jcwads
Active member
Yes, but the oil for the engines and genny are a drop in the ocean, I use Shell Rimula and it does an excellent job and is inexpensive. No fluids for steering as its not hydraulic - another amazing advantage I have now.
IPS Ownership - My feedback
- Thread starter jcwads
- Start date
westernman
Well-known member
You are of course right. And if you do a reasonable number of hours per year, the fuel economy would potentially pay for that. It is also less than you are probably paying for a months berthing in summer and for insurance.
But it will forever hurt paying 1000 quid for an oil change each season.
Portofino
Well-known member
A contractor probably doesn’t want come back / liability as the finger pointing is hassle , and possible resultant sums are enormous.So follows that well trodden path to to VP and passes on the expense.
A DIY er needs to think about residuals .You are probably right thought it’s only boggo API GL5SAE 75w 90 synthetic. So any Halfords eq ( they do sell it btw ) will do .
I have used Halfords gear oil same spec the 75/90 in my Ferrari and classic trial bikes .Trial bikes changed every 3 rd trial ( mud / water ingress issues ? ) ….there are brand specific packaging btw at X times the € .
Plus loadsa forums with no one reporting anything going “ BANG “ using a proprietary gear oil as long as it’s the same spec ,
The tiny pool of DIY er IPS owners isn’t large enough within the far greater contractor users for any social media traffic .
Plenty of IPS out there but majority pay a contractor who isn’t gonna tell if he deviates from VP “liquid gold “anyhow .
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Portofino
Well-known member
I don’t get the lack of hydraulic steering oil as “ another amazing advantage “ it’s peanuts in the gen fluids equation .
Bit like forgive me using a car analogy mentioning washer fluid usage when comparing cars ….who wonders that ?
@
Yea but the “18 knots “ and lift out decimates any perceived/ real fuel savings .
Or diver fees before a trip .
At the OP have you considered buying a mini dive kit ? Cleaning up the props yourself .
Irrc they are made of a funny metal that’s not good with proprietary prop AF technique …..not that normal props fair any better in Antibes mind .
Momac
Well-known member
That is a lot of oil which means a drop of water ingress would be far less significant than the same drop of water in a sterndrive which takes 2.7 Litres in my case.
But does the oil really have to be changed annually and can't any fully synthetic gear oil of the correct grade be used ? A 20 L tub of FS gear oil can be purchased for about £90.
Plus I see the IPS has an oil filter which is not a huge expense at £15 so can't that be removed and inspected for any mayonnaise and if looking good a new filter fitted every other year ?
Obviously that's not according the Volvo Penta recommendations.
oldgit
Well-known member
IPS Draft.
looks to be no more than a similar shaft drive boat.
looks to be no more than a similar shaft drive boat.
oldgit
Well-known member
Agree on £500.000............. however it is now possible to buy IPS on a sub £150.000 boat.
Agree with everthing regards IPS handling characteristics.
- "I can understand the theory that those new to boating and who get an IPS boat could not skill up enough. If you learn off the joystick then it could land you in trouble. I find that the joystick is fine in benign conditions, but as soon as you have a bit of a gust, its not great for berthing, and if it kicks up a wind, its definitely not good. You have the option of high mode, but if you are wanting to get into a gap, its going to be kicking up water and rocking the boat."
Dealers do not keep stocks of an IPS complete propshaft replacement kit in stock for no reason at all.
This of course is nothing to do with a reluctance of owners to pay for the proper servicing on these units.
Chatting to a service engineer from well known VP main dealer, popping in couple of new seals and kicking the can down the road is very popular.
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