Lehr 5 hp propane outboard

[reelfun1960]

Anyone have any experience with the Lehr propane ouboards? I just bought one and tried it on my 10' inflatable. Very dissapointed ! Did not get my little dinghy on plane,throttle stuck wide open ...just a disaster. Will be returning it tomorrow for a 9.9 Merc..
Just wondering if anyone has similar issues? Or just my bad luck

Dave Reel Fun / Wellcraft Coastal

[ElGatoGordo]

Well I have to ask, did another 5hp plane it? I mean you're replacing it with a 9.9 soooo why would a 5hp propane work? There's always the 9.9 Lehr?

[reelfun1960]

Originally Posted by ElGatoGordo

Well I have to ask, did another 5hp plane it? I mean you're replacing it with a 9.9 soooo why would a 5hp propane work? There's always the 9.9 Lehr?

Getting the 9.9 for the same price..and local repair shops will work on it

[ElGatoGordo]

Originally Posted by reelfun1960

Getting the 9.9 for the same price..and local repair shops will work on it

I'm asking because I'm looking at the Lehrs as well. You didn't answer the question about planing. Does the dink plane on a 5 or not? I'm just wondering if you have a reason to expect the 5hp propane to power the dink...otherwise wouldn't you buy a 5hp gas engine?

[MarkJ]

I dont think any 10 foot dink will plane on 5 HP.

[minaret]

Certainly can't plane a 10' dink on ANY 5 HP four stroke. Maybe with a soft bottom dink with only one very small person and a 5 HP two stroke.

[HopCar]

I'm a dealer for Lehr and I've never had anyone complain about lack of power. I think the OP just bought too small an engine.

I bought a 2.5 for myself and I'm very happy with it. It replaced a 2HP Suzuki and I was surprised how much more power that extra 1/2 hp gave me. I love how easy it is to start and how clean and easy it is to handle the fuel.

I'm currently building a 14 foot skiff that I plan to power with Lehr 9.9 or a 15 if they are available when I finish the boat.

If anyone wants to buy a Lehr, I'd love to quote you on it.

[shorebird]

I just bought the 2.5 as well, mostly 'cause I already have propane on board, so it saves me from carrying yet another type of fuel on board. The motor is a little hard to start, a little heavy, and the cowling gasket and fit is rather poor. It runs well, however, and has lots of power. I'm most interested in reliability and longevity, so only time will tell how it performs in those categories. No choke, no fumes, no winterizing, no gasoline spills when transporting or transferring the unit, and a ready fuel supply virtually anywhere, even Costco. It can be a winner if it proves reliable over the long run.

[Cheechako]

a 2 stroke 5 hp will plane a 10' inflatable, but it'll have to be a light one, not a rib for sure. My 90's Merc 5hp did so, in flat water we could even get two of us up on a plane (we're small and had to do the "forward weight shift " to get it up)
I wonder how often you have to fill a 5 or 10# tank to run these outboards? Sometimes it's a lot bigger adventure finding propane in timbuktu than gasoline..... Come to think of it, it was a $20 taxi ride to get propane in FT Pierce Fl!

[reelfun1960]

Originally Posted by ElGatoGordo

I'm asking because I'm looking at the Lehrs as well. You didn't answer the question about planing. Does the dink plane on a 5 or not? I'm just wondering if you have a reason to expect the 5hp propane to power the dink...otherwise wouldn't you buy a 5hp gas engine?

Sorry,a little groggy from working the overnight...I had a throttle plunger issue right out of the box with the lehr..was jammed. Freed that up and it seemed to run fine in the tank...on the Hp 310 would just barely plane..then to my disbelief,throttle stuck wide open and had to use kill switch to shut down and padlle back in to port. So.. Given everything that happend..and the fact I need more reliability than that with my little kids on board...I am headed out to pick up the 9.9 merc that ends up at the same price after taxes and returning the unused 11 lb composite propane tank. I will post the new results later with the new mercury . propane concept is nice. Eaisily stored on my 30' wellcraft. But it didnt work well .
Dave

[shorebird]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

a 2 stroke 5 hp will plane a 10' inflatable, but it'll have to be a light one, not a rib for sure. My 90's Merc 5hp did so, in flat water we could even get two of us up on a plane (we're small and had to do the "forward weight shift " to get it up)
I wonder how often you have to fill a 5 or 10# tank to run these outboards? Sometimes it's a lot bigger adventure finding propane in timbuktu than gasoline..... Come to think of it, it was a $20 taxi ride to get propane in FT Pierce Fl!

The unit runs on either the bulk or disposable cylinders. Bulk propane can be hard to find at times, but the small cyls seem to be widely available. The 2.5 should run about 30-40 mins on one disposable cylinder at full throttle, and I'm sure all day long on a bulk tank.

[reelfun1960]

Originally Posted by shorebird

The unit runs on either the bulk or disposable cylinders. Bulk propane can be hard to find at times, but the small cyls seem to be widely available. The 2.5 should run about 30-40 mins on one disposable cylinder at full throttle, and I'm sure all day long on a bulk tank.

Yes, like I said the theory of the propane drew me in also, but problems right out of the box made me nervous. And no one around services it. Mercury,yamaha, or any other well known brands are the old faithfulls. Just have to keep up using startron and keep it all clean and gum free...I will let you know how the 9.9 does.

[motion30]

I had a5 HP nissan that would plane my 10 foot rib with just me.onboard.

[reelfun1960]

Originally Posted by motion30

I had a5 HP nissan that would plane my 10 foot rib with just me.onboard.

Yeah, telling you..had to be something wrong with the 5 hp lehr. Setting up the new merc 9.9 now..keep you posted

[HopCar]

Reelfun, Your dealer should have taken it out of the box and test run it before delivering it to you. It sounds like the carb slide was installed incorrectly. It's an easy fix and should have been done before the motor was delivered to you.
If it wasn't developing enough power the slide needle probably needed adjustment. Again this is very easy and should have been done before the engine was delivered to you.

Shorebird, the 2.5 should start on the third pull cold. Be sure you are advancing the throttle enough. If you still have a problem you may need to bleed air out of the line. This is usually only needed when the engine is first started, if it has been sitting for a long time, or if you use a new fuel hose to connect a remote tank.

To do this, remove the cowling. The carb is on the right side of the engine. On the back side of the carb is a small metal plate, held on by four screws. There is a small hole in the center of this plate. Gently poke a stiff wire (paper clip) into the hole and listen for the hiss of the propane. You might get a little smell of propane as well. The cold engine should fire right up now.

Lehr has some very helpful people if you have questions. Dave the advise line guy is great and if he can't answer your question, Dave the engineer can.