Lehr Propane Outboards

[HopCar]

The food is good there and the collection of sailing photos is stunning.

[pbiJim]

Do you go there often? Are you a member?

[HopCar]

Do you go there often? Are you a member?
No, Yes
That's where I learned to sail when I was a kid. I inherited my Dad's membership.

[LibreVie47]

DESPERATE FOR A SOLUTION! We purchased the Lehr 9.9 manual start 2 months ago because the electric start wasn't available. We bought it from West Marine in Huntington, Long Island and paid $2800 and change with tax. (We also got the 5-yr. warranty.) We had researched the Lehr, and were excited about going "Propane." We live on our 47 sailboat on a mooring, so a reliable dinghy engine is critical for us. (I commute into NYC.). The problem: I simply cannot start the thing! My husband can get it started in about 3 pulls, but try as I might, I just can't do it. I'm not weak and scrawny - I believe I have average upper arm strength for a woman. When my husband is away, I'm stranded on our boat because I can't get the darn Lehr started. West Marine will not take returns. We spoke to an authorized Lehr service center to see if there is anything that can be done internally to make the pull easier (the answer was no). The best advice we have received is for me to work out and build my arm strength. !!! Dropping $2800 for an outboard that for me, is 100% useless just sickens me. It seems our only option is to sell it (for a huge loss, since it's used, albeit only 2 months) and drop another $3k for an electric start. This isn't really an option. Does anyone have any other suggestions besides weight training?!

[Ocean Girl]

It being a propane engine I guess a little starter fluid in the carb won't work.

Is it turning at all? Barely starting or not even close?

I read a better pull handle can help.


There isn't an electric start kit mod out there?

[HopCar]

That's not good. I wonder if you primed it before trying to pull it over if it would start easier? The process to prime the engine is the same as bleeding the air out of the lines. With the propane hooked to the engine and the valve all the way open, remove the engine cowl. Locate the square plate with a small hole in the middle and gently push a piece of wire (paper clip) into the hole. Let the propane hiss for a couple of seconds and then try to start the engine.

I would also call Lehr on Monday and talk to Dave in customer service about this problem. If he can't help you ask him to check with Dave the engineer. He may know a trick that I don't. I think there is an automatic compression release on these engines designed to make them easier to start. Maybe yours isn't working?




Photo by MurrayM on Trawler Forum.

[pbiJim]

Originally Posted by LibreVie47

Does anyone have any other suggestions besides weight training?!

Aerobics?
(just kidding)



Dock at the west side boat basin at the end of 79th st?

Make friends with some of the pilots at the west side heliport, like Nick the Greek or Wild Bill?

Purchase a smaller outboard that will be less expensive & easier to start?

Learn to row?



Where is your mooring & how far is the trip to shore?

[pbiJim]

If you are technically inclined,
You might want to check the basics of a 4 stroke engine.

1) Is air & fuel getting into the cylinder OK? Is the intake plugged up?
2) Do you have good compression? Do you feel strong resistance when you pull the start cord, followed by the resistance letting go when the piston passes top dead center?
3) Do you have good strong spark? If you pull the boot off of a spark plug & set it next to the engine block, do you see a bright blue spark when you pull the engine over? Or is it kind of weak & just barely there?
4) Do you have a clear exhaust path? Is the exhaust port clogged up with seaweed?

[LibreVie47]

Learn to row. That's a creative solution! Haha!

I believe the engine is doing exactly what it's supposed to do since my husband can start it. I guess I'm just a weakling, although I just don't want to believe that. I was able to start our Honda 9.9 on the first pull. The Lehr is just so stinkin' hard for me. I was thinking perhaps there would be a way to modify or grease the whatever to make it easier to pull. After posting this question this morning, I went out a little more determined. Using both hands and putting all of my 130 pounds behind it, I got it to start. Of course I ended up in a heap on the dinghy floor.

But then my husband, always the problem solver, had an idea. He rigged a bungee cord secured toward the bow and with a grip at the aft end. (This is going to sound dumb but funny.) The concept is to use the force of a fully stretched bungee to assist my pull. So with one end of the bungee secured toward the bow, I grip the handle he rigged to the aft end, and am able to fully extend (stretch) the bungee and grasp the engine pull with the same hand. At that point, using the force of the fully stretched bungee to assist, I was able to pull with very little effort at all. It was a silly and hilarious solution, but it works beautifully!

[pbiJim]

Your husband sounds like an engineer.

I'm glad to hear that you found a workable solution.

[HopCar]

Very clever!
Another option would be to put on your high heel Topsiders and look helpless. It won't be long before some slack jawed man stops by to start it for you.

[LibreVie47]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Very clever!
Another option would be to put on your high heel Topsiders and look helpless. It won't be long before some slack jawed man stops by to start it for you.

How did you know I have high heeled Top-Siders?

[HopCar]

What proper Lady sailor wouldn't?

[Ocean Girl]

Originally Posted by LibreVie47

Learn to row. That's a creative solution! Haha!

I believe the engine is doing exactly what it's supposed to do since my husband can start it. I guess I'm just a weakling, although I just don't want to believe that. I was able to start our Honda 9.9 on the first pull. The Lehr is just so stinkin' hard for me. I was thinking perhaps there would be a way to modify or grease the whatever to make it easier to pull. After posting this question this morning, I went out a little more determined. Using both hands and putting all of my 130 pounds behind it, I got it to start. Of course I ended up in a heap on the dinghy floor.

But then my husband, always the problem solver, had an idea. He rigged a bungee cord secured toward the bow and with a grip at the aft end. (This is going to sound dumb but funny.) The concept is to use the force of a fully stretched bungee to assist my pull. So with one end of the bungee secured toward the bow, I grip the handle he rigged to the aft end, and am able to fully extend (stretch) the bungee and grasp the engine pull with the same hand. At that point, using the force of the fully stretched bungee to assist, I was able to pull with very little effort at all. It was a silly and hilarious solution, but it works beautifully!

Gotta post a picture, even throw this in its own titled thread so other folks who have the same problem can try this. Not just for propane, but any outboard.

[nimblemotors]

That is a clever solution! Just don't let go the bungee.
I had an idea to start a little engine when we discussed manual start of a diesel. They have spring starters for mine operations, so why not for a pull-start engine? Wind it up, then release. I'm really surprised lawm mowers and small outboards don't have such a system, it can't really cost much more.

Originally Posted by LibreVie47

But then my husband, always the problem solver, had an idea. He rigged a bungee cord secured toward the bow and with a grip at the aft end. (This is going to sound dumb but funny.) The concept is to use the force of a fully stretched bungee to assist my pull. So with one end of the bungee secured toward the bow, I grip the handle he rigged to the aft end, and am able to fully extend (stretch) the bungee and grasp the engine pull with the same hand. At that point, using the force of the fully stretched bungee to assist, I was able to pull with very little effort at all. It was a silly and hilarious solution, but it works beautifully!