[Alberg30] Diesel replacement

[Jay Davenport]

I second George's view, based on my personal experience with the 30 year old Atomic 4 in Revolution. 
It is quiet, smooth, reliable, has no mechanical or electric problems (over the 8 years I've had it), and doesn't smell. It is not excessively fussy about the fuel it gets, although a good fuel filter is important to avoid clogging the carburetor. If my starting battery is dead, the A4 hand starts easily. Unlike my friends with diesels, I don't have to worry about air being sucked into the fuel system or bleeding the engine. Gasoline is available at some fuel docks which don't carry diesel. My A4 will run happily all day long (if I want it to) at 1500 rpm, 1800 rpm, 2000 rpm, or 2500 rpm with a 3-bladed prop.
A few years ago, when hurricane Bertha was threatening to blow up the Bay, I towed a friend who was broken down, from Solomons to North East. The trip took 22 hours nonstop, and we ran at hull speed the entire distance. After we arrived in North East, my friend (who had a diesel) commented that he would never say a bad word about an A4 again.
The one notable advantage of diesel engine operation which I see is it's use of less fuel, but this is outweighed in my mind by the high cost of a new diesel, as well as the noise and other aggravations.
In the end, it is personal choice, but I am very happy with the A4, and expect it to be my engine as long as I have Revolution.
Jay Davenport
Revolution, A30 #526 
 George Dinwiddie <gdinwiddie at alberg30.org> wrote:Bob Chambers wrote:
> <<>>>
> 
> I totally understand the cost George, but how is a diesel an aggravation?
> My experience is exactly the opposite on that point!

I've known a lot of people to have trouble with diesel engines, and very 
few people who could fix them underway. A modern diesel engine is a 
pretty high-strung beast, with tight tolerances that must be maintained. 
The Atomic 4, on the other hand, is dirt simple and will put up with a 
lot of abuse and neglect.

Do you know anyone running a 30-year-old diesel engine?

- George

-- 
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Hope your road is a long one. George Dinwiddie
May there be many summer mornings when, gdinwiddie at alberg30.org
with what pleasure, what joy, http://www.Alberg30.org
you enter harbors you're seeing for the first time;
from 'Ithaka' by C.P. Cavafy
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