Bukh DV36 ME - good, bad, ugly?

The local Bukh agent currently has a special on these engines and they tell me there's a price rise on the way. I'm seriously considering buying one so am after any information from people who own one.

The plan is to put it in a 7.5 tonne steel sailboat. I've got the hull about finished so now is a reasonable time to look seriously at an engine. I originally planned on rebuilding a Yanmar 3QM30H - but maybe not, too. Parts are expensive and I'm coming to the conclusion that it's not money well spent.

I'm happy to consider other engines in this HP range as long as they have 3:1 or better reduction ratio g/boxes rated for continuous duty. This is a 'must have' as I want to swing a decent sized prop at low shaft rpm. I've got the keel aperture sized to take a 22" prop and if the dollars permit, I'm going to fit an Autostream or similar.

Second 'highly desirable' item is the ability to hand-start the engine. Years of association with marine electrics have led me to hate them. Mine will probably be OK as it's one reason for building things myself.

Third is a choice of salt or fresh water cooling. Don't really care a lot about this one, frankly.

So - opinions welcome.....

PDW

 

Bukh was the best small engine we install for fisherman in brittany, never have a bad word about ! simple, well balanced, no vibrations, all fine since you follow the basic maintenance ..
excepted the price...if I find a bargain, i will not have a second hesitation for a bukh engine for my own boat.( they do all life boat for ocean going vessel as original equipment )
cheer's
bertho
ps, i'm not a bukh dealer... !

 

I see Bukh agents on the waterfront all over the world so parts shopuld be easy to source. The engine looks simple so no eletronic problems

Sea water cooling is a minus.

http://www.bukhdiesel.com.au/spec_docs/BUKH DV 36 ME.pdf

 

Bukh engines are one of the few true marine engine left in the world. They are not industrial engine conversions like most of them, they are designed from go as marine engines.

You can fresh water cool them with an exchanger, most installations I have done have used an exchanger so that the engine "never" has sea water inside it.

 

The plan is to put it in a 7.5 tonne steel sailboat

I've got the keel aperture sized to take a 22" prop and if the dollars permit, I'm going to fit an Autostream or similar.

At cheap cruise you will be using perhaps 25Hp , most likely less.

A 22 inch TWO blade would be easy to hide behind the deadwood (we do) and cost far less than a complex prop.

With a prop lock the prop is located under sail to not rotate at about 6K (28 LWL) .

Just a KISS thought,

FF

 

Thanks for that. It looks like the ideal engine for me, except for the price. I've just gotten a quote, have to think on that one a day or so.

WRT fresh water cooling, their brochure shows a dotted outline and extra weight specs for this but even though I asked for the cost, they didn't quote it. When you've installed them, did you get the engine with the heat exchanger or fit one after the event? I am happy with the option of using raw water for cooling but I'd prefer to use a heat exchanger, frankly, to minimise or eliminate scale buildup in the block & head. Not to mention corrosion.

FF, a 2 blade prop is certainly a possibility. I have a couple of 3 blade fixed props in the shed at the moment. I realise the Autostream props are both complex & expensive but you do get adjustable pitch so you can tune the pitch to the boat/engine combination and full reverse thrust as well as feathering. It all will depend on the available dollars but I don't need to make a decision on a prop until I'm ready to splash the boat so no rush.

PDW

 

...no, you fit a FW exchanger later...you can make a keel cooler for it whilst making the boat, steel boats love double bottom exchangers, they are there for life and provide extra bash protection too.

Another small marine engine is the Sabb.

I have used Bukh engines for many years, they are good and reliable, and expensive...but what isn't if it is good.

There is an old Yanmar that is exceptionally good too, it is the TE series, no longer made of course, but they are certainly still available in Asia, you could look at getting a restored one. Available in 1, 2 3 or 4 cylinders, all with separate injector pumps...my favorite old diesel really.

Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.

 

Update on this:

I bought a Bukh DV36 a couple months ago. When it arrived I found it had the 2.5:1 g/box instead of the 3:1 I'd ordered.

No dramas, the Australian agent ordered the 3:1 box and it arrived here the other day. Hasn't held me up at all as I ordered the engine before I finished painting out the hull. I'm about ready to fit it so the timing worked out well.

I'm happy with how this matter has been handled, no dramas, everything went smoothly. Apparently Bukh changed the default box from 3:1 to 2.5:1 and hadn't updated the documentation. It's all fine.

Incidentally Bukh give you 12 months from time of purchase to launch the boat before the 3 year warranty starts. If you haven't launched in 12 months then the clock starts ticking but that's not bad.

Nice (looking) engine, shiny bright red. Should look good in its pristine white engine room.

I have to think further on fresh water cooling however. I expect the price for a genuine Bukh heat exchanger is going to be - impressive. I do think it's a good idea even though the engine is designed for salt water cooling so - we'll see.

PDW

 

Introduce yourself to the Inox range of products from Candan Industries at Southport.
Inox and Lanox are two exceptional products for corrosion protection (spray on but certainly not in the same boat as WD40, CRC, RP7 etc etc which are simply crap by comparison).

 

Thanks, I use Lanox in my workshop already. I agree about its qualities.

CRC is OK for some stuff. I don't have any WD40.

PDW

 

pdw, the volvo md1 in my yacht is over 30 yrs old and still going, so i wouldn't worry about saltwater cooling, the engine will last for years.

 

Thanks. I'm not too fussed about it because it's a new engine so that means I know what's happened to it and I can make sure the anodes are changed over in good time etc.

I have an old Yanmar 3QM30H I picked up cheap. The exhaust manifold was totalled by rust scale, I can see the water passages in the head & block might have some issues. My original plan was to rebuild it but once the cost of doing this started getting up in the multiple thousands, I had another think on the subject. The head & bores look good, no sign it's ever been seized or water in the cylinders, but spending that sort of money on a 30+ year old engine didn't make sense to me. I'll probably flog it off for parts eventually as it's taking up space.

Old Volvos are not bad engines provided you don't need to buy parts, I've heard. Guy I know sold off his 3 cylinder Volvo last year & replaced it with a marinized Kubota. He's happy but also buggered if his electrics crap out.

PDW

 

photos?

Your build sounds interesting.
Do you have any photos to share? Blog or website?

 

They say that about Yanmar--not true.

I used a Bukh bought from a second hand dealer in Phuket. I needed one for a 3KW generator.

The engines were on display all over the floor and they would start the one of your choice with a welder.

They were from Japan removed from fork lift trucks. Japan has a law that has all second hand vehicles and engine exported at 3 years(I think its 3)


I had at least 3 cylinder head gaskets hanging above the engine for quick replacement that I got down to 20 minutes.

Problem was the 9mm head studs just would not torque and a few were stripped every time. 9mm studs could not be bought --I kid you not. As I looked at the newer models I noticed the head studs were hugely increased in size. Im fairly confident I know why.

 

No, I can't be bothered. I waste enough time on the net already.

PDW