Weed eater engine conversion

[pistnbroke]

put the shaft at 15 deg ....you can tilt the motor 15 deg so that gives you horisontal to 30 deg down without problems ...you will probably run at 15 deg down for the shaft ...e mail john o neil didrect with your questions on the joint ..I know it must have needle rollers or it wears very fast ( which is why he has stopped using it )

[John O`Neal]

Originally Posted by muddin redneck

Ripped off your the one that built the muskrat mud motor and had the pics on pg. 28 of this thread. i was wondering at what degree angle did you run the shaft? and how long was the shaft?
thanks

Redneck ; Pistinbroke is right-on with the 15 degree angle of the drive shaft. This seems to be close to a standard for the industry. Shaft lengths vary and are somewhat dependent on transom height but most shafts fall in the 60" to72" range for the smaller motored longtails. As for the U-joint, get a needle bearing unit . If you look back in the thread I list a supplier that offers them for around $20.

[muddin redneck]

thanks john i really appreciate the information

[John O`Neal]

Originally Posted by Lastflight

Also, has anyone else been able to find a new source (in the US) for the bigger brush cutters? I have done quite a bit of searching and unless you want to buy 500 units from China, you are out of luck.

Lastflight ; Stihl makes a brush cutter that can be utilized for a long tail conversion. In fact Kings Crawdadmotors uses Stihl brush cutters for their conversions, which they sell commercially. They are a little more pricey than the Chinese offerings but they are powerful and offer high quality.

[DeepMarshHunter]

it's been awhile since iv'e been on just catching up on reading. on your shaft and it all changes between different boat, so muddin redneck you should look at that if you haven't already done so or built one yet. the way you figure out what angle you need depends on a couple different thing. first and more important is the length. now you here a lot about length and how you shouldn't go you shouldn't go to long, but i will tell you first hand that length is not a problem. i have 2 mud motors one with a 37 hp and one is a 5.5 hp. with the 5.5 i have a 97 inch shaft length. with the 5.5 and the extra length of the shaft and housing i get better results in speed. if you would like me to post pictures let me know if you want some more helpful knowledge if this seems helpful you can email me at calmepalmtre@yahoo.com

[muddin redneck]

thanks for the post and yes pics would be a great help. maybe of the boat mount too. how it pivots. does it have an adjustable stop so it can only go so deep? and does it have the ability to turn 180 degrees for trailering?

[DeepMarshHunter]

yes muddin redneck the boat mount does have the ability to turn a whole 360 degrees, and on the adjustable stop i do not prefer them cuz you never know when your could put your prop at different angles to provide better performance and speed. i will post a couple pics just for an example on 9-17. i can give you alot more detail if your already have a boat. if you could get me some measurements of the transom, over all length and how far in the water your boat sits. please feel free to email me if you need any assistance.

[muddin redneck]

my boat is a 1980 bass tracker 3. its 16', and it sit about 8'' in the water. the transon is between 21''-22''. its 54'' wide at transom. here are som pics of a boat just like mine except for the motor(but same size shape everything).

[hoytedow]

Update: I went out with the air canoe today, taking my son Peter. We made 2.4 mph upstream with a combined weight of over 400 pounds counting engine, fuel and gear. We went about 3/8th's of a mile when the engine quit. I believe it overheated due to having it at full throttle in order to achieve that speed. I recommend that 25cc's is just too small an engine for so much work. I would recommend at least 40 to 50 cc engine for a 2 passenger canoe and good engine cooling capabilities.

[muddin redneck]

hoy
you may wanna try this web site www.brandnewengines.com for a new engine. they have honda, briggs, and kohler engines. there is a 5hp honda for $195 USD. this may be more than you wanna spend but thought it might help. i have got a few engines from there and i cant complain about price or service.

[jcraig]

Hi, I am rather late to join in this thread, but are you guys up on the new 52cc Briggs & Stratton and Honda mini four strokes that may just be ideal for these mini mud drives? They have actually been out for about 3-4years now and may prove quite worthy for a look see. I was most impressed with what you guys have done on this tack.
Thanks,
Jeff

[hoytedow]

Thanks, muddin' and jc. 5hp is bigger than I want but that 52cc sounds just right. I'll check 'em out. Maybe find a used one.

[GOOSE316]

My first post on this forum... just wanted to thank everyone for their input and advise on this huge thread...

I started researching and reading all the stuff related to weed eater conversions about 3 days ago, I now have all the parts on order to complete my first motor....

For those of you who haven't asked for money etc, you should be commended... so many in the hunting industry are looking to one up everyone...and that doesn't seem to be going on here... Thanks!

[Mark Wo]

Originally Posted by GOOSE316

My first post on this forum... just wanted to thank everyone for their input and advise on this huge thread...

I started researching and reading all the stuff related to weed eater conversions about 3 days ago, I now have all the parts on order to complete my first motor....

For those of you who haven't asked for money etc, you should be commended... so many in the hunting industry are looking to one up everyone...and that doesn't seem to be going on here... Thanks!

Be sure to share what you learn with others on this site and take and post pictures. Good luck.

What motor did you end up choosing?

Mark

[GOOSE316]

Seemed to be the quickest most available motor out there... Going to be using OrpahnedCowboys plans but I'm sure there will be some differrences.

I have several go-cart motors laying around as I used to race them, but I don't have the time to do a ton of fabrication on drive lines, and mounts, etc...ducks are starting to fly...

Do you see anything wrong with the choice, for my first mini-longtail..