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Why no diesels?

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RED SNAPPER
SaberLein
MADISON PROPERTY IM SELLING 15 ACR.
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Gbenzx

Well-known member
Is weight abt running dry generally or all around Airboat performance?

I still don't get it that such engines as the Powerstroke, Dmax & Volvos are not being run around here. I guess the Cummins is prob the heaviest but look what you can doto these things in the pickups.

If a Dmax will dish out 700+ hp & 1000lbs tq one would thimk it might whirl say a 25ft rotor blade at whatever angle is needed.

We spin the auto engines upto 50% longevity or so & then add a box to bring it back down to where the diesel would have been to start with in it"s torque range at less fuel flow.

Thanx, Gben

BTW, 700hp & 1000lbs tq should have read;
700hp & 1000lbs tq @ the rear wheels.
 
classic air boats in cocoa has the turbo diesel on a boat that they are building and herd that american airboats has run them to
 
I have seen over ten Diesel boats being built at Diamondback. I bet diesel airboats are great if you want a barge, I just don’t see how one could be any fun in a boat under 15ft their just too heavy. There was talk of a diesel race boat coming out but I have yet to see it.
 
Thanx Guys,

I hear ya thunder.

For anyone that may be interested search worlds largest engine & look at what they have with over 100,000hp & say the most efficient ever built..

Can't remember all the stats but it is 2 stories high weighs abt 2100tons & is used to power container ships. Maybe abt 24cylinders 5 or 6ft across. :( :(

Always interested in anything that makes power. Would thimk a boat would be the place for steam turbines sense one wouldn't have to carry all the water. But my searching a while back left me ill agn abt it. For the turbine end of a 160hp they wanted $20k so I didn't even ask abt the other end which is the steam generator of course.

Gben
 
I believe Norman at GTO told me that it takes 62.5 cubic inches to support 100 pounds in the water.

That means that with an engine that is 300 or 400 pounds heavier than an 0-540 or small Chevy, you need 187.5 to 250 more cubic inches of boat in the water to support it.

That means extra drag in the water, which means less push, less speed, less fuel efficiency (even though the diesel is more fuel efficient under load) and less maneuverability.

Also, airboats are kinda top-heavy, and with a diesel, you're adding weight at the top of the boat.

Lighter is better in a lot of ways
 
Thanx Guys,

Nope, never thought abt the smell. Never fished from a diesel boat either. Fish don't like diesel smell?

Man I have hard enough time talking them onto the hook with a gas burner. :(

Really tho Red I see what you mean abt the weight. Son Buddy picked it up from there last night & i guess could have talked the rest of the night.

Thinking abt low engine mount for stability but then have to belt it up or box to ad more wt. How abt the heavy eng forward & drive shaft up, do they do that?

May have to forego the dry running if it's going to take a lot more power todo that & go with something like the little 5cyl Benz diesel which can get upto abt 225hp & 300lbs tq or so. Don't know but think the rpm at max tq may be too low in the low 20's maybe. Will have to find that website again just to see a little better abt it.

Trying to find more abt the tunnel & pontoon types have to offer although I guess deep will be the first hurdle. Would like to have something that will handle the river up here fairly well.

Jus don't know, Gben
 
Gbenzx":1hnagyf6 said:
How abt the heavy eng forward & drive shaft up, do they do that?
Click to expand...

If you move it too far forward, it won't plane.

Best deal would be direct drive and a wider boat, you need it to support the weight.
 
Red,

Thanx a million for that one :)

You may have just saved one of those, I tod ya so's!

Just haven't been around boats for some time & the stuff seems to get away after a while.
Thimk we may have to just drop back to plan A so we may be able to get more narrower than wider.

Hope to get some good info abt that under my other ques I posted earlier.

Through the good advise from this board I thimk we are just now beginning to picture what we will go with.

Just 5 years ago I thought Inet was something devised for kids to play with but today we spent big bucks just to have it with us on the road.

Thanx Red, Gben
 
Gben, you have experience with aircraft motors right? It really sounds to me like that is the way for you to go, maybe 0-470....

I'm a 4x4 guy and I know all about the "narrow" thing. Sometimes our fullsize trucks have hard time getting through the huntin trails. When I bought a Toyota, I was amazed at how maneuverable it was, and how much difference light weight made when it came to getting un-stuck
 
Yeah Red,

Seems like everything that comes up always wants to get bigger. We recently started out thimking wife & I may travel some & find a small travel trailer todo this.
First thing you know family come up with words like accomodate & everybody. Wound up with a little house 32ft long that won't even get into some of the places we like togo. :(

Like the Airboat, if you get too high tree limbs in the swamps where you want togo will end the trail before getting very far. If you go with the water prop the roots & stumps will soon bring more grief than was needed.
Innertube? Little to handy for the gators.

What ever happened to the boats with the 2 little v4 wisconsins & the small wood props? Can you still get one somewhere?

