propane outboards

[tyrguy]

Has anyone had any experience with these outboards they sound interesting?

http://www.golehr.com/marine.php

 

[tyrguy]

West Marine

I see that West Marine has them, 5hp short shaft for 1599.00

The world's first propane-powered outboard marine engine. Great for sailboats, dinghies, tenders, fishing boats, pond prowlers, canoes and other small watercraft. Powerful 4-stroke engine uses 110 octane fuel but is eco-friendly and produces zero evaporative emissions. Easy, no choke start with no priming and no carburetor gum up. No winterizing! Runs on either 15.4oz camp stove cylinders, or 5 gallon grill cylinders.

Displacement: 112cc Weight: 49.6lbs. Shaft: 15" Warranty: 3-year Limited Manufacturer's Warranty

 

[Loren Beach]

Right product, right time....
What with outboards and a host of other small gas engine products being harmed by the "witch's brew" that passes for gasoline these days, this may catch on big time.
Lots of boats built in the last 25 years have one or two propane tank lockers and increasing numbers of older boats have added them.

I hope we get to see one of these in action this summer. I wonder how many hours/minutes/? it runs on one throw-away cylinder?

Thanks for the link,

Loren

ps: edit: another site thread: http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/83857-propane-outboards.html

 

[Tom Metzger]

I wonder how many hours/minutes/? it runs on one throw-away cylinder?

At the Miami boat show Friday the peddler was saying about an hour on a disposable can for the 2.5hp model.

 

[tyrguy]

"on TV"

On Ship Shape TV they stated 1 canister is equivalent to 1 gallon of gas at full throttle. I like the idea of of not having to worry about a 3rd fuel. And the new composite propane tanks are really lightweight.

 

[Wysailer]

Nice Idea

I hope they come out w a slightly larger one say 8 to 10Hp. Sure would be nice to have one tank for the outboard and use it for a cookstove and or BBQ.

Scott
1973 E25 CB

 

[Jeff Asbury]

Love this idea! I as well have had my share of ethanol problems with my outboard.

After close inspection of the photos of the LEHR LP5.0, it looks almost identical to my 4 hp 2002 Yamaha long shaft. Everything from the prop up to the throttle pretty much exactly the same with the exception of the top cover. Oh yeah, my Yamaha is metallic gray, not black. I wonder if there is some kind of conversion you could do for a old gas powered outboard like mine. Mine is the long shaft though.

http://www.golehr.com/marine.php

 

[Tom Metzger]

I wonder if there is some kind of conversion you could do for a old gas powered outboard like mine.

Piece of cake... all you need is a compatible propane carburetor. Back in the bad old days I used to buy natural gas powered back up gen sets for utility substations. Being in both the gas and electric business we could get a good price for the gas. We also didn't have to worry about refueling during storm outages or the fuel getting stale. In the gen set business they sell them for natural gas, propane, oil field gas. land fill gas, coal mine gas, whatever you have.

 

[rwthomas1]

Its a great idea, glad to see someone brought it to market. The only issue I have is lack of ready availability of fuel. There are several places to get propane locally, but 10X the availability for gas. If I'm in Cuttyhunk for the weekend and I run out of fuel from dinking about ogling boats I'm screwed. Maybe more of these will make propane more available? That would be nice..... FWIW, there is a company now making propane powered weedwackers too. Another great application. RT

 

[Pat O'Connell]

Recycle the Gas Cylinder?

We might want to consider the future recycle cost of the cylinder.. Our landfill charges $5.00 to recycle big or small propane cylinders.

 

[tyrguy]

Blue Rhino

On the bbq size metal tanks you just have to take them to a place that sells "Blue rhino" or another exchange place, bring in the empty tank get a shinier new one. I believe Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Walmart and almost everybody else sells them. The small camping size green size, if your local recycling wont take them the land fill will. I would probably get one of the fiberglass ones they are lighter, won't rust and should last longer.

 

[rwthomas1]

On the bbq size metal tanks you just have to take them to a place that sells "Blue rhino" or another exchange place, bring in the empty tank get a shinier new one. I believe Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Walmart and almost everybody else sells them. The small camping size green size, if your local recycling wont take them the land fill will. I would probably get one of the fiberglass ones they are lighter, won't rust and should last longer.

Do not, I repeat, Do not use Blue Rhino! They are ripping you off. They only fill the bottle 75-80% and then charge more for it than your local supplier that fills by weight. I cannot remember the exact numbers but you end up spending 50% more with Blue Rhino. Read the fine print and you will see. My local rental shop fills propane and pointed this out to me. I checked and he is right. Exchange is convenient but thats about all.

RT

 

[steven]

Wonder if an A4 can convert to propane or, even better, CNG. Logically, CNG would be the perfect auxilliary fuel - low pollution, efficient, lighter than air, does not contain ethanol - if only it were available. --Steve

 

[rwthomas1]

Wonder if an A4 can convert to propane or, even better, CNG. Logically, CNG would be the perfect auxilliary fuel - low pollution, efficient, lighter than air, does not contain ethanol - if only it were available. --Steve

Google CNG conversions. Tons of info. Forklifts and other industrial vehicles have run on propane or cng for years. The parts are readily available if you wanted to do a conversion. Essentially a conversion is a special carburetor, control solenoid valves, hoses and tanks. No internal engine mods AFAIK. It would actually be a pretty easy conversion. RT

 

[footrope]

Do not, I repeat, Do not use Blue Rhino! They are ripping you off. They only fill the bottle 75-80% and then charge more for it than your local supplier that fills by weight. I cannot remember the exact numbers but you end up spending 50% more with Blue Rhino. Read the fine print and you will see. My local rental shop fills propane and pointed this out to me. I checked and he is right. Exchange is convenient but thats about all.

RT

Rob is right. If you can find a propane refill at a gas station or a propane distributor, use them rather than Blue Rhino. You are paying dearly for the convenience at a grocery store or your corner 7-11. The tanks in my E38 are small anyway, - 10 lb. - so I go to the local distributor in Tukwila, WA, or to the Shell station just south of us. My 20 lb. gas grill bottles are refilled there too, for considerably less than the Rhino costs.

Propane outboards sound like a pretty good idea.

 

[AleksT]

I hope they come out w a slightly larger one say 8 to 10Hp. Sure would be nice to have one tank for the outboard and use it for a cookstove and or BBQ.

Scott
1973 E25 CB

supposedly they are coming out with a 9.9 hp at the end of this year