Wed, Nov 9, 2022 at 4:19 PM Bill Rouse <brouse@...> wrote:
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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 Hi Everyone, |
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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 |
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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 |
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