Spinoff inventions are nothing new, especially since NASA 's Apollo space program of the last century. Teflon, cordless power tools and freeze-dried food are just a few offshoots of shooting for the moon. 

Maybe not as glamorous, but certainly more down to earth, Canadian research organization FPInnovations-FERIC division is at the frontier of finding ways to help logging contractors, specifically FERIC members, make more efficient use of fuel in their operations. It’s a quest that has become more urgent as fuel prices rise. 

In order to collect new data out in the field, the FERIC researchers have developed a tool for their own use that, much to their surprise, was a runaway hit with contractors who saw it at DEMO International 2008 – and, for that matter, with the contractors who participated in the testing program.

Peter Hamilton, professional forester and one of the researchers working on the project, says the object of all this attention, dubbed the “fuel pod monitor”, grew out of the need to measure how much fuel each piece of equipment consumes. That’s step one in finding out how to use less of the pricey stuff.

Why couldn’t the researchers rely on the onboard computer in today’s electronic engines to measure fuel consumption? First of all, not all engines in logging machines are electronic, says Peter, but most importantly, “ECMs don’t  really measure the amount of fuel going into a diesel engine, they estimate it. A portion of all fuel delivered to the engine is returned to the tank as foam, which you can’t measure. ECM fuel consumption is calculated based on a formula employing several factors including engine displacement, engine RPM , fuel pressure, etc., thus, the amounts are really only estimates.” Finally, if you do use the ECM value, it has to be calibrated, so for a short period you will need to measure what is going into the tank.

The research team surveyed the commercial fuel monitoring devices available and found them inadequate for research purposes – too inaccurate, too cumbersome or too expensive. So they had to go back to the drawing board and make their own.  They started with a commercially available meter from Fill-Rite and, Peter says, “changed the guts of it.” As the equipment evolved to meet real life field testing conditions, they added components like a sensor, a screen that can handle -40C temperatures, waterproofing and a casing.