gnuse

gnuse

Well Known Member
New plane and operator error. I accidentally added full fuel into the VM1000 and then filled up the tanks as that was the only solution I knew.

Is there a way to subtract gallons to get to correct reading?
 
VM1000 Fuel

The operator's manual does not document any way to deduct fuel.

I suppose it _might_ be possible to temporarily reprogram the full tank value to a lower value, then do a fill operation. You could then fly with accurate fuel indications and reprogram the full tank value at the next fillup.

Thinking about it, I'm pretty sure that would work - what I'm less sure of, is whether you could restore the original full value without affecting the current (but lower) fuel quantity. If that works, then you could perform both operations immediately.

The programming of the full fuel value is documented in the VM1000 manual. You can probably conduct the above experiment in a few minutes.

Or you could just fill up :)
 
Power off. Press 4th button and hold. Power up until stabilizes. Release. Use 3 for 10's and 5th button for one. Press 4 when finish
 
I think I will try Mitch's solution.

Are there any other "hidden" instructions in the VM1000?
 
gnuse said:
I think I will try Mitch's solution.

Are there any other "hidden" instructions in the VM1000?
Click to expand...

I have an owners manual but it is more of an installation instructions than anything else...hard to get a good copy on the net....

here is a quick sheet I have made...hope it helps...BEWARE 57 gallons is my full tank usefull fuel...you need to imput yours.

vm1000001.jpg


One thing to remember...if you are doing any acro or unusual attitudes....your VM1000 fuel Qty will go bizerk...if you are doing any acro...just know your fuel qty at start and use the burn mode. for flight level X-country flying, you will be ok!
 
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Thanks again, Mitch. I have the manual but as you state it is not that helpful. With your permission, I will adapt you guide to my setup. This helps a lot!

George
 
gnuse said:
Thanks again, Mitch. I have the manual but as you state it is not that helpful. With your permission, I will adapt you guide to my setup. This helps a lot!

George
Click to expand...

Please do....I am not claiming it is 100% accurate...I am human and proned to make mistakes....

all others fell free to chime in and let me know if you see anything that needs to be changed or added
 
Don't know of any way to deduct fuel, but...

Since the VM 1000's fuel burn resets each time you shut down the unit, but the fuel remaining stays in memory, you can also do the following, if you are happy with your VM's tank capacity setting, and don't want to mess with it.

If you "overfill" the readout on the VM, then knowing what you actually have in the tanks, do a flight referencing your fuel burn to determine your fuel remaining for that flight. Requires math in public, which always stymies me ;), but after one flight you can refill the tanks, then use the add feature to match the VM's fuel remaining to reality.

Just one KISS way to do it.

If you are entering fuel into the VM, as you know, if your capacity is 42 gals, and you add more than 42, it defaults to 42. However, if you put in too high a number and want to correct it, before you hit button 4 to enter, just keep hitting button 3 or 5 (whichever you are using) to run it up to 9 and back to zero, and it will start over for ya. As long as you don't hit button 4, you can correct it. If you hit button 4, you can't subtract it.

Caveat, the manual describes setting the fuel tank capacity this way, and I believe this also applies to the add fuel process. I'm going to play with it when I get home from this trip to make sure it works as I have described...maybe you guys can try it too.

And if you're like me, there may be a time that you forget to add fuel before launch, and halfway through the flight, the fuel remaining readout will start flashing at you. You can add fuel in flight, and if you overshoot the actual tank amount (determined from that math in public) you can fix it with the above "round the horn" method. Just don't hit button 4 till you have what you want to add displayed.

FWIW, I've found the VM's fuel burn readout to be very accurate...nice piece of gear for a "Gen 1" EMS!

Mitch, your synopsis looks very good. I scanned my VM1000 manual, and have e-mailed it to a couple guys. If anyone wants a copy, just shoot me a PM or e-mail and tell me where you'd like it sent. As others have said, its an OK manual...better than nada, I reckon'.

Cheers,
Bob
 
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"And if you're like me, there may be a time that you forget to add fuel before launch, and halfway through the flight, the fuel remaining readout will start flashing at you."

I will never forget my first time to forget. We were on the way to the Bahamas and about 15 minutes out the fuel starts flashing "LOW FUEL" and my wife wants to know what that means! For about 2 seconds I did also, but then remembered that the PIC had forgotten to add the fuel to the computer at our last stop.

Thanks Bob for your input. All of this is helpful.
 
Mitch,

I concur with your VM-1000 fuel subtraction operation method. I do this quite often as I "tanker" fuel back to my home field as none is available there. The amount of fuel remaining when I land at home is noted/recorded. I then drain some quantity (5, 10, or 15 gallons) out into plastic fuel jugs, as I prefer to fly the aircraft light for local formation and acro flights. Once the drain operation is complete, I then 'zero' out the VM-1000 fuel quantity and then add back the amount remining onboard on buttons 3,4,5.

I actually learned this little trick by accident when fooling around with the VM one day. I'm guessing there are all sorts of other 'undocumented shortcuts' in the system. I'm a little hesitant to try other options though, for fear of whiping out the systems defaults. As they say "YMMV"... :rolleyes:
 
Shadey, Mitch:

just to clarify for my boney head, with that technique are you zeroing out the fuel capacity setting...and does that zero out the fuel remaining as well? If so, then do you reset the fuel capacity and then add fuel to match what ya have in the tanks?

Or does your procedure only reset the fuel remaining (that would be cool).

I just reset my capacity after installing a new VM battery chip, and it sounds similar to what you are describing...that's why I'm askin'.

Will dig in the manual as well, to compare the steps.

I haven't found any other hidden tricks either, and concur with Shadey...don't want to mess any of the innerds up! ;)

Cheers,
Bob
 
I use the reset when everything else fails. Unfortunatelly you have to re-enter you total fuel qty and then your actual fuel load. Hope this answers....this seems to be the easist and fastest way to deal with a common mistake
 
Nasty,
I don't have the VM Fuel Quantity on my system so I am not sure if/how that is affected. I'm only dealing with the Totalizer/Fuel Computer. The reset doesn't affect the total fuel default setting on mine, only what the computer has in memory for fuel remaining. It 'zeros' that out, then allows me to enter what the remaining 'known' physical quantity of fuel is into the totalizer.
 
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