# Lehr Propane Fueled Motors



## catwoman (Jun 22, 2009)

I would also be interested in hearing more about propane fueled motors. 


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

I would like to hear about them as well. Let's learn about them.


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## climbdenali (Apr 2, 2006)

Can't most motors be relatively easily converted to run on propane?


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## B4otter (Apr 20, 2009)

They're sold by Cabela's and West Marine, but neither have one within 500 miles of Salt Lake so I haven't been able to see one. Pictures of the 5 HP I'm interested in and report from a friend who has laid eyes on one (in Pasadena West Marine store) indicate the drive train is lighter duty than my 5 hp Honda, and with a small kicker that's critical. I've got maybe 500 miles on the Honda mostly down Cat and in the Grand, it's banged some sand bars and a few logs and rocks, have had to change pins and sharpen the prop a couple of times, that's about it for maintenance on the drive line (I do change the lower unit oil every trip, it only holds .1 liter so not like that's a big deal). 
I would LOVE to run propane and not gas, but my conclusion is the Lehrs are not "there" yet...
As for conversion, I haven't found anyone willing to tackle it. If any buzzards know of someone, please respond. Realize it involves drilling the carb...


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## mikepart (Jul 7, 2009)

I you give up on the propane idea, consider a nice 36hp diesel. They are 4-stroke, so they should be allowed in the park. Yanmar D36 Diesel Outboard - YouTube


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## B4otter (Apr 20, 2009)

The beauty of propane is many of us are already carrying it to run our stoves and blasters - an extra tank for the motor is no big deal, and LPG storage is a lot less prone to spillage than liquid fuels like gas - or diesel.
Might be trading carrying a bomb for carrying a potential mess, but we're already carrying those bombs...
Not sure of the HP limitation for the Grand - it's somewhere around 35-45 HP, 'though...


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## gobigohome (Jul 18, 2007)

I would like to see one in person but they sound it's going in the right direction

LEHR 5hp Propane Powered Outboard Engine, Short Shaft | West Marine

Also run time on 

16.4 oz = 1.5 hours at 3,000 rpm

1 gallon = 128 oz

Carry am extra 20 gallon tanks would get you quite a bit of run Time and easy to carry an extra couple 16 oz for emergency. 

I be interested to see if the math works out in a real situation.


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## mikepart (Jul 7, 2009)

gobigohome said:


> I would like to see one in person but they sound it's going in the right direction
> 
> LEHR 5hp Propane Powered Outboard Engine, Short Shaft | West Marine
> 
> ...


I think you are confusing a 20 gallon tank with a 20 pound tank. A 20 gallon tank would be huge. A 20 pound tank should still have quite a bit of run time though (a 20 pound tank holds about 5 gallons). I would guess it would be about the same as a gas engine.


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## jgrebe (Jan 16, 2010)

I don't have any experience with the Lehr motors but I worked with a guy out of the Philippines on converting his conventional carbureted gas outboard fleet of 35 boats. There are some fairly cheap kits for converting both two stroke and four stroke motors to LPG or propane. We had mixed results but got most of them to work after some tinkering. The two stroke kits use oil injection. Propane has 84000 BTU (LHV)per gallon versus about 115,000 BTU for gasoline so you don't get the same mileage out of a gallon. The better kits inject the gas using a PRV and a mixer rather than drilling the carb. If the engine has a computer and fuel injection it becomes much more complicated


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## gobigohome (Jul 18, 2007)

mikepart said:


> I think you are confusing a 20 gallon tank with a 20 pound tank. A 20 gallon tank would be huge. A 20 pound tank should still have quite a bit of run time though (a 20 pound tank holds about 5 gallons). I would guess it would be about the same as a gas engine.



Very true that's why I say things and then I am humbled 1 out of 5 times hahaha


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## KingElbear (Feb 28, 2013)

I was looking for an outboard last year and serious looked at a Lehr, my deciding factor not to get on was they are made in China and parts and service are hard to come by. As well as no one around knows anything about them to work on them.


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