Klaxon Diesel Outboards

[Boatguy30]

They look like real garbage to me, as a trained outboard tech. A nice well designed diesel outboard would be perfect for my cat, but I have Yamaha high thrusts at the moment.

[carlspackler]

Occasionally I look at diesels, and aside from the minor hassle of importing the unit from a vendor on Alibaba, my biggest concern is really spare parts.

If I were sure I could buy spare parts on eBay, I think I would have no hesitation buying one.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by carlspackler

Occasionally I look at diesels, and aside from the minor hassle of importing the unit from a vendor on Alibaba, my biggest concern is really spare parts.

If I were sure I could buy spare parts on eBay, I think I would have no hesitation buying one.

I'm pretty sure there is no legal way to import them. Maybe if you took the boat over and sailed it back with the new motor, you could get away with it but imported engines must meet emissions requirements. Getting a one off approval would be a huge hassle.

Then again, most of the concerns with gasoline go away with outboards.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

I'm pretty sure there is no legal way to import them. Maybe if you took the boat over and sailed it back with the new motor, you could get away with it but imported engines must meet emissions requirements. Getting a one off approval would be a huge hassle.

Then again, most of the concerns with gasoline go away with outboards.

The FH4, FH6, and FH9 are already epa certified and there is a dealer in Louisiana. His ebay user ID Dieseljunky8v53

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by newhaul

The FH4, FH6, and FH9 are already epa certified and there is a dealer in Louisiana. His ebay user ID Dieseljunky8v53

That would be different then. Still a hassle to get parts and service and no significant benefit as a dingy motor over gas.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

That would be different then. Still a hassle to get parts and service and no significant benefit as a dingy motor over gas.

They are air cooled diesels what parts? Injection pump or injector you rebuild air filters you can clean or modify slightly to use commonly available replacements. Advantage would be it uses the same fuel as the main engine so no need to carry multiple fuels. Then there is the cool factor of being the only person in the anchorage using a diesel outboard ( that one would go away with time)

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by newhaul

They are air cooled diesels what parts? Injection pump or injector you rebuild air filters you can clean or modify slightly to use commonly available replacements. Advantage would be it uses the same fuel as the main engine so no need to carry multiple fuels. Then there is the cool factor of being the only person in the anchorage using a diesel outboard ( that one would go away with time)

I'll buy the zero maintenance argument when they have a track record. Our gas outboard has had negligible maintenance needs also.

Most mother ships don't have a separate tap of the main fuel tank, so you are still shlupping 5gal cans of fuel for the dingy. It may be the same fuel but no real advantage.

Real cool back brace you need to carry an engine that weighs twice what an equivalent gas engine weighs and good luck getting on plane with a lower HP engine weighing the dingy down.

As an engine for the mother ship, there are some potential minor advantages but not so much as a dingy motor.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

I'll buy the zero maintenance argument when they have a track record. Our gas outboard has had negligible maintenance needs also.

Most mother ships don't have a separate tap of the main fuel tank, so you are still shlupping 5gal cans of fuel for the dingy. It may be the same fuel but no real advantage.

Real cool back brace you need to carry an engine that weighs twice what an equivalent gas engine weighs and good luck getting on plane with a lower HP engine weighing the dingy down.

As an engine for the mother ship, there are some potential minor advantages but not so much as a dingy motor.

Now I don't know this but they state the 6 HP is equivelant in power to a10 HP gasoline outboard and axillary fuering from the main tank would be very easy and simple to setup to and including a her station type nozzle .

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Now I don't know this but they state the 6 HP is equivelant in power to a10 HP gasoline outboard and axillary fuering from the main tank would be very easy and simple to setup to and including a her station type nozzle .

So now they have magic HP? HP is HP. If you want to talk about acceleration, gas engines have always been the better option but once you get up to peak HP, there is no difference in HP.

An auxiliary outlet into the tank, adding a pump and a nozzle...anything can be done but hard to claim it's simpler than just a having a 5 gal jug tied down on the back deck.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

So now they have magic HP? HP is HP. If you want to talk about acceleration, gas engines have always been the better option but once you get up to peak HP, there is no difference in HP.

An auxiliary outlet into the tank, adding a pump and a nozzle...anything can be done but hard to claim it's simpler than just a having a 5 gal jug tied down on the back deck.

Actually I think it is more of a torque swinging a bigger prop but that's another story .
A jerry can is simple in the short term however a more perminate fueling option off main tank wold be simpler in the long run. Just like fueling a diesel furnace off he main tank. Heck that setup would even work for gasoline on vessels equipped with gas main engines.
I have an email in t the guy in Louisiana just to see if he is still selling them .

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Actually I think it is more of a torque swinging a bigger prop but that's another story .
A jerry can is simple in the short term however a more perminate fueling option off main tank wold be simpler in the long run. Just like fueling a diesel furnace off he main tank. Heck that setup would even work for gasoline on vessels equipped with gas main engines.
I have an email in t the guy in Louisiana just to see if he is still selling them .

If we were talking about the mother ship, torque has an advantage but they make gas outboards with deep reduction gears to provide that. For dingy use, at full speed, HP is HP. For acceleration, gas has always beat diesel.

I carry a couple jugs regardless as not every place as a fuel dock and you can often find fuel much cheaper at nearby on street stations, so I have the jugs permanently no matter what. Thus a fuel station system fed from the main tank is while not a big deal it is an additional complication.

I would be very curious to hear the sound level comparison. I've heard the briggs and straton air cooled outboards and they are basically a lawn mower engine with similar sound levels to a lawn mower. On the other hand, I've had to check that the engine hasn't stalled occasionally when I throttle back my 25hp merc to idle, it's that quiet.

[newhaul]

Just found a water cooled unit from them with thru prop exhaust. Which will reduce the noise factor considerably however it also increases the unit weight by quite a bit. There is also the much lower fuel consumption to look at.