Lehr Propane Outboards

[jeepbluetj]

Don't think there is a 1.5. HopCar was talking about a 15hp engine.

The 2.5 you sure can lay em down - tiller side down. They'll leak the other way 'round. I store mine (2.5) upright but have transported it many times on it's side.

The carb hasn't gummed up yet.

[HopCar]

Jeep is correct. Lehr doesn't make a 1.5 at this time. I actually talked to Capt. Herzer, owner of Lehr, about building a 1.5 engine or even a 1.0. just yesterday. I want one for my canoe. I get the impression it's low on his list.

I don't know if there is a UK distributor yet but I bet there will be soon. There was a continuous stream of people from other countries that stopped by the Lehr booth to talk about becoming distributors for their country. I think you guys in Oz will have Lehr soon. I worked the booth with a fellow from Sprint Gas who really knew his stuff.
It looks like they may become the Australian distributor. If all Australians are as nice as he was, I think I want to visit you guys.

[J Clark H356]

I bought a 5HP Lehr to replace a 4HP/4 stroke Yamaha about 6 weeks ago and had to have the carb speed adjusted after my first 1.5 hours, but now it runs sweet and starts within 5 pulls when just loaded with a can of propane. if shut down and left charged, it starts on the second pull. No more gummed up carbs for me. My Lehr has a 3 year warranty, so any bugs should be fixed by Lehr. I am impressed so far and propane is plentiful in the small cans and runs very clean. I think this could be the answer for this crap gas with ethanol.

[HopCar]

Juggernaut, We sold some engines from the first batch that hit the USA. There were problems with both the 2.5 and 5.0. The problems were in the gas handling system. Lehr replaced all of those engines. Lehr hasn't sold any 15's yet, so unless the guy you know was testing a prototype, there have been no failures of 15's yet.

Lehr advertises 1/2 hour on the 1 pound bottle at WOT. I've heard that twenty minutes is more realistic in the field. The one hour number is for 3/4 throttle. The actual number is probably 45 to 50 minutes in the real world.

[HopCar]

J Clark, Try giving it more throttle when you start your Lehr. It should start on two good pulls cold. They do like more throttle than the manual will tell you.

Did anybody show you how to bleed air from the system? If you hook up a long hose that is filled with air, you'll pull your arm off before the propane replaces the air.
The trick is to remove the cover and with a small wire, paper clip is good, press gently on the diaphragm through the little hole on the side of the gas regulator. Let it hiss for about 10 seconds and the engine will start right up. You can see the hole I'm talking about in the attached photo. The screw at the top of the plate and a little off center is the idle speed adjustment screw.

[J Clark H356]

Thanks for the advice. Initially, I was trying to start it like the manual showed and it wasn't working. When I took it back for service they showed me the paper clip hole and said to purge it if it didn't start. It was also set a little low on the timing, so,they bumped it up. He also said to open the throttle up more. I am probably still not giving enough throttle to start. Next time I will open it up more.

I am back in TN now for a week and will return to the boat on the 27th to start back north. I haven't had the amount of time I wanted to play around with this new engine, so maybe at one of the anchorages on the way back, I'll get some dinghy time. I really like the engine so far and think once I get used to it, it will be great.

[svJuggernaut]

There was a 15hp in key west this past week that needed a tow, unless it was a 5 with a "1" sticker in front of it, for fun.

[HopCar]

Must have been a prototype. Lehr told me the 15 wouldn't be available to dealers until next month.

[KP44]

My Lehr never ran right with a big tank. I bought all the bells and whistles. The pressure seemed wrong but it ran OK with the little canisters.
My 5 hp Lehr developed a leak under the cowling after 2 years and only about 10 hours of use. I was in Mexico so there was no warrantee. The hoses under the cowl looked like a maze, and no way to even try to tighten a fitting.
I replaced it with a 6 hp gasoline outboard. A Mexican mechanic took on the repair and managed to fix it. (Which voids any hope of a warrantee.) But I have not started it to see if it is fixed.

[delmarrey]

Did you use a regulator with a big tank. The pressure can vary on a 20# cylinder from 50 to 150 psi depending on the manufacturer and temp of the LPG.

[txg]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Lehr advertises 1/2 hour on the 1 pound bottle at WOT. I've heard that twenty minutes is more realistic in the field.

That's funny when this company itself advertises: "LEHR CEO: A leader of clean boating" on their website. Going thru a single use propane can made out of steel every 20 minutes is the absolute opposite and absolutely not environmentally-friendly.

[KP44]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Did you use a regulator with a big tank. The pressure can vary on a 20# cylinder from 50 to 150 psi depending on the manufacturer and temp of the LPG.

I bought the Lehr hose that led from tank to engine. It didn't look like any type of regulator on the hose. There was no mention of additional regulator, which I thought was unusual. But the Lehr was an unusual outboard.

[KP44]

Originally Posted by J Clark H356

I think this could be the answer for this crap gas with ethanol.

I had to replace my Lehr with a new gasoline outboard - that is certified for ethanol 10%.

[HopCar]

Originally Posted by KP44

My Lehr never ran right with a big tank. I bought all the bells and whistles. The pressure seemed wrong but it ran OK with the little canisters.
My 5 hp Lehr developed a leak under the cowling after 2 years and only about 10 hours of use. I was in Mexico so there was no warrantee. The hoses under the cowl looked like a maze, and no way to even try to tighten a fitting.
I replaced it with a 6 hp gasoline outboard. A Mexican mechanic took on the repair and managed to fix it. (Which voids any hope of a warrantee.) But I have not started it to see if it is fixed.

Lehr had a batch of bad hoses that went from the inlet fitting to the regulator. They replaced them free when ever anyone had a problem. The fittings were not crimped enough.

[HopCar]

Originally Posted by txg

That's funny when this company itself advertises: "LEHR CEO: A leader of clean boating" on their website. Going thru a single use propane can made out of steel every 20 minutes is the absolute opposite and absolutely not environmentally-friendly.

Lehr never meant the 1 pound cans to be the primary fuel source on the 5hp. I think it was meant as an emergency back up in case the larger tank ran out. The 1 pound tanks were often used as a primary fuel source on the 2.5 as you could get about an hour running time. Enough to get several dinghy rides to shore and back. I always run my 2.5 on an 11 pound fiberglass tank.