Propane outboard??

[john6206]

Wondering if anyone has a propane outboard, and what are your experiences?

I like the idea that it burns 50x cleaner than gas, and you don’t have to worry about your fuel going bad.

Ive never used an external fuel tank, and I don’t like the idea of a hose running across my cockpit. I think I could get used to the fuel line, but I also can’t find a tank that would fit in my fuel locker, so the tank might have to be in the cockpit as well.


john

 

[sail sfbay]

Interesting idea; Lehr are/was making them fueled by a 1 lb propane canister screwed onto the engine. You reportedly can purchase a Tohatsu with a propane line to an 11 lb propane tank. The sail magazine article below might be of interest to the forum.

Propane Boat Motors | Tohatsu Outboards | Tohatsu Outboard Motors

Tohatsu's 5 HP Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) outboard allows you to say goodbye to onboard gasoline cans. This propane boat motor is equipped with a fuel line that connects to any standard propane tank and runs for a full 5 hours at WOT on a single 11lb propane tank. You'll never sacrifice...

onlineoutboards.com

Gear Review: Lehr 2.5hp Propane Outboard

For a long time, I really liked my old Tohatsu 3.5 outboard, smelly little two-stroke that it was, for its willing power and easy starting. Then it started to

www.sailmagazine.com

 

[ObiQuiet]

Propane is great. The lack of tanks that fit in the lockers are a pain, but the Viking composite ones are light and can be hung on the rail.

 

[john6206]

Hadn’t thought about hanging it on the rail.
Not sure that’s any more elegant than the cockpit sole.

the 11 lbs composite canister would fit in my locker on its side. You can’t use it on its side, I’m trying to figure out if you can store them on their sides. It seems it would be pretty simple to slip it out of the locker and hook it up.

 

[sesmith]

We have a Lehr 2.5 hp outboard on our dinghy. Works great and it goes longer than I ever thought a 1 lb propane tank would ever run it. Unfortunately, Lehr is out of business, and I doubt I can find parts, so I hope it continues to run well.

 

[ObiQuiet]

The tohatsu will run over 30mins on the 1lb bottles too, before the rpms start to decrease for another 30mins or so. Coleman sells a two bottle carrier, which may be all you need, not the large tank.

 

[SEMPERAVANTI41]

Seaward 25, I think Lear outboards were manufactured by Parsun in China. Maybe they have parts.

 

[MikeHoncho]

We have a Lehr 2.5 hp outboard on our dinghy. Works great and it goes longer than I ever thought a 1 lb propane tank would ever run it. Unfortunately, Lehr is out of business, and I doubt I can find parts, so I hope it continues to run well.

Same. The convience of having bottles instead of a gas tank is significant. Mine does take a lot of pulls to get it started after the bottle has been disconnected.

 

[ObiQuiet]

The pulls after disconnect don't have to be hard or fast, seems to just get the air out of the line.

 

[john6206]

My understanding is that the mercury (yes, I know it’s made by Tohatsu ) has a “burp valve” or some Such. Connect the gas, burp the line, then pull the cord.

 

[sesmith]

The Lehr has a purge at the carb for this that you activate by pushing a pin or paperclip through a small hole, but it's so hard to find it's practically useless as I have to get the book out to stare at the picture to try and find it each time.

 

[MikeHoncho]

The Lehr has a purge at the carb for this that you activate by pushing a pin or paperclip through a small hole, but it's so hard to find it's practically useless as I have to get the book out to stare at the picture to try and find it each time.

the 2.5 model doesn't include this in the manual. The regulator has one, it is partially blocked but I'm not going to shove something in there and mess it up.

 

[MitchM]

a friend had the small 2.5 lehr on his avon dinghy, he liked it but complained it did not have enough power. then he went up to the larger size. his wife couldn't manage the larger tank so they ended up selling it and going to a honda electric-start... go figure...

 

[fred1diver]

my boat came with a 5hp lehr, it had been sitting on the hard for the last 3-4 years, not winterized, it started on the 3rd pull, sent it off for a general tune-up, still waiting on it to come back home.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

The only concern is hanging a propane tank off the side in the event of an accident

 

[MikeHoncho]

I've have mine for 2 seasons now. I haven't had any real issue with it other than some loos fittings. It routinely is a little stubborn to start after changing our cylinders or sitting for a extensive amount of time. I'm not impressed with the overall quality of the unit. Allot of plastic and the tiller is really sloppy where it connects to the motor.

 

[jeepbluetj]

I have(had?) a 2.5 hp lehr. It was super easy to start. 1-2 pulls every time once the lines were purged. No choke to mess with. Loved that it ran on the 1lb bottles, as I have them on the boat for the grill anyway. Pushed the little dink fine. Liked it OK, but it tended to blow the fuel line (which Lehr sent me a part for 2x).

But... on a trip to Newport: was heading ashore for ice and DearWife notices sheen behind us due to the the Lehr puking oil out of the air intake. Immediately shut off the motor, tilt it up (so it's now plopping oil into the dink as well as the harbor), and row to the dinghy dock. Ask the crew of a Benetau 37 that was loading up if they had some paper towels, they graciously gave me a bunch so we could reduce the environmental disaster. Buy ice, row back to the boat. Walked the mile to WestMarine, dropped the $$$ for a Merc 3.5 and a gas can (left all the packaging for West Marine to clean up). Uber guy nicely stopped for gas on the way back. The Merc 3.5 definitely has more power, definitely is more reliable, and definitely is harder to start. Also requires expensive no-ethanol gas to keep it tip-top, and is not nearly as convenient to fuel off the boat.

So the Lehr was a great idea, poor implementation. One hopes the current Tohatsu is better.

I still have the dead Lehr 2.5. If anybody needs the parts it's free to the first taker (socal) (I'm guessing valve guides, as it was running while it was blowing oil)

 

[MikeHoncho]

How are you purging it?

 

[jeepbluetj]

Me? I just pulled it though a 10-12 times or so. The little hole in the regulator works too, but it's a PITA compared to just pulling it a few times.

 

[jviss]

A couple of things.

First, my 1990's technology Merc 2-strokes: no manual choke. It has a primer which is crucial on milder days, but on hot days not necessary. When "in shape" they start on the first or second pull.

Second, can't one just convert a gas engine to LP? I see it done all the time with generators. The carb would be much simpler, e.g., no fuel pump, no primer, etc. (I imagine this is more practical for 4-strokes than 2-strokes, but what do I know? I think my 15HP 2-stoke would eat a 1 lb. can in 10 minutes!)