PRODUCT REVIEW
Propane, It’s A Gas By Captain Scott McWilliams
M
any cruising sailors have dinks to get to shore from their deep-draft sailboats. I had a 4.5 horsepower 4stroke outboard to push my dink to shore. When cruising, it was often used every day; however, during the rest of the year it might sit on the back of Liela B, our 1982 Tartan 42, for weeks. When it was time to use it, I would have to do 40 reps with the pull cord. It was great aerobic exercise but very frustrating. I sometimes wonder if it would have been easer to just row. Even after all that effort, the motor might not start. I tried fuel preservatives, non-alcohol fuel, draining the fuel, and using starting fluid, but nothing worked. I saw a Lehr outboard that runs on propane gas at a boat show last summer and bought a 5 HP long-shaft model. I took the new engine to the club and put it on the back of my dink and it started on the first pull. What a joy not to have to break a sweat to start a reluctant engine. Starting easily when the engine was new was not the true test I had in mind. Would it start after sitting on the back of Liela B for a month or two? Last month, we were loading the family for a cruise up the bay and needed the dink. We took the Lehr off the back of our sailboat and put it on the dink. It did not start on the first pull. It was out of gas. I replaced the cylinder, and it started on the first pull. I checked with Lehr, and they said that I should unscrew the cylinder till it “pops” and the gas valve on the propane tank is closed. They suggested leaving the tank loosely attached, so the fuel system remains sealed. While taking provisions out to Liela B, I compared the Lehr to our old gas-powered 4.5 HP outboard. The power seams similar to that; noise level about the same. What is not the same is that there is no choke, so the Lehr cannot flood, and no opening of the fuel system to add gasoline from a can. The fuel delivery system is closed. This closed system is dirt-, water-, and alcohol-free. That should eliminate the problems with plugged jets and stuck float valves, gummed needle valves, and water condensing in the fuel
The Lehr with the propane cylinder screwed into the back of the motor. Photo by Kelly McWilliams
system. I also do not have to mix oil with the gas as my twostroke required. Propane is not a marine pollutant and cannot spill and make pretty colors when refueling. At full throttle when pushing a J/24, we went 5.5 knots for about 45 minutes on the small propane tank for a barbecue grill. Backing off to 4.5 knots, the Lehr runs about 90 minutes per small tank. This is fewer dollars per mile than my gas engine; the Lehr also takes the larger 22pound cylinders that we carry for our stove in a propane locker, so we have a safe source of fuel. I never felt good about the two red five-gallon cans of gasoline for the outboard tied to the rail. I hope the first six months of ownership are predictive of the next eight or ten years. If so, Lehr has solved some problems cruisers face with their outboards. No wonder West Marine has trouble keeping them in stock.
USED MARINE GEAR In Business since 1994
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www.thenauticaltrader.com News & Views for Southern Sailors
SOUTHWINDS
March 2013
35