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It appears Lehr is still the only major player in this market.
Any experiences good or bad??
Any experiences good or bad??
I motored a dinghy with a Lehr outboard around the marina at last years' Long Beach Boat Show. If it were less expensive, or even comparable to a gas powered outboard, I would buy one in a heartbeat for one simple reason, the need to only carry one type of fuel for the stove and the engine. No more sloshing gas tanks stinking up the trunk of my car. And, the propane canisters fit both the engine and the stove.It appears Lehr is still the only major player in this market.
Any experiences good or bad??
The biggest problem I see is that they are a made in China engine with a company that may not be around for long. If they were converting say the Tohatsu/Mercury motor then I could see paying premium for it. But to pay a premium to get an unknown quality motor from a start-up company does not seem to make long term sense. I would really like to see kits sold to convert older outboards to propane I know they make them for generators. I have had good luck with propane powered vehicles, with the main down side being less horse power. I do love the idea of using the one pound bombs though, and not have to deal with the alcohol in the gas, would be awesome. Very good for occasional dingy powering.Pricing is actually competitive with gas counterparts though still a little more expensive, about 20%
I imagine the more volume they sell the more competitive it will become.
I'm as concerned with build quality, longevity and service as well as price.
So would I...I would really like to see kits sold to convert older outboards to propane I know they make them for generators.
Those propane powered weed whackers looked like quite the treat. Shame they never seemed to work well. Given the reviews on them, I would not use it as a recommendation. No longer available either. Sounds like there was no QC on the line trimmers, hope there is more on the outboards.While Lehr is new to outboards they have been around for a while. They have even partnered with The craftsman brand to make propane garden tools. I wouldn't be too worried about them closing up shop tomorrow. They have a lot of major corporate partners already.
Now, think how cool a Honda suitcase generator that was powered by propane would be.They screwed up the sears deal which was HUGE due to surprise surprise hard starting among many complaints
And low and behold there are still no propane yard tools
Just like NONE of the portable generators can be bought from the factory with propane power
What is getting big is the newest 40 volt battery pack units tools
They do sell kits to make them propane powered.Now, think how cool a Honda suitcase generator that was powered by propane would be.
Ah, guilty as charged. My thought was that the "hard starting when cold" complaints coming from a Honda dealer might be of interest, even though it was a generator motor instead of an outboard motorI know the topic was propane powered outboards.... but the topic slid to propane powered generators...
Well, that is a good thing. IRC, the propane unit the dealer commented on came equipped to burn propane directly from Honda. However, someone may have "tinkered" with it. I would be surprised if Honda would release anything that wasn't spot on.Honestly my whole house generac is propane powered (by a much larger canister that is outside, 120gallon)... and it fires right up... So the hard starting is motor related, not fuel related.
Paul TI have heard good things about Lehr, but have never experienced them. The 20% more is a deal breaker even if it WERE as good as a Tohatsu, which sounds like it's not.
Back to generators now, while the Honda generators are good... Yamaha, and Subaru generators are also quite good, and in varying degrees most inverter generators are much quieter than traditional synchronous.
I'd like to see a Yamaha outboard motor, and Yamaha generator series hit the market that are propane powered. THEN maybe we'd have something.
Well, that is definitely something to take into account if you are planning on cruising to areas that don't have propane. But, the last time I was in the Bahamas, it was easier to find propane, than gasoline, on a lot of the out islands.Dont forget the cost of fuel people. I did the analysis in the last propane outboard thread, and prior to the analysis I was a big fan. After seeing how expensive propane is and then also seeing how little can be found conveniently down island, I put the kibosh on a propane conversion of my honda and buying the Lehr propane outboard.