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fuel consumption with Yamaha F-150????

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Greatpapa

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I just purchased a 2024 Bennington 22' Tritoon with the Yamaha 150 4 stroke. I am just hitting 7 hrs on the engine and already under 1/2 tank left of my third full (approx. 22 gal) fill up. That's about 3 - 3-1/2hrs per full tank of gas. Also most of this has been mid throttle cruising. Is this way off what it should be? Is there options for additional fuel or auxillary tanks? Thank you for any info or advise.
 
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Outboards go though some fuel. I have a 250 Verado . At WOT ,Simrad states 21.8 gallons an hour ,just crusing 8-12 , 3-4 GPH .
 
I have a Mercury 150 fourstroke, and I have pics of the data for different speeds. Here's the data for ~7 GPH:

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Here's another for 20 mph.
 

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My cumulative/average MPG is 2.9 for a GCW 2574 with a 250 Verado. When I have following seas sometimes I can stretch that to 3.3 or so at about 17 mph.
 
In all seriousness, the smaller fuel tank is tough with a larger HP motor. We have a 200Hp Mercury Verado Pro and a 32 gallon tank. I find our tank too small given the fuel consumption and wish we had a larger tank. What I wouldn’t give for one of the 50+ gallon tanks on some of the other tritoon/hull/model set ups.

On the positive side, now you know. Keep track of fuel and trips carefully so you don’t get “caught” in a bind. That’s what we have to do when doing A LOT of water sports (usually when we burn through it fast on our big lake).

As for adding tanks, etc, do a search in the upper right hand corner earth box. It has been talked about before. Largely unsuccessful bouncing around of ideas if I remember correctly.
 
Boats do use alot of fuel and yours should do better after more break-in. Yours does sound excessive though. What prop is on it and what is your top speed and rpm at top speed?
 
The old rule of thumb for 2 stroke outboards was fuel burn was 10% of the rated horsepower in gallons per hour, so a 150 2 stroke would burn 15 gallons per hour at wide open throttle. I've tested that math a number of times including validating it with the old school Flo-Scan equipment and found the math to be dead on the money. Now, today, fuel injected 4 stroke engines seem to run around 8- 9% of rated horse power gph at wide open throttle. Some may argue, but that's my experince. Pontoons tend to run pretty close to the 10% rule, I'm sure tri-toons are better since they tend to plane instead of semi-displace as do pontoons. You just have to find that cruise/speed sweetspot
 
BigKahuna said:
Your motor will get better gas mileage the more it is broken in! But if it needs gas.....Fill it up!!!
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Thanks for the info! Im on a big lake and just have to get used to the boat! I love everything about it other than the range it has on a tank of gas. I will probably carry extra fuel on all day trips!
 
Vikingstaff said:
In all seriousness, the smaller fuel tank is tough with a larger HP motor. We have a 200Hp Mercury Verado Pro and a 32 gallon tank. I find our tank too small given the fuel consumption and wish we had a larger tank. What I wouldn’t give for one of the 50+ gallon tanks on some of the other tritoon/hull/model set ups.

On the positive side, now you know. Keep track of fuel and trips carefully so you don’t get “caught” in a bind. That’s what we have to do when doing A LOT of water sports (usually when we burn through it fast on our big lake).

As for adding tanks, etc, do a search in the upper right hand corner earth box. It has been talked about before. Largely unsuccessful bouncing around of ideas if I remember correctly.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I am adapting to the small tank and just have to plan routes a little more carefully. We live on a large lake with few and scattered fuel stations. Bought a couple of 3 gallon fuel jugs to take if I think I could need them.
 
Greatpapa said:
Thank you for the info! I am adjusting to it and taking extra fuel when I feel I could need it.
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Range is not only a function of your fuel load but many other considerations as well. Fuel burn will be affected by weight, drag from the hull and engine, drag from the bimini being deployed, drag from any skiers or tubers, engine mounting height and trim, prop selection, wind, tides or current, maintenance of the outboard and overall operation of the boat.

If you want to max out your 32g tank there are some things you can do such as:

1) Keeping weight down on the boat. You'll go a little farther with 4 people instead of 12 people and coolers loaded with ice and beverages. Also make sure any water in the bilge/storage locker (if any) is pumped out. Obviously you can't always control this but your range will vary significantly depending on your load. Every pound matters.

2) Be willing to sacrifice speed for distance. As noted your fuel efficiency at WOT will be MUCH, MUCH lower than just after the boat starts planing. Yes it'll take twice as long to get to point B, but you'll also be able to comfortably get back to point A without sweating bullets or refilling with your jerry can. Range anxiety is a real thing!

3) Optimize trim while cruising. If you have gauges that shows efficiency (MPG) or fuel burn (GPH), adjust trim while at your desired speed to squeeze out those last % of performance.

4) Run with the bimini stowed, then deploy when at your destination. These act as giant sails and can sap quite a bit of efficiency.

5) Keep your toons clean. Growth adds a surprising amount of drag - my last trip out I gained 15mph after cleaning. Yes they were quite fouled and had been neglected for the past 8 months but even only a few months of crud can cause your engine to drink more fuel.

6) Keep up with regular maintenance per your outboard manufacturer's recommendations. Nothing earth shattering here but in your case where fuel docks are in short supply, it could mean the difference between getting home and calling Boat US for a tow.

7) Consider raising engine mounting height. I raised mine two holes and picked up between 5-8% better fuel efficiency across the RPM band. There are potential tradeoffs of doing so, so this may not be for everyone.

8) Propping for efficiency. Some props are made for top end speed, some are made for hole shot, and then there are those that get the best efficiency at your desired RPM or speed. Again there are tradeoffs with each prop, so while you may gain in one performance category you could lose in another. It also will cost you a little bit of $$ trying different props but if you plan on keeping the boat a while and don't have the ability to enlarge the tank, the investment might be worthwhile.

9) Adding panels under the deck if not installed already. Water hitting those crossmembers creates a huge amount of drag and the wave shielding results in not only gains in fuel efficiency but speed as well.

This isn't an exhaustive list but it should illustrate that there are things you can do with your existing setup that can provide more range. All else fails, convince the wife that you need a boat upgrade!
 
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