JPI Fuel scan

[or170B]

Has anyone installed a JPI FS 450 in their plane? I am wanting to install this this winter. I hate watching those fuel guage needles bounce between 1/4 and 3/4 thanks for your info.

[n3437d]

Like you, I was tired of watching bouncy needles. Also I am a "gadget guy." Last Novemeber I bought the system and had it installed at a well qualified shop. It does what it is supposed to do so I am happy with that.
I will share with you the pros and cons on what I experienced. First and foremost, never ASSUME the the "experienced avionics guy" is a pilot. He wasn't. Alsways state exactly where you want this instrument to go on the panel. I was lax in this reagard. The 450 was installed in a vacant hole to the extreme right, exactly in my line of vision with the yoke. Of course this will vary with pilot stature. I am short and now I have to look under, look over, look around, unbuckle and get up and walk over to the other side to get a good view. joking on the last part. OK so much for the whinning. It is rather accurate with factory K factor but it does take some rather long flights (2hr+) or many shorter hops to "fine tune" the K factor. The end result is it will report within <0.5gal used. Now the really negative things and there are two. I was amazed that the developer still used leds rather than liquid crystal display, I knew this but... Some of the displays are not immediately intuitive. Example "?" looks like a partial backwards "7" No biggy but the display could have been a whole lot better and more informative. Now the last and really big con, setting up and using takes some getting use to. Even though it comes with a video, you still need to use it often. I carry the manual with me but I also made a "cheat sheet." The two things you have to be concerned about are "topping off" and resetting the FS450, or partial fueling. The good news is that it will let you electronically "off load" fuel if you should make an error.
In summation I like it but just like anything else, it is only as accurate as the pilot makes it and uses it.
Hope this helps.
Joe N3437D

[bentley]

I put one in about 3 years ago and it's worked fine. We used the factory K settings and it's accurate to within limits that i would accept (I don't fly or plan to within 0.5 gal). I didn't receive a video but found the quick ref card adequet but keep it handy for reference on operations other than the usual fill/resetting. About 6 months ago the automatic scan feature seemed to quit meaning that you must manually scan through the readouts. Not sure if I did something by accident while in flight to de-activate the scan or if it has malfunctioned but I leave it on "hrs remaining" anyway.

RB(just up the road from you at CVO)

[n3437d]

I want to make one thing clear. I do NOT run my tanks to within 0.5 gal. Just that when in the calibration stage I found that actual and reported were very close. I seldom exceed 2.5 hrs without refueling mainly for bladder relief. It has been a year now since installation and never has it fail

[punkin170b]

I really like mine for all the reasons mentioned above. The display is a bit "primative" by the latest standards, but I didn't think it was too hard to figure out. I installed it myself with the supervision/sign-off of an IA. It talks to my Garmin 250XL and gives fuel to the waypoint and fuel remaining afterwards too. A nice unit with good factory support as well.

Matt

[Glynn]

Mine has been in use for 2 years now and it has become as useful & important to me as GPS.

Don't confuse useful & important as total dependence, BUT...remember when you first tried Loran & then GPS. They've made our flying safer & simpler by verifying what our flight plan says should be happening.

I highly recommend the unit.

Thanks, Glynn - 1952 170 B.

[N3243A]

Good to hear all the positive feedback on this unit. JPI in conjunction with Aircraft Spruce was practically giving them away at Oshkosh this past summer with discounts on top of rebates so I bought one. It will be installed next week during annual. I think there will be real value in in the FS-450 fuel data when flying west of the Alaska Range mountains where fuel stops are 100-150 miles apart.

Bruce

[or170B]

Thanks for all the info on this, now I want to get one. Anyone know the best price?

[n3437d]

FREE

[CraigH]

I installed one in the RV a couple months back. I was very happy with the unit until it started developing intermittent problems with the transducer, followed by the transducer going completely dead. This happened approximately 2 weeks after installation.

