Excessive Engine Hours ?

[dharmalounge]

We are trying to buy our first narrow boat and are interested in 57 footer built in 2006 with a Beta 43 diesel engine with an estimated 11000 hours of running. The hours have been estimated due to a faulty main hour meter. The particulars state that the oil and and filters have been changed every 250 hours. Does this sound like excessive use in a short time leading to expensive repair bills or is it something that a surveyor will be able to pick up on if we buy subject to survey? Many thanks in advance to anyone who responds .

[Graham Davis]

Those hours sound very high.

Have they added an extra 0 by accident?

[dharmalounge]

Well apparently the seller thinks 11000 hours might be an overestimate and that 7000 hours may be more accurate?

[Bod]

Are you reading all the numbers on the meter?

The last number on the right is normally tenths of an hour, and disregarded.

 

Bod

 

PS 7000 hrs is possiable, but high.

How has the boat been used?

Edited January 23, 2014 by Bod

[Leo No2]

Let's say it was commissioned in the middle on 2006 and has done no work so far in 2014. That's very much finger in the air but it does work out to fractionally over 4 hours engine running on each and every day which strikes me as being a lot for the entire period - approximately 2,735 days since the middle of 2006.

 

Compare that with my boat which was launched in December-06 and has 1,950 hours on it. I know I have not used it as much as I had hoped but I don't think I could ever have got anywhere near 11,000.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Leo No2

[Paul G2]

The seller doesn't know the number of hours, but s/he knows the oil was changed every 250 hours. Can you see the contradiction there?

[ditchcrawler]

We are trying to buy our first narrow boat and are interested in 57 footer built in 2006 with a Beta 43 diesel engine with an estimated 11000 hours of running. The hours have been estimated due to a faulty main hour meter. The particulars state that the oil and and filters have been changed every 250 hours. Does this sound like excessive use in a short time leading to expensive repair bills or is it something that a surveyor will be able to pick up on if we buy subject to survey? Many thanks in advance to anyone who responds .

A live aboard running for 4 hours a day to charge their batteries. Oil changes carried out every 2 months

[dharmalounge]

Apparently the boat has cruised the majority of the system. Assuming that it has say 7000 hours on the clock and has been properly serviced is all likely to be well in your opinions?

[ditchcrawler]

We do about 1000 hrs a year, but we do get about a bit.

[Cheshire cat]

We have a share in a boat. The engine was last changed at the start of 2006. It does 1100 hrs a year approximately so is around 7500 - 8000 hrs. To do that kind of work it is out on the cut from early March to late November.

 

We have some slight smoking on start up but nothing to get excited about and certainly nothing like the previous engine which was retired at ten years old. Our engine is a Nanni which is the same base engine as yours. Japanese quality. We change the oil every five to six weeks because the hour counter no longer works.

 

If it has been serviced regularly I wouldn't worry about reliability.

[Loafer]

My dad always said that a Diesel engine, given work to do, clean air, fuel and oil will run forever.

 

If it's been sitting running at idle for 4 hours a day (dunno why you'd want to do that, except $hit batteries) then I'd want an engine man to look at it. Properly.

 

2p please.

[Keeping Up]

Ours does about 500 to 700 hours a year, cruising extensively, so somewhere near 15000 hours in 22 years. I certainly hope that it is nowhere near worn out yet.

[john6767]

I don't think 1,000 hours a year is excessive for a boat that is being lived on and well used. We don't have that luxury (of time) and did almost 500 hours last year, so I could see us doing 1,000 a year easily if we had the time. If it was really 11,000 in an 8 year old boat it is a lot but not impossible.

[dharmalounge]

Thank all very much indeed for your very helpful replies and yes Loafer the 2p is yours if meet plus a glass of ale.

[OldGoat]

Popular wisdom from them 'as knows in t'trade and that's not limited to the boating industry says these engines are good for 20,000 hours and even don't take the rocker box cover off before it's done 10,000 hours.

 

These little engines were designed to be rugged and they're fitted to all sorts of industrial plant - where they often don't even get the oil topped up, let alone changed.

 

Provided that the engine is not unduly smokey (i.e. a lot less than a BMC 1.5 or Canal Star0, I wouldna' fash ma sel'

I see folks panicking on other for a when an engine does 100 hours per annum.

