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PirateGuy · 26-05-2021, 12:30

If your diesel has compression and gets fuel (and air) it should be capable of running. Personally, I don’t understand why all small diesels don’t include hand cranking to start, but maybe liability issues govern here.
Your key probably controls a simple enable engine on/off switch. This should be very easy to replace. You will need a momentary switch to energize your starter - and this is about it to get your engine running. If you have glowplug start assist, you will need another momentary switch, maybe a solenoid controlled relay. Finally, if the engine includes a shutoff fuel solenoid, this would typically be wired in parallel through your new keyless on/off engine enable switch.
Maybe you could trade some pizzas for help learning about direct current, low voltage electrical ststems - always a good skill set to have in any life hands-on activity.
I agree that water is a better bum cleaning media than toilet paper, and so have added a bidet wand to my inexpensive, electric head.

PirateGuy · 26-05-2021, 12:36

Oh yeah - make sure you have an operating oil pressure sensor (and readout). Cooling water temperature readout is also very good to have, but I guess you can monitor cooling water flow coking out the exhaust.

Bill O · 26-05-2021, 12:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caminantes

I will see how to rig a start button and a kill switch (thats what the outboard has, the red thing that you pull and the motor dies). I ve already got a charged battery to start with.

Will update as soon as i can.

Rigging a start switch to the starter is fairly straight forward, but not certain a kill switch will work on your diesel unless you have an electric fuel pump or some other electronic device to cut off the fuel flow. The typical mechanical way to cut off the fuel is to use a cable pull to the throttle linkage.
The gas outboard is totally different and the safety lanyard/switch (the red thing) kills the spark to the plug(s), stopping the motor. Not the same for a diesel which doesn't have spark plugs, etc. to cause combustion.

Caminantes · 26-05-2021, 12:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by PirateGuy

If your diesel has compression and gets fuel (and air) it should be capable of running. Personally, I don’t understand why all small diesels don’t include hand cranking to start, but maybe liability issues govern here.
Your key probably controls a simple enable engine on/off switch. This should be very easy to replace. You will need a momentary switch to energize your starter - and this is about it to get your engine running. If you have glowplug start assist, you will need another momentary switch, maybe a solenoid controlled relay. Finally, if the engine includes a shutoff fuel solenoid, this would typically be wired in parallel through your new keyless on/off engine enable switch.
Maybe you could trade some pizzas for help learning about direct current, low voltage electrical ststems - always a good skill set to have in any life hands-on activity.
I agree that water is a better bum cleaning media than toilet paper, and so have added a bidet wand to my inexpensive, electric head.

Hey! I have a crank on the bukh motor, which i turned to exhaustion, to no avail. There is a little release valve that lets the compresion out of the cylinders so you can crank fast and there is a big heavy wheel that adds inertia behind the cranking. So when you got fast, you close the relese valve and the cranking gets heavy (from there i deduced that i have compression). But so far, i couldnt produce a single explosion.

I think there is a glowplug in each cylinder, but not electricity reaching them.

I will happily trade some pizzas for some direct knowledge, since learning these matters from books is proving very difficult to me. I will ask around in the next haven i m heading to, there is a guy there who i know and works with diesel engines. Maybe he has time to teach me.

Yes! Bidets are great. You save trees. Also, i could never see the logic of paper as a cleaning method for anything that is not absorbing oils. For the rest, water is the way to go. There are also some very cool, simple water bottle accesories that provide the right angle for the water to clean, leeting you re use a water bottle while saving the amps.

Caminantes · 26-05-2021, 12:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill O

Rigging a start switch to the starter is fairly straight forward, but not certain a kill switch will work on your diesel unless you have an electric fuel pump or some other electronic device to cut off the fuel flow. The typical mechanical way to cut off the fuel is to use a cable pull to the throttle linkage.
The gas outboard is totally different and the safety lanyard/switch (the red thing) kills the spark to the plug(s), stopping the motor. Not the same for a diesel which doesn't have spark plugs, etc. to cause combustion.

As far as i see, this motor is gravity fed, no electric pumps to be seen on the diesel circuit. So the throttle will be. I can rig that.

Diesel no spark plugs exploting every turn, but the heating ones just for the first explosion, right?

Bill O · 26-05-2021, 13:02

Not familiar w/your motor to know if it has glow plugs for a pre-heat or not. Don't have any glow plugs on my Perkins. You may need to rig another switch for the glow plugs if this is needed for your motor to start in colder temps.

Bill O · 26-05-2021, 13:16

Here's a link for a workshop manual for your motor. Also an owners manual

A quick read of the owners hand book it appears you have a stop solenoid so you should be able to set up a switch to stop the motor.
Read the owners manual to familiarize yourself w/the motor parts. As you were going thru your boat parts to you happen to see the engine hand crank? This can be useful if you have dead batteries.

Caminantes · 26-05-2021, 13:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill O

Here's a link for a workshop manual for your motor. Also an owners manual

A quick read of the owners hand book it appears you have a stop solenoid so you should be able to set up a switch to stop the motor.
Read the owners manual to familiarize yourself w/the motor parts. As you were going thru your boat parts to you happen to see the engine hand crank? This can be useful if you have dead batteries.

I found the crank, and cranked it to no avail. It rotates when the decomoresion valve is open, and gets difficult to rotare when its shut. But no explosion so far.

I m reading the manual, learning slowly. Then i reach the electric stuff and i go braindead, and feel my mother forgot to update a part of the system when she was building me, and my monkey instinct tells me: rip that f.cking thing of your sailboat!

