Lehr Propane Outboard Engines

Bamaman1

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 15, 2011
Messages
1,895
And when you run out of 1 lb. bottles, you can take your gas grill tank and run the motor a long time with an optional hose.

Better yet, run it on the big gas bottles and keep a couple of 1 lb. bottles for a reserve.

I saw your engines on Ship Shape TV, and they look to be very high quality motors in every way.
 

robert graham

Admiral
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Apr 16, 2009
Messages
6,908
Re: Lehr Propane Outboard Engines

Looks like a possible alternative motor to my 3HP Tanaka that I use on my canoe, although the Lehr, at 37 lbs. is 10 lbs heavier than my Tanaka. A grill-sized propane tank would run that motor for hours without the gas/oil hassle. Honda makes a 2HP, 4 stroke, air cooled, centrifugal clutch motor at about 27lbs...Honda still might be hard to beat,overall....
 

phillnjack2

Ensign
Joined
Apr 30, 2011
Messages
918
Re: Lehr Propane Outboard Engines

why not run the Honda on the propane ?
then you have it all.
 

Triangleboater

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Mar 5, 2013
Messages
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Re: Lehr Propane Outboard Engines

Run the honda on propane? .....seems like a difficult conversion....
 

gm280

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Jun 26, 2011
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Re: Lehr Propane Outboard Engines

Maybe an older oil injection 2 cycle engine would be easier to convert to use propane. You have to keep the internals lubed and light. Oil injected into the engine would solve that lube issue. JAT
 

H20Rat

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Mar 8, 2009
Messages
5,199
Re: Lehr Propane Outboard Engines

Maybe an older oil injection 2 cycle engine would be easier to convert to use propane. You have to keep the internals lubed and light. Oil injected into the engine would solve that lube issue. JAT

I've run modern 4 stroke non-efi engines on propane, easy to do! Pretty much any 4 stroke can be converted, you can build a metering valve, or there are a couple companies that sell them relatively cheap.

2 strokes on the other hand are a pain and you don't gain as much, as you still have to worry about an oiling system. Depending on how the oiling works, it can be a huge nightmare to get it to work with propane. Even some injected systems won't work well, as they suck the oil/gas mixture through the crankcase before going into the piston. Without the oil/gas mix, the oil tends to stick in the crankcase and not make it to the cylinder.
 
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HopCar

Cadet
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
24
Re: Lehr Propane Outboard Engines

The Lehr is not just a gasoline engine that has had a propane regulator thrown on it. The Lehr power head was designed from the ground up to use propane efficiently. The big difference is the higher compression ratio. Propane has an octane rating of 110 allowing it to be used at higher compression ratios than gasoline. You couldn't put a carb on a Lehr and run it on gasoline.
 

ronaldj

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 1, 2013
Messages
655
Re: Lehr Propane Outboard Engines

And when you run out of 1 lb. bottles, you can take your gas grill tank and run the motor a long time with an optional hose.

Better yet, run it on the big gas bottles and keep a couple of 1 lb. bottles for a reserve.

I saw your engines on Ship Shape TV, and they look to be very high quality motors in every way.

I love my 5hp lehr
I started out using the 1lb bottles.
I have refilled some from a 20lb tank but I have also found that they make composite tanks that hold 5, 10 or 20lbs of propane. For me 20lb was just to large. I carry a 5lb tank and a 1lb reserve most of the time. Im pretty much sold on propane and I am even trying to convert my honda 2000s to propane, but thats another story.
While using 2 or 3 1lb bottles was working well. I went to 5lbs as an added measure of saftey and because everytime I would tie up anyplace the engine became a conversation piece and I couldnt tell how much lp was left. Now I can see through the tank with no problems.
 
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