4 stroke V 2 Stroke outboard engines?

CoVianna said:
If 2 Strokes are "banned" as outboards how come this Generator from Aldi is allowed?

https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbu...st-product-detail-page/ps/p/800w-generator-1/

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o/t That seems an amazing price - would any engine specialists comment - is it likely to be total carp ?
 
Storyline said:
Thanks, will have a look. As said earlier, I had the o/b professionally serviced last year, do you think a standard service would be likely to include cleaning the carb ?
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On an outboard, it should. Whether that's the general practice, or manufacturer's recommendation, is another matter. On a small, basic outboard, it's really only a 10 minute job.
 
I would have thought it was very unlikely. It's an added-value item to strip and clean the carb as you can add a refurb kit into the job. It would probably need to be a specific problem noted to warrant the extra cost. Sorry, but fitters have to make a living.
 
jwilson said:
The bunny-huggers are indeed misguided regarding modern SMALL two-strokes: I am now close to empty on my original one litre bottle of two-stroke oil for a 3.3 Mercury two-stroke that is now coming up to 9 years old. I'd have used significantly more oil if I'd done an oilchange every year on the current 4-stroke version. With two-strokes cleaning the carb thoroughly once a year is the key thing to do: if you do it when the engine gets put away for the winter it should start easily the next spring even on the old fuel.

I have a just-run-in Tohatsu 3.5 2/s in the cellar waiting for the Mercury to die, but no sign of it yet. Bought it new just before they stopped selling them.
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Whilst I infinitely prefer a 2-stroke for my tender, I'm afraid you've missed the "bunny-huggers'" point. The unburnt lubricating oil is being injected directly into the water, polluting, far better than emptying an oily bilge. Your 4-stroke oil, on the other hand, is put into a bin for re-cycling and should never get into contact with nature.
An idea of how badly hydrocarbons foul the environment has been brought home to me after 3 nights in Mandraki, Kos - there is a 80mm wide black, impermeable deposit all the way around my hull. Just imagine having that deposited on your gills...
 
I bet the oily strip isn't from outboards. It'll mainly come from 4 stroke diesels.
charles_reed said:
Whilst I infinitely prefer a 2-stroke for my tender, I'm afraid you've missed the "bunny-huggers'" point. The unburnt lubricating oil is being injected directly into the water, polluting, far better than emptying an oily bilge. Your 4-stroke oil, on the other hand, is put into a bin for re-cycling and should never get into contact with nature.
An idea of how badly hydrocarbons foul the environment has been brought home to me after 3 nights in Mandraki, Kos - there is a 80mm wide black, impermeable deposit all the way around my hull. Just imagine having that deposited on your gills...
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charles_reed said:
Whilst I infinitely prefer a 2-stroke for my tender, I'm afraid you've missed the "bunny-huggers'" point. The unburnt lubricating oil is being injected directly into the water, polluting, far better than emptying an oily bilge. Your 4-stroke oil, on the other hand, is put into a bin for re-cycling and should never get into contact with nature.
An idea of how badly hydrocarbons foul the environment has been brought home to me after 3 nights in Mandraki, Kos - there is a 80mm wide black, impermeable deposit all the way around my hull. Just imagine having that deposited on your gills...
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But of the maybe 800-900ml outboard oil I have used in 9 years on one outboard, probably on average 80% is relatively cleanly burnt with the petrol, probably 90%+ if the engine is revving well, though maybe down to 60-70% at idle or low revs. That is 20ml unburnt a year, not ideal but once spread over many miles of sea a fairly trivial pollutant compared to many other things. Your black waterline after 3 nights is certainly nothing whatsoever to do with tiny outboards.

I am not advocating conventional two-strokes for bigger engines, but for small-yacht-tender use their advantages are too big to ignore, especially as age makes a dodgy back for lifting things worse. I did like the idea of a gas-canister outboard though until I saw the weight of it was comparable to a four-stroke, which it obviously is. The difference between a 25-30 lb two-stroke and a 40 lb or more four-stroke is significant for an engine you are lifting on and off an inflatable regularly.
 
