For the Mooney, when considering panel upgrades on the top of my mind is cost and getting extra useful functions. I do not have an engine monitor and after watching the webinar of mr Busch from Savvy I very well understand it deserves a place in the cockpit. One needs CHT, EGT and for the turbo maybe TIT and the means to log this data. Devices that do this are readily available on eBay, one just has to get one with the necassary paperwork.
Would it make sense to buy one used (as everybody is going for glass now) and just install that?
Why not? Just make sure you are happy with the model of engine monitor. The old ones are small and terrible in terms of UI. But even some of the slightly newer ones are. Take the very common EDM-830; setting initial fuel on board is totally awkward. And even the way the basic LOP/ROP leaning process works is not to my liking.
Also, even if you can buy one cheap, the big cost will always be the Installation. If you have it done at a shop in NL, 40 hours will be 4000 Euros….
Thank you Bosco! I understand that installation will be a major part of the costs, my mechanic mentioned something in the realm of 30 hrs.
Why not? Was asking myself that very question. Maybe go for glass with the new Garmin G3X for instance and have it all in one box. But I have traffic now, I am WAAS equipped, I have weather with my ADL150, I would love an engine monitor and some means of a back up when the vacuum pumps go south. But that’s it.
I guess I would be happy with a G5 and an engine monitor.
I agree; got for a standalone monitor. I like standalone instruments because they are great value and easy to fix if something breaks.
Not sure about fuel flow; I would have a standalone instrument for that too (if there is panel space). The engine monitoring side requires little or no user interaction (I merely set my EDM700 manually to #6 (the hottest CHT) when I start up and it stays there the rest of the flight. But the fuel side does; you have to load the FOB in there when you fill up, and most of the “old” instruments have a horrible user interface there. For that I would buy a Shadin Microflo.
Yes the installation costs a lot because they have to run 2 wires per cylinder, plus perhaps the oil temp sensor (go for that if you can; it is a great backup). I once saw a guy in a shop spending 2-3 days doing that on a twin (an extreme case). The fitting of the probes doesn’t take long. It should be about 1 days’ work, plus running the wires through. 40 hours is way too long, unless there are special reasons (like that twin, or lots of panel work).
Thank you Peter. I’ve got the FF in a separate unit, only it has no RS-232 output, else I could feed it in to my GNS530W. Now I just set the FF manually so it can give me the predicted landing fuel.
Sounds like you have the GPS feeding the fuel instrument, hence you can get the LFOB at the instrument.
With the later Microflo etc you could have the RS232 going both ways and get the LFOB in both places.
The one I have (an old ex-TBM700 Microflo variant) just has the fuel instrument feeding the GPS.
I would never have a plane without that LFOB (landing fuel on board) feature. Definitely get that sorted. Since they nearly all use the same Floscan 201B sensor, it is just another ex Ebay instrument… probably a few hundred only.
Yes I agree with Peter on the time to install. I did mine in a day with myself working with my engineer. Me doing the horrible work (lying on my back in the cockpit – getting bits of wire in my eyes!) whilst the engineer put in the CHT probes and fuel flow impeller. About 16 man hours including him checking my work.
If you are good with a crimping tool (like the DMC one here) then you could pre-wire the connector which goes to the back of the instrument, running the thermocouple wires to the engine area crimping the eyelet terminals onto them. So the mechanic needs to only fit the probes, and the instrument, and the CB for the instrument power.
You have to crimp the t/c cables because they can’t be soldered (well not without some weird specialist solders, AFAIK). I did my EDM700 some years ago.
I do have a used EDM 900 and a new G5 if you are interested …
I’d say go for it. The C210 I mostly fly these days has an EDM 700 and while the UI is horrendous, I find it invaluable. Wouldn’t want to fly without it and feel sort of naked when flying one of the other club airplanes that don’t have an engine monitor.
