Diesel outboard

Good point, and remember what they said about Japanese products when they came out in the 70's.

I tried to find a European distributor for these outboards, no luck so far.

I am very interested in the outcome of this test, I am about to buy outboards for my 25' powercat........

.....I might well change to these if they are any good, because petrol/gas is very hard to find at European marina's, they usually only have diesel available.

 

The lower portion of the outboard shown in the video looks familiar, likely sourced from an existing petrol outboard maker ?

 

Thanks for that link, Harry, there will be a market at that price if they any good, only time will tell I suppose. Hoping to get your impressions of it after a period of use.

 

I cant see any emission rating so thats a show stopper for europe/Usa
Australia not long before that door is closed

 

The Channel islands which are British, but not part of Europe [a few miles off the the French coast] still sell 2 str O/B's, so maybe it would be possible to get it sent there.

The big problem is where do you get spares from?
Send to China for an impeller? How many months would that take to arrive?

 

Parts may be interchangeable with other brands, I doubt the lower end is unique to this brand.

 

A local guy here in Ireland was selling Parson O/B's, made in China at the same factory as Yamaha, but at the weekend.

Quite honestly the quality of Yamaha small engines is so bad I doubt that the Chinese copy could be any worse.

My son bought a Yamaha scooter, shocking engineering. Everything has fallen off; and it's covered in ABS plastic fairings that are as weak as cardboard.

Throw away products.

 

2 stroke outboards are still sold worldwide the difference is they comply with emission regulations.
Merc still sell an emission compliant 2 stroke race engine in Europe/USA
Nobody has a rule on 2 strokes ( popular folk law)only emission regulations.

The diesel reg is now so tough I doubt anyone can actually build a compliant diesel outboard unfortunately

 

A shame facists run the US government so you cant buy a whipper snipper in America.

 

Hi Rusty
I put a link to a website somewhere in this thread. Send an email and see if you get a response. Test it for me pls.
A starter motor for a 20 hp Vee Twin was ordered Tuesday afternoon and it arrived express post the following Monday in suburban Sydney direct from China. The customer was stoked. He didn't even need to leave his workshop and it was in his hands.

Cheers Phil

 

If you really understood the meaning of the word fascism you wouldn't make such an inane political comment on this forum. Look it up.

 

If there was an award for the ugliest design, RUNSUN would surely qualify. They look like an outdoor barbeque on top of an outboard leg, especially the lower power models with the spidery leg.
Even the Chinese seem to be embarrassed, so they also offer their outboards without the coffin.

The engine quality doesn't have to be bad though. Some 10 years ago I built a generator with a $250 Chinese 10 hp diesel that was very reliable. The neighbors complained about the deafening noise, even after I built a stone shed around it and although the engine vibrates terribly, only non-essential parts fell off.

 

So far there are no restrictions on using diesel power in a marine or off road application in many countries. It's only road vehicles where everyone gets hysterical. Check your local marina, how many boats are diesel powered?

Why should there be one rule for inboards and another for outboards?
There is someone selling these diesel outboards in america quite successfully right now and they are selling like hotcakes. Runsun are working on a watercooled small Hp model that has an even cleaner exhaust than the current models. The RUNSUN's smoke for about the first 10 revs when they start and that's it.
They also have so many compliance approvals for export to EU, Japan, etc and they are ce certified.
I would last much longer in an enclosed space with my diesel running than any other motor. Easily.
As an explanation, if one motor burns 3 litres of fuel per hour and another uses 30, how can the 3 litre an hour motor be a bigger polluter? It is not physically possible to turn 3 litres of fuel into more smoke than 30 litres.
You will find most of the anti diesel hype comes from the major outboard manufacturers who have been lazy and stuck with the same thing for the last 50 years and they've been caught sitting on their laurels and fancy hoods.

Thanks Powerabout for your queries, it's good to clear the air (hey, Phil cracked a funny!) because being a new product there are a lot of misconceptions about.

Cheers Phil

 

CDK, I just about wet myself laughing, you are so on the button. THEY ARE UGLY!
But only the hood (the main part everyone sees).
I have been hassling China about this and they are working on it but their focus has been on getting the internals from China good to worldwide good first. As a result of discussions with their customers, RUNSUN now include air cleaners (Australia is full of dust and bulls**t), oil coolers to prolong oil life, and a new flexible high flow exhaust.
I have just received a new fibreglass hood for my motor and it has much better potential than the galvanized iron hood that came standard on my motor. It's a bloody shame because a spunky hood with some modern graphics and I would be selling like crazy.
As far as vibration goes all RUNSUN diesels are now counterbalanced and are super smooth at speed. Mine shakes a bit at idle but they are tuned to spin at 3000 to 3600 rpm all day long.

But I'm weird, first- I bought a diesel outboard purely because it was different, and second- I like vibes. Too many times I've watched people hit the key on modern petrol outboards and they are already running. I can't wait to back the boat off the trailer at the boat ramp and just see peoples faces as they try to work out what motor I have When I want sterile and characterless, I'll buy a car.

Thanks for your comments, they are spot on. But in fairness, a lot of improvements have happened in 10 years. The Chinese listen, then respond fast.

I've got some close up photo's of my Diesel leg. It is a modern design leg and comes standard on the 20 Hp and above enclosed Outboards. I just need to figure out how to post them. If I'm not being too cheeky, look here- www.facebook.com/outboarddieselvictoria




Cheers Phil.

 

Sounds encouraging Harry, you have run it on the water ? How does it compare in performance to your old engine ?