Thanx, Gben
 
Anyone got a whiff from one of these Mercedes diesels using used vegetable oil? If not you're in for a treat, smells just like McDonalds went by. So if we goto diesel Airboat just drop by a good Burger house & throw a couple gallons in & even the noise people will like us coming by their house. Only thing is with the Merced folks, what do they do with all the dogs & cats that follow them to the house. :(

But in real I've been doing a lot of Re, Re, Researching & found that Diesel fuel can produce upto 30% more btu energy than gasoline. So gas should cost $1gal less & Diesel $1gal more, right?

When Mr. Rudolff Diesel introduced his diesel engine in 1901 it was running not on petro diesel but peanut oil from his farrm. These engines did well for over 20 years until the oil people showed up & ruined the whole deal.

Now I for one will do what I can to keep less $$$ from going to the terrorists that kill us. Don't care for Willie Nelson much but his BioWillie fuel pumps are doing better on the west coast & it's a good thing. Most any diesel can use a high percentage of vegetable oil.

Still cannot find a way to run the Dmax as a standalone power unit. Some diesels are simply locked up with the electronics & will not work outside a vehicle. The Powerstroke does come as a power unit but is 250lbs heavier.

Penninsular Engine is selling the old 6.5 diesels as marine engines from $14k - $28k & over 400hp(unbelieveable) & all are still mechanical injection. Some of these are going into Airboats from Diamondback & American running snow & ice in north country.

Anyone here write programs? Need couple hundred lines of code for a Dmax :D

Thats all, Gben
 
Stay away from Penninsula Engines. I’ve help put several in boats (sportfishing). They all gave problems and the owners replaced them with other brand engines. One guy had a problem with his, the Penninsula reps came and worked on it ( this was a new engine). The over reved it and blew it up. Then they tried to blame the owner. Last I heard he had a lawyer going after them. As a footnote, he was a dealer for them and had put them in his personal boat. This was the way they treated him. He replaced them with Cummins.
 
Thanx Bigboom,

After I was blown up with dynamite the 2nd time by the strikers on FEC Railway they nicknamed me BoomBoom Ben. :( But still here to talk abt it :)

Doubt that we go by way of 6.5's. The are more than 200lbs heavier but how long ago did you see these bad engines? We have a couple guys(In Wi & Mi) that say Matt did have some serious probs. But he now has most of them corrected & a warrantee almost unconditional.

But with that said there is no way I would touch something after a report like yours without face to face evidence from many that use them continously. Also we are finding both Dmax & Powerstroke engines coming from wrecked vehicles, not too bad in mileage for just abt half his low priced engine.

Thanx agn, Gben
 
That was about three years ago. All Penninsula does is buy a truck engine and turn it into a marine engine. They are not designed for a marine application by GM. The company may haved changed since then, I have not had any dealings with them since.

I think if I was going to install a diesel, I would try a Yanmar Turbo. From what I have seen in Sportfishing boats, they are relyable, lightweight and fuel efficient. Everyone I talk to loves them.

Here's a link for them
http://www.yanmar.com/
 
Bigboom,

Thanx for the link but couldn't get the pdf to bring up the eng spec sheets last nite. :(

Just the other day at Floral in Inverness an older fellow said thats what he would use even tho they are very expensive. He said however that once you get a Yanmar they are there to stay & never a problem. I'll be in touch with them tomorrow.

Sent another email off to Hypertech abt the same 20021 power program we use in our Dmax pickup trucks. We prefer something we know pretty well & also have options avail to chg power at will in 3 different configurations.

The other thing abt Hypertech is that when operating in the low end setting(only 50hp) without the trailer our mileage is up an avg of 3.6mpg over the oem program.

If interested in what diesels are doing lately goto the diesel place website. It is amazing what electronics is doing for them. :)

Later, Gben
 
Gbenzx
I looked at one of the Yanmar marine engines. The 4LHA-DTP, is rated 200hp at 3300 rpm. It weights 805 lbs. without the reduction gears (they are 62 lbs). At 2000 rpm the fuel comsuption is 3.3 gallons per hour and the hp is 100. Max torque is at 2600 rpm. Max hp is at about 2700 rpm. It would be an interesting motor on an airboat.

I wonder how it would handle on an airboat. The diesel is slower to spool up and down compared to a gas engine. It would work ok in open water, but in a tight area, it might be very tricky to drive. There were postings about the fumes. The modern diesels burn the fuel better and have less exhaust. I think with the prop pushing it away, it should not be too much of a problem.
 
With maximum output at 26-2700 rpm, why would you ever need reduction gears?

I still think 805 pounds is too much for an airboat powerplant. That figure probably doesn't count the cooling system either, as they are probably meant for direct cooling in an inboard config. tack on another 50 pounds or so for a cooling system
 
On the Yanmar that is a ready to run weight. A 350 Chev. engine i think is about 575 lbs. That is without all accessories, headers, intake and carb. So with everthing added it would be close to the same weight.
 
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