But yeah, i gather from this thread that there are people who actually manage to get their motors running, it feels impossible to me now... but i may just manage too.

Got some tips to start looking at the motor from different perspectives and maybe get it to run. Which would be great, since its there already.

thomm225 · 26-05-2021, 13:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caminantes

This is how the outboard rig looks now

Cool setup.

I hope it is strong enough to hold the outboard in rough conditions.

I'm on my second outboard bracket.

Btw I should mention my first 5 sailboats which I sailed/raced over 15 years didn't have engines. So with just a bit of engine help I can usually get out of bad situations with the sails.

Also you might like this guy's story as he went engineless most of the time. He has (had then) the same type boat as I do.

https://towndock.net/shippingnews/se...-and-alexandra

https://svcrystalblues.blogspot.com/...ne-around.html

He also talked this lady into going engineless for a while but now she has a small outboard on her Great Dane 28.

https://www.dinghydreams.com/

Hesti · 26-05-2021, 13:57

Bukh 20? You already found out, that it can be hand started.

Honestly? Keep the Bukh and get it going. My 2 cents. It may be the difference between getting out of a nasty spot and not getting out. No tacking in Bremerhaven near the Container Terminal, you may need an engine just to get to the North Sea.

Did you ask the harbourmaster (it is the Europahafen, correct?) for an idea who could help you with the engine?

PirateGuy · 26-05-2021, 14:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caminantes

Hey! I have a crank on the bukh motor, which i turned to exhaustion, to no avail. There is a little release valve that lets the compresion out of the cylinders so you can crank fast and there is a big heavy wheel that adds inertia behind the cranking. So when you got fast, you close the relese valve and the cranking gets heavy (from there i deduced that i have compression). But so far, i couldnt produce a single explosion.

I think there is a glowplug in each cylinder, but not electricity reaching them.

I will happily trade some pizzas for some direct knowledge, since learning these matters from books is proving very difficult to me. I will ask around in the next haven i m heading to, there is a guy there who i know and works with diesel engines. Maybe he has time to teach me.

Yes! Bidets are great. You save trees. Also, i could never see the logic of paper as a cleaning method for anything that is not absorbing oils. For the rest, water is the way to go. There are also some very cool, simple water bottle accesories that provide the right angle for the water to clean, leeting you re use a water bottle while saving the amps.

Good that your engine can be handcranked. As a young man in a galaxy far, far away and a long, long time ago, we had a handcranked Lister engine to mix drilling mud on a drillship I worked on. It was in the South China Sea in summer, so no glow plugs were required to start that small 4 cylinder engine.
It sounds like you followed the right procedure with the decompression lever. The fact your engine didn’t even pop is a bit worrisome.
Check to make sure the engine is getting fuel. Also, you might jury-rig a piece of heavier wire to your glow plugs to see if this helps start it. On my diesel, the glow plugs draw as much as 80 Amps, so the wire should be heavier (say 10 gauge minimum). You shouldn’t need a ground wire because the glowplug circuit is completed to the engine block itself. Make sure your battery is also grounded to the engine block also. Hold your wire to a glowplug for 5-8 seconds maximum, remove the wire, and crank your engine. If it doesn’t even pop, check if it is getting fuel.

stormalong · 26-05-2021, 14:09

If you are going into the Med you need a reliable inboard engine period.

The wind really blows strong in the Med, you will not be able to wait for better weather because it rarely get better - especially in the eastern Med. An outboard with the prop coming out of the water will do you no good.

When I was there it seemed that any direction I wanted to go was straight up wind. I put 500 hours on my inboard in two years.

Caminantes · 26-05-2021, 14:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomm225

Cool setup.

I hope it is strong enough to hold the outboard in rough conditions.

I'm on my second outboard bracket.

Btw I should mention my first 5 sailboats which I sailed/raced over 15 years didn't have engines. So with just a bit of engine help I can usually get out of bad situations with the sails.

Also you might like this guy's story as he went engineless most of the time. He has (had then) the same type boat as I do.

https://towndock.net/shippingnews/se...-and-alexandra

https://svcrystalblues.blogspot.com/...ne-around.html

He also talked this lady into going engineless for a while but now she has a small outboard on her Great Dane 28.

https://www.dinghydreams.com/

Hey! Interesting people. This guy Sean. Thank you for the link. Yes. Definitively doable. He makes things his way. Im very much like him in that aspect.

I dont have remotely your experience sailing without engine. But i like the possibility of having a little bit of engine to help things while looking for sailing out of trouble.

Maybe even trying to not get in too much trouble to begging with, when possible

Wondering what will be with this nice littke boat im living in now.

thomm225 · 26-05-2021, 14:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by stormalong

If you are going into the Med you need a reliable inboard engine period.

The wind really blows strong in the Med, you will not be able to wait for better weather because it rarely get better - especially in the eastern Med. An outboard with the prop coming out of the water will do you no good.

When I was there it seemed that any direction I wanted to go was straight up wind. I put 500 hours on my inboard in two years.

Many cruisers rely on their engines way too much. It can be done another way but that way isn't necessarily fun for some.

So, if the wind "really blows" in the area you are this is where your sails (not your engine) can come in handy.

Most boats have more horsepower in their sails than in their tiny auxiliary engines.

This has always been a hard point to get across to non-sailors. Those that rely too heavily on their engines and that have never sailed a boat without one for a long distance in varying conditions.

Just ask a sailor.