Outboard tachometer?

A forum for discussion of how to rig and tune your boat or kicker to achieve the best sailing performance.
Post Reply
svscott
First Officer
Posts: 269
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2016 8:35 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26D
Location: Erie PA

Outboard tachometer?

Post by svscott »

I'm planning to change out my original propeller on my 1998 Nissan nsf5a outboard with Tohatsu's " elephant ear" high thrust prop for better marina handling. I've never had any sort of tach or anything to monitor rpm, aside from my ears. I've already bolted on a 6hp Tohatsu carburetor for the somewhat inexpensive performance increase.
Can anyone recommend a low cost solution to add a tachometer? Before I swap the props, I'd like to note boat speeds and performance at particular revs.

I have found Tohatsu offers a tachometer for about $100, but that seems overly high for what it is, and I hope to find a budget oriented alternative.
Stevenhigbee
Engineer
Posts: 120
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2014 8:15 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26S

Re: Outboard tachometer?

Post by Stevenhigbee »

I have a little battery-powered digital unit that the sell for under $20 that wrap around a spark plug wire, and display tach and hours of operation. Easy search on Amazon or Ebay.
User avatar
Seapup
Captain
Posts: 943
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 7:05 am
Location: 2002 26x - Virgina Beach, Va

Re: Outboard tachometer?

Post by Seapup »

I have had a few, they all seem to work fine, even the cheapest $12 digital tiny tach. I like them for the hour meter. Even though they are supposed to be waterproof mine were not and ruined by rain, hence buying a few 8)

I bought one with a temp probe/alarm last time. Has a little ring that goes under the spark plug and gives a digital temp readout. Thinking was to add a high temp alarm for if the ports start to get salt restricted.

If you plan to use it as a gauge be sure to get one that is sunlight viewable. I got one of the blue led ones and it is almost impossible to read in the sun, the basic LCD version shows up fine.

Image

Be sure to post up the results of the RPM/Speed and impressions of the prop swap. They are pretty common little motors so would be helpful to other owners.
Post Reply