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Kingfisher Diesel


Denis R

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Next phase of my liveaboard feasibility study is underway. On this journey I've come across a boat with potential that's fitted with a horizontal twin cylinder Kingfisher diesel.

Verdict from the friendly and seemingly open gentleman showing me round (not the owner) was (paraphrasing) that their assembly quality was very inconsistent and they either fell apart pretty much immediately, or if they were a good one, kept running without any undue drama. (I can concur with this variability - I spent 18 months helping an Indian tractor factory to totally modernise their engine production, which was previously, somewhat rudimentary...)

Anybody got any experience of these engines? Would it be a 'throw it away and start again' job or are they fit for purpose? Spares available?

Your expereinces and anecdotes invited....

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Oops, sorry all. I think I've misposted here - should be in building and maintenance?

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I would of thought the engine was a pretty important peice of equipment myself, LOL :smiley_offtopic:

 

if it is in the wrong place I'm sure one of the forum admins will shift it for you :blush:

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I have never heard any bad words about the Kingfisher, but then I have not heard any good ones either, that must be accepted as a good thing. The only thing that has been said is that they a bit on the small side, perhaps you could post a bit more detail (cubic capacity and horsepower).

 

I rather like the idea of a flat twin, always fancied a BMW.

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  • 2 years later...
Next phase of my liveaboard feasibility study is underway. On this journey I've come across a boat with potential that's fitted with a horizontal twin cylinder Kingfisher diesel.

Verdict from the friendly and seemingly open gentleman showing me round (not the owner) was (paraphrasing) that their assembly quality was very inconsistent and they either fell apart pretty much immediately, or if they were a good one, kept running without any undue drama. (I can concur with this variability - I spent 18 months helping an Indian tractor factory to totally modernise their engine production, which was previously, somewhat rudimentary...)

Anybody got any experience of these engines? Would it be a 'throw it away and start again' job or are they fit for purpose? Spares available?

Your expereinces and anecdotes invited....

Well the log in process for CanalWorld is so tedious that it is amazing that anyone gets any replies at all. I once wanted to pass on some alternator knowledge but gave up. Anyhow regarding Kingfisher diesels, these are made in China and seem to be modelled on the old Yanmar horizontal cylinder models (e.g. YSE 8, YSE12 ) A problem with horizontal cylinder diesel engines in boats is that the cylinder(s) is/are so low. Because of this there is a greater risk of water ingress so one needs a good swan-neck exhaust (or a dry exhaust with weathercap is better still if heat and space are not a problem, after all how many ships have underwater exhausts?). The gearboxes were not copies of Kanzakis but were Chinese. As to quality, it is rumoured that a lot of "budget" Chinese products are made in prisons - say no more! For example I once had a trolley jack with an oval wheel. As soon as any weight was put on the jack it could not be moved! I did hear of a fisherman who bought two Kingfishers from new (two in case the first one didn't last - they were very cheap!) Amazingly the first one was still running fine several years later. In my long experience almost all pleasure boat engines fail on account of corrosion. Very few fail because of wear as they don't run enough hours to wear out. Sorry this information is three years too late. Best regards from David.

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Well the log in process for CanalWorld is so tedious that it is amazing that anyone gets any replies at all.

 

I don't have much trouble remembering a name and a password. Which part, precisely, confuses you?

 

Gibbo

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Generally you could say 8 hp per cylinder and 10 hp on a very good engine. Turbocharged, make that 100 hp.

The Kingfisher KD26 is a 2 cylinder engine, quoted at 26 BHP at 2000rpm.

 

At 13 BHP per cylinder, does that make it a very very good engine then ?

 

In fact quite a few weigh in at more than 10HP per cylinder.....

 

http://www.betamarine.co.uk/newsite/downlo...V3800_green.pdf

Edited by alan_fincher
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Wow, that was a long time ago.... I ended up having a boat built, which has a Beta 35.

Interesting information though - I'd been given the impression that Kingfishers were Indian rather than Chinese and have come across one or two on my travels, none of which appeared to have given their owners any undue grief.

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If it is a flat 2cyl, then it is probadly a KD14. Once upon a time I had the Vertical version which was named KD16. Spare for this smaller enging are just about non existant. For the KD26 it is not so much of a problem.. I now have a beta because of the amount of oil th Kingfisher consumed. Five litres going up Caen Hill.

  • Greenie 1
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  • 2 months later...
Next phase of my liveaboard feasibility study is underway. On this journey I've come across a boat with potential that's fitted with a horizontal twin cylinder Kingfisher diesel.

Verdict from the friendly and seemingly open gentleman showing me round (not the owner) was (paraphrasing) that their assembly quality was very inconsistent and they either fell apart pretty much immediately, or if they were a good one, kept running without any undue drama. (I can concur with this variability - I spent 18 months helping an Indian tractor factory to totally modernise their engine production, which was previously, somewhat rudimentary...)

Anybody got any experience of these engines? Would it be a 'throw it away and start again' job or are they fit for purpose? Spares available?

Your expereinces and anecdotes invited....

i have had a lot of dealings with kingfishers parts are hard to find i know one that has done 10.000 hours of use but i know lots that only managed a couple of hundred of hours can be very unreliable. if i was you change it prob a beta would be a better choice,hope this helps

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