Hyfong Outboards

[Blue Stocking]

Marine Propulsion Outboard Drives, Ferry Boat Propulsion Drive, Barge Propulsion Drive

How about one of these babies.

[Bill Burgette]

Blue Stocking, one of those would be nice but the smallest one is 5000 pounds. (Weight not money) That wouldn't leave much room for beer, rum or wenches.

[perchance]

The Chinese knock offs are cheap for a reason and just isn't the cheap labour. They are made from the scrap they buy from all over the world. Their foundry practices probably leave a lot to be desired.

[avb3]

I had a good friend of mine import chinese mobility scooters.

Even though he dealt with the same factory and the same personal, there was always something that was systemically wrong with each shipment. One time the axle, one time the electronic controller... etc, etc.

The problem was that the factory would change suppliers, and even though the "specs" were the same, the quality wasn't.

He gave up on them, and started importing quads. Same problem.

Finally he said the heck with chinese motorized units and imported (to Canada) units that were built in the U.S. (with Honda motors though).

No more problems.

[Azimut]

I bought the 15HP Hyfong from the Montreal importer last month. Here are my findings and impressions so far. Keep in mind that this is my first outboard motor so I can’t compare with other manufacturers. The reason why I bought this motor is obviously price related. At less than half the price including taxes, no one can compete with that.

The outboard came with a 24L plastic fuel tank, fuel hose and primer bulb, one extra water pump impeller, 2 extra spark plugs and some tools. Also included was a replacement starting rope and owners’ manual.

First off, I went over the fit and finish of the outboard. All in all it’s OK. It is not perfect but OK. Castings are clean and burr free. This is what I would expect from any manufacturer. Electricals are OK as well. Electrical wiring is all secured with Tie-Wraps.

A closer look revealed a broken witness water line fitting to the bottom cowling. This was fixed with a dab of Silicon. The sacrificial anode was painted. The paint was scraped off with a knife. By the way, the paint is powder coating which is real thick stuff. I suspect it will survive the elements quite well. Finally, the bottom cowling had a loose O ‘ring floating around with some residual metal chips. I could not identify the O’ ring. Looking at the engine schematics, it could only be the fuel filter O’ ring or the air filter O’ ring. I verified that the fuel filter O’ ring was present and it was. That leaves the air filter O’ ring. No big deal if it’s not there. There are other O’ rings in the engine but I don’t see how they could have gotten in there.

Now for the fun part; running the engine...
I went to my favourite pond and went through part of the break-in procedure using the recommended 25:1 oil ratio. The engine started up on the 4th pull of the cord. Subsequent starts were on the first pull.

Vibrations are low and noise levels are lower than expected. The engine performs very well. It did kind of cough once in a while at idle. After 3 hours of running, I can now go to WOT for short periods of time. It puts the boat on plane nicely. A 13’ Saturn inflatable I got last year.

Back home, I inspected the spark plugs after that first day and found one to be coked. The other was fine. I verified the gap and found both to be out of spec by quite a lot. I adjusted the gap on the 2 spare ones and installed those on the engine. I hope this will solve the coughing.

At this point, I am very happy with this OB. Granted it is not perfect but the price is awesome. This outboard is a knockoff of the Yamaha 2 stroke 15 HP so parts availability should not be an issue. I guess if you have a bit of a mechanical background this outboard will not be a problem. Question is: where to get it repaired if you can’t do the work yourself.

[Bill Burgette]

Azimut, I have seen/heard similar stories about Chinese products. It seems that most of the knock-off products are made with acceptable parts and should perform reliably. Most of the problems seem to be, as you have found, related to the assembly of the components. It doesn't seem that Chinese manufacturing facilities have a quality control inspector.

Once these assembly issues are dealt with, the widgets seem to be just fine. Always check for loose screws, gaskets, wiring and hoses and clamps. Most always there is a problem somewhere in there.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Azimut.

Thanks for your report.

[jusembo]

Hyphong Outboard is just a piece of scrap. 1st year = many brakedopwns 2nd year = continuosly reparing 3d year = unrepairable, just collapsed. If you need details or photo please ask :-)

[Sweet Chariot]

Originally Posted by David M

If you need reliability, I would stick with the brands with a known track record. Complex machinery made by Chinese companies made in China do not have an exemplary track record. There is a degree of precision and metallurgical knowledge to machine parts that I do not think China has mastered yet....that's just been my experience. Something that is broken is never worth the money you saved on it.

Friend of mine who owns an engineering firm says the problem with Chinese goods is that the Chinese cannot make good fitting threads. This is what lets down the chinese products. Bolts, screws etc work loose and then other parts fail as a consequence.

[FlashGumby]

Talking to one of the Product Managers on the line at Motorola when I was an engineer there, I was told that the problem that *we* (Motorola) had with China was the way they bid projects.

An American manufacturer, would see the specs and give you a price for what they would consider a quality product, there is an adage of "You get what you pay for.", inferring that if it costs a little more, the quality will (hopefully) be a bit better. A Chinese firm will ask for the specs and what you are willing to pay. They will *always* make the pricepoint. If you pay American prices you will get superior product and you can go down to so far and still be getting nearly equivalent product... but after a while, they will start cutting corners in raw materials, quality control, tolerances etc. So it is up to you to determine how much of a cut off of domestic manufacturing prices is acceptable to cover lower wages, benefits and the price of doing business and quote them as close to that (or above as you can) because if you ask for a widget at half that price they'll deliver it... but you won't like what you get.

I've always carried that with me when I consider Chinese goods. I really do believe that they *can* do quality. You just have to pay for it.

It does sound as if the Hyfongs are at least marginally superior to the Hangkais, which I've heard nothing but bad things about.

-Scott

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Scott.

[Cowstopper]

I may be to old but I remember when "made in Japan" meant it was a piece of crap. I would be very surprised if Yamaha Nissan Honda etc weren't made in China. How do you think China go the dies to make the Honda clones you buy at harbor freight

[CAELESTIS]

If you want to save money, buy a used Yamaha or Tohatsu, etc.

[gmakhs]

Good Chinese can be as good as a good famous brand .
You just need s good factory