Engine monitors

[Big Ed]

Who's got 'em? Post pics!

That is gradually rising to top of my wish list. I dunno that I need it, but I want it.

Seems like the trend nowadays is to get a big rectangular GEM and consolidate all of your engine instruments on one screen. MP, RPM, oil temp/pressure, fuel pressure/flow, amps/volts, and EGT/CHT bar graph.

I would rather stay with old school steam gauges for now. My old eyes like those big 3 1/8" dials for MP and Tach, and I'm fine with round dials for oil pressure, oil temp, fuel pressure, and amps. I would like to swap my mechanical oil and fuel pressure gauges for electric, so I can remove the sensing lines from the cockpit, but I recently discovered I can do that with Mitchell round gauges for about $100 each. I suppose if I was doing a new panel, it would make sense to leap into the modern age, but piecemeal replacement works better for me right now.

There are two things I would like to have, though. First, I would love to have 4 cylinder EGT/CHT for early identification of trouble. Right now I just have a single EGT.

Second, I'm starting to realize that the way I use my aircraft, a fuel flow gauge and calculator would be a big advantage. I'm stretching my legs to 3:30 on 4 hour tanks, which means that any small mistake in planning could leave me high and dry. Literally dry.

My eyes are aging, and I have to use glasses now to read details, so the idea of a color screen with green/yellow/red status indicators really appeals to me. I ran across this aerospace logic unit and the presentation really appeals to me. The price is nice at $1500 too.



The downside is no fuel flow, so I would have to spring for another $500-$1000 and find another gauge hole eventually. Or I could spend another $1500 and get a CGR-30p or EDM-900. But again, not a big fan of fancy, complicated displays.

 

[Bartman]

My project plane is very likely getting the EDM900 from JPI. I think it was a combination of cost and functionality that pointed me towards that one. There is a larger version of the 900 but the features are mostly the same, just the display is bigger. Mostly I want lower weight and individual cylinder monitoring for problem awareness before the problems become life or budget threatening.

 

[Big Ed]

My project plane is very likely getting the EDM900 from JPI. I think it was a combination of cost and functionality that pointed me towards that one. There is a larger version of the 900 but the features are mostly the same, just the display is bigger. Mostly I want lower weight and individual cylinder monitoring for problem awareness before the problems become life or budget threatening.

If I was starting from scratch I would definitely go with a big flat panel monitor like the EDM900. No brainer to consolidate all the instrumentation.

In my case, I've already got most of the indicators, just need the cylinder monitoring and maybe fuel flow.

 

[Big Ed]

Zeroing in on the Insight G2 as best bang for the buck. Has 4 cylinder EGT/CHT, fuel flow, data logging, auto dimming, STC as primary, modern full color display, and fits in a 2 1/4" hole. Cost is under $2K for FAA STC approved device.



I looked very hard at the JPI EDM 730/830 and the EI CGR-30P. Both are impressive devices, but ultimately are overkill for a plane like mine.

 

[Bartman]

Thanks for the follow up and you've sorted through the options Ed. The fact that it has all of those features, the display is color, AND it drops into a 2 1/4" hole is pretty nice.