No problem, I know things break and it was covered under warranty. However, when it came time to get the unit repaired I became quickly disgusted with JPI's level of customer service. Rather than re-type the whole episode, I'll cut/paste my experience as posted on another forum:

As some of you know, I bought a FS-450 a couple months back. After installation, it worked fine most of the time, but would occasionally register a 0.0 gph fuel flow on the ground. After about 5-6 hours of use, it suddenly registered 0.0 gph in flight and nothing I did would start it reading again.

My A&P contacted JPI, who sent him a testing module ($30) to determine if the problem was with the display unit or the sender. After he had spent several hours troubleshooting and talking with tech support, we were told that the problem was with the sender and that I needed to send it back. JPI would charge me $110 and ship me another sender. Once the old sender was returned, JPI was supposed to return my $110 provided that there was no trash found in the sender (either teflon tape from installation or trash from the fuel system).

The new sender arrived and seemed to solve the problem - the instrument started working perfectly again. A week after returning the old sender, I called JPI to check on the status of my refund. I was informed by the girl answering the phone that the old sender bench tested fine, and that since nothing was wrong with it they would return it and NOT refund my $110. I explained that this was not what the technician had told me would happen and I wanted to talk to him. She got huffy, and put me on hold for over 20 minutes before the technician picked up.

I again explained the whole situation to him; emphasizing that the new sender fixed the problem, and that I had run the old one only 5 hours before it stopped working. When he told me it bench tested fine, I asked about the possibility of it having an intermittent problem. He (the technician) indicated that that could possibly be the case. When I asked about having my $110 refunded, he told me that he would have to get with the owner and call me back. Three hours later, they were closed and I never recieved a call.

The next morning, I called and was told that the owner had still not made a decision regarding my refund. My A&P offered to call the tech at JPI who suggested returning the sender to find out why they wouldn't process my refund. He was put on hold by the receptionist for 15 minutes. When she finally picked back up, she said the tech was on a break and that he should call back later. No offer to take a message or anything.

An hour later I finally got a call from the tech at JPI. He informed me that the owner had refused to refund sender. Apparently, their warranty is worthless. I'll never spend another nickle with them, and if the instrument fails again I'll throw it in the trash and buy an EI (like I should have in the first place).

My mechanic was also given the runaround by the folks at JPI. Here's his experience as posted on the Supercub site:

I installed the JPI FS450 almost 2 months ago in a friends RV6. It wouldn't work at first. Many phone calls to JPI and troubleshooting it suddenly started working. I taxied the airplane to his hanger and it quit again, then it started working. I rigged a test lead to verify I had power on the transducer side of the wiring harness. I did. He flew it enough to get it calibrated and it quit again mid-flight. I checked voltage to the transducer and it was there. JPI sent me a tester to hook to the plug where the transducer goes. The reading on the instrument didn't match the instructions with the tester. Called JPI for two weeks. They had a message on their machine that they were having phone problems and to email questions. Sent 4 emails with no response. I finally got a hold of them and they said the instructions were wrong and the transducer was bad. They said they would not honor the warranty on the transducer if there was trash in it like teflon tape. Teflon tape on a fuel system is a no no in my book. I checked the gascolator and found no contaminants. JPI sent my buddy a new transducer for $110 which would be refunded when they got the defective one. I installed it and it worked as soon as I pressurized the system. No problem since. Never got a refund for the transducer sent back. My buddy called and JPI said the transducer worked fine and he wouldn't get his $110 back. This is after being on hold for 20 minutes. I called and was on hold for 15 minutes. Then the secretary told me they were on break and to call back in 10 minutes. I called back later and asked for the owner. He was on another line, did I want to call back? I asked if he could call me, you would think she had never heard of such a thing. Never got a call back. I called back and she said he hadn't been there today. I have dealt with manufacturers for many years and worked out all kinds of problems. I have never been treated like I have been by JPI. I will never buy or install any of their products.