I purchased a Lehr 2.5 hp outboard in Feburary of 2013 to replace a Honda 5 hp outboard on my inflatable dinghy. I was tired of smelling gasoline fumes and the Honda was larger than I needed for our rollup dinghy. Initiallyl, I was quite enthusiastic about the Lehr motor. It solved the gasoline fumes problem, always started on the first or second pull and was quite reliable. I really like the idea of eliminating one of the fuels from my boat, and I already use the propane camping cylinders for my barbeque grill. I found that I had to replace the propane cylinders more than I had expected, but if I ran the motor at a low speed, I could get about two hours of operation from one camping cylinder.
There were minor issues that tempered my enthusiasm a bit. First, Lehr recommends “disconnecting the fuel” after every use. It was not clear to me if that meant removing the small cylinders or (if used) disconnecting a larger external tank. I never used an external tank and left the cylinder in place until empty, partly because I found switching cylinders to be painful to my fingers due to the short hose in the engine and the limited clearance it affords to hold the threaded gas fitting while installing a new cylinder.
Another issue (perhaps not unique to Lehr,) is that in salt water, they recommend running fresh water through the engine after every use. This is easier said than done. There is no fitting to attach a garden hose or other water source to introduce cooling water to the engine. And the usual “ear muff like” flushing accessories won’t seal around the water inlet due to protective fins and the small size of the shaft housing. So that left me having to use several gallons of water in a plastic trash can held in place by a strap while I ran the engine attached to the rail of my sailboat. I don’t know what the requirements for other outboards is, but I ran my Honda for entire seasons without rinsing until the end of the season and never had any problems.
All in all, I was very happy with the Lehr outboard for the first season of use. I used it several times per week for the entire 4 months I lived on our sailboat in the Pacific Northwest, and apart from the minor issues above, had no complaints. THIS SEASON, however, is a completely different story,
After being properly put away for storage in the winter, I first attempted to fire up the Lehr on a trip from Washington to Barkely Sound on Vancouver Island. The instant I attached a gas cylinder, I heard and smelled propane shooting out from inside the engine in the vicinity of the fitting for the external tank hose. At the time, I was far from any authorized service location, but desperate to get it running, so I contacted Lehr and got a timely response to my inquiry about repairing the leak with O rings purchased from a hardware store. I was able to replace the seals of the internal fuel line with O rings and new gas compatible Teflon tape, and there were no more leaks. The motor ran fine for about a week.
Then, the motor started becoming difficult to start and was not running well. Finally, when it would not start at all, I tried replacing the spark plug. I was able to start it and it ran badly for about an hour. At the point it died again, and I noticed that the oil had turned white, looking at the oil level inspection glass. At this point, I contacted Lehr again and began the (arduous) process of finding somebody authorized to work on it. There are plenty of stores which sell the Lehr motors, but apparently far fewer that actually service them. Finally, I was able to get the motor to Harbour Chandlers in Nanaimo and after a brief diagnosis (mainly to be sure I hadn’t dropped it in the water, I suspect,) they ordered new seals and a head gasket. Lehr was able to get them the parts in a timely fashion, only three days including customs, as the parts were shipped from California. The mechanic replaced all relevant seals and the head gasket and (four weeks after the problem arose) I now have a working motor, which once again starts on the first or second pull and seems to run just fine. There was no cost to me, apart from the moorage fees, taxis and time lost on our trip. The engine comes with a three year parts and labor warranty, and they seem to honor that without a problem.
I understand that a Chinese company (Parsun) manufactures this motor for Lehr, and also very similar motors (except for the fuel system) for Yamaha, Tohatsu and other companies. That gives me some confidence that the reliability of everything except the fuel system should be similar to other small outboards on the market, despite my unfortunate experience. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is the last problem I have with this motor and that I get a few good seasons of use from it. My serial number ends in 00090, so I think I have a very early motor. The manufacturing date is shown inside the engine as May 2012, even though I bought it in February 2013. Hopefully, the new motors are less prone to problems.