 

 

[dharmalounge]

Thank you all for your very helpful and informed responses. What a great community .

I can't wait to become part of it.

[bassplayer]

A diesel engine in a car will have done roughly 30,000 miles in 1000 hours of operation. 11000 hours is roughly equivalent to the same diesel car doing over 300,000 miles. That isn't unreasonable for an 8 year boat which has had the engine run up most days to generate electricity and hot water but it does mean the engine is towards the end if it's life without a major overhaul.

[trackman]

Ring Beta Marine if you want good advice on this engine, and talk to Neil. He's their spares guy but very helpful on anything to do with their engines.

If the engine has been well cared for then it may have useful life in it yet. However, if it were mine I'd have replaced a failed hour meter so as to know what I was doing servicing it. Replacing the Beta meter in the control panel isn't cheap but surely a separate hour meter wouldn't have been too costly. The fact that the owners didn't replace the meter might call into question their care of the engine more generally.

I'd sooner a well cared for one that had done a lot of hours than one with only 50 hours per year and no service history.

Fwiw our engine has done 3600 hours in just over 7 years. We run it almost every day either to cruise or to charge the batteries. So the quoted figure for this engine is very high.

[Naughty Cal]

Ring Beta Marine if you want good advice on this engine, and talk to Neil. He's their spares guy but very helpful on anything to do with their engines.

If the engine has been well cared for then it may have useful life in it yet. However, if it were mine I'd have replaced a failed hour meter so as to know what I was doing servicing it. Replacing the Beta meter in the control panel isn't cheap but surely a separate hour meter wouldn't have been too costly. The fact that the owners didn't replace the meter might call into question their care of the engine more generally.

I'd sooner a well cared for one that had done a lot of hours than one with only 50 hours per year and no service history.

Fwiw our engine has done 3600 hours in just over 7 years. We run it almost every day either to cruise or to charge the batteries. So the quoted figure for this engine is very high.

Not necessarily. Our hour counter packed up a couple of years ago. As it is £400 for a new one (Volvo Penta rip off prices and the hour counter is part of the rev counter) we didnt bother to replace it. We give the engine a full service at the start of every year and change the oil a couple of times a year on top of that. So our engine is well cared for.

[bargemast]

Not necessarily. Our hour counter packed up a couple of years ago. As it is £400 for a new one (Volvo Penta rip off prices and the hour counter is part of the rev counter) we didnt bother to replace it. We give the engine a full service at the start of every year and change the oil a couple of times a year on top of that. So our engine is well cared for.

 

Nobody is forcing you to buy this rip off Volvo counterset, you could install a dirt cheap seperate hour meter, if you want to know how many hours you engine has done for oil-changes and other routine-maintenance jobs.

http://www.amazon.com/Quartz-Tractor-Generator-Engine-12-24-48/dp/B0049I6TJA

 

Peter.

[dharmalounge]

Thanks you guys very helpful indeed.Trackman, would you know the number of Beta or least the town where they operate. I agree that it would be sensible to give them a call.

Best wishes

[bottle]

http://www.betamarine.co.uk/

 

they are in Gloucester

[Mrs Trackman]

Mr Trackman is in a meeting all day but I know he rates Neil very highly for advice. When we were on the Gloucester and Sharpness he offered to fetch Mr Trackman from our boat, I think just to show him around but probably buying more parts as well.

There's a thread running about how good Crowther are, our experience of Beta has been excellent.

[Naughty Cal]

 

Nobody is forcing you to buy this rip off Volvo counterset, you could install a dirt cheap seperate hour meter, if you want to know how many hours you engine has done for oil-changes and other routine-maintenance jobs.

http://www.amazon.com/Quartz-Tractor-Generator-Engine-12-24-48/dp/B0049I6TJA

 

Peter.

Oh yeah that would look lovely nailed on the dashboard next to the rev counter with the broken hour counter in it!!

 

We know roughly how many hours we do per year and the intervals that we change the oil at are based on that. If it is really hot and sunny and the dashboard has been sat in the sun for a few hours the LED hour counter will occasionally flash up with the hour readings which backs up our estimate of hours run. In fact our estimated hours are usually higher than the actual hours.

[bottle]

No, nail it up in a cupboard or even in the engine room.