Seven Spades said:
Are 4-strokes less prone to problems with fuel clogging the carburetor than 2-strokes? I am at my wits end because I use my outboard so infrequently I really don't want to have to drain the tank after each use. As I say I never had this problem with my old engine. I am not sure if it is the new engine at fault because it might just be a coincidence I believe we now have a proportion of ethanol in our fuel and this is the main cause of the problem.
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Drain the carburettor every time you finish using it. Just run the engine and turn off the fuel tap. When it stops, usually some 10s of seconds perhaps a minute or so, the carb float bowl is empty so no fuel gelding or corroding rubber parts. It really is very little hassle. Empty fuel at the end of the season and start with fresh fuel in the spring. That's the way to a reliable 2T
 
charles_reed said:
Whilst I infinitely prefer a 2-stroke for my tender, I'm afraid you've missed the "bunny-huggers'" point. The unburnt lubricating oil is being injected directly into the water, polluting, far better than emptying an oily bilge. Your 4-stroke oil, on the other hand, is put into a bin for re-cycling and should never get into contact with nature.
An idea of how badly hydrocarbons foul the environment has been brought home to me after 3 nights in Mandraki, Kos - there is a 80mm wide black, impermeable deposit all the way around my hull. Just imagine having that deposited on your gills...
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you should have seen the carp coming out of the funnel of a bunkering ship at Parkeston 2 weeks ago, just like tar it was
 
That's not so easy on my 2stroke - it's been got no neutral.
PabloPicasso said:
Drain the carburettor every time you finish using it. Just run the engine and turn off the fuel tap. When it stops, usually some 10s of seconds perhaps a minute or so, the carb float bowl is empty so no fuel gelding or corroding rubber parts. It really is very little hassle. Empty fuel at the end of the season and start with fresh fuel in the spring. That's the way to a reliable 2T
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ghostlymoron said:
That's not so easy on my 2stroke - it's been got no neutral.
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Do what I do with the Seagull. Shut the fuel tap just before reaching destination.

After about 30 years I have just about worked out where to shut the tap so that the dinghy glides in and I can tilt the engine just in time to stop it grounding on the slipway.

Not that the Seagull completely empties its carb. It still tips a spoonful into the back of the dinghy! ( rather more when I forget to close the tank vent)
 
i got my Evinrude 4hp 2 stroke out the garage last night, not touched it since April 2012 (didn't drain the fuel then either)
Fuel tank was empty (seems to have evaporated)

Added some new fuel, full choke, third pull and she was away, and then a realised it was in gear too! Got to love it.

The easiest starting, lightest, decent power, best tender outboard I have ever owned, by far!

I bought a new Yamaha 4 stroke (still don't know why i did that) as it was a pain to start, then I realised the 2 stroke, 2 cylinder was firing twice per rev, the Yamaha 4 stroke was firing 0.5 times per rev, no wonder it was harder to start!
 
Blame the yanks. They chose to use 100bhp two stroke jet skis in freshwater lakes, pumping gallons of unburned fuel and oil into people's drinking water and fishing lakes so it was only a matter of time before the authorities took action, particularly in California. The EU naturally jumped on the environmental bandwagon and handed down their Orwellian "Four strokes good, two strokes bad" decree. The fact is that for what we use them for, intermittent use on tenders in the sea, two strokes are perfectly OK.
Having said that, I would be reluctant to use mine in freshwater nowadays, because there is no denying they are filthy pieces of machinery, just look what they do to the water when you run them in a water butt in the back yard!
 
mattnj said:
I bought a new Yamaha 4 stroke (still don't know why i did that) as it was a pain to start, then I realised the 2 stroke, 2 cylinder was firing twice per rev, the Yamaha 4 stroke was firing 0.5 times per rev, no wonder it was harder to start!
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I've heard this before. I have had a Yam 4HP 4 stroke, a Honda 5 HP and a couple of Tohatsu/Mariners. A long steady pull is the trick. Not the short yank that 2 strokes seem to prefer.
 
macd said:
Same with motorcycles (well, with a long steady kick rather than a pull). And they never break your wrist (although they might your ankle).
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My first bike was a 4 stroke that only had a kickstart. Not only did you have to give it a full kick, you also had to start the kick from the right point on the cycle, otherwise you were flogging a dead horse.
 
You can do that with a 4 stroke outboard as well. Gently pull the cord until you feel a resistance. Let the cord back in and then when you pull to start you begin with a compression.
It just becomes second nature
 
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