The more fuel cost increases the closer I get to a diesel conversion.Right now it's almost double the cost to own a gasser. with 50 % more range from a diesel( 225mi / 230 gal tank gas as opposed to 350mi/230 gal tank)..This becomes simple math if one wants to continue full use of your boat without second thoughts of cost. The old argument of one doesn't use his boat enough to make up the cost difference of the engine conversion.. Time to start rethinking this...?? Crunch your numbers..Also think about resale values!!!
DavidR
Re-Thinking diesel conversion???
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Davidr0007
- Senior Member
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Jun 29th, '06, 18:12
- Location: New Bedford,MA
Resale sealed the deal for me. You realise the benefits of diesel power while you own the boat, then recoup the lions share of your "investment" upon resale.
This year I saved thousands by not having to change the fuel tank on my B28 (just lucky). And while the market is now flooded w/ B28 gassers, my deisel boat would likely sell pretty quickly.
This year I saved thousands by not having to change the fuel tank on my B28 (just lucky). And while the market is now flooded w/ B28 gassers, my deisel boat would likely sell pretty quickly.
David your right on.
Converting gas to diesel is always a good topic for debate. Until the ethanol I believed a well maintained and properly run set of gas motors would last for several thousand hours. Thus for the guy who only puts 100hrs per-year on his boat, that’s 10-20yrs. And basically being half as efficient as diesels such little usage wouldn’t save that much on the fuel bill
Now, that fuel has gone up to $3/$4 per gallon, so a fishing trip that takes 80gal last year and cost $160 ($2/gal), now costs $240/320 that’s a big hit. Add to that the fact that your playing Russian roulette with your motors/tank so even if you do everything right you’ll never see as many hours out of your motors. Also, with ethanol in the picture you can’t even consider new gas EFI motors as an option. They’re only certified up to E10 and you can happy bet that when you have a failure due to low octane fuel (a result of phase separation or evaporation) the manufacture will say well you used “inferior fuel†captain and that valve job is on you….
So, what are your choices?
Keep gas motors – toss re-sale value out the window, new tank or not. Also, hope you can avoid breakdowns associated with poor fuel quality.
Go Diesel – salvage some of your re-sale value. Save replacement cost of your fiberglass tank. Decrease operating costs as you’ll have better economy and cheaper fuel. The only real down side is finding the $40 - $60 it costs to make the conversion.
…makes me sick thinking about the whole issue.
br,
JohnD
(Lucky enough to own 2 gas Bertram’s!)
Converting gas to diesel is always a good topic for debate. Until the ethanol I believed a well maintained and properly run set of gas motors would last for several thousand hours. Thus for the guy who only puts 100hrs per-year on his boat, that’s 10-20yrs. And basically being half as efficient as diesels such little usage wouldn’t save that much on the fuel bill
Now, that fuel has gone up to $3/$4 per gallon, so a fishing trip that takes 80gal last year and cost $160 ($2/gal), now costs $240/320 that’s a big hit. Add to that the fact that your playing Russian roulette with your motors/tank so even if you do everything right you’ll never see as many hours out of your motors. Also, with ethanol in the picture you can’t even consider new gas EFI motors as an option. They’re only certified up to E10 and you can happy bet that when you have a failure due to low octane fuel (a result of phase separation or evaporation) the manufacture will say well you used “inferior fuel†captain and that valve job is on you….
So, what are your choices?
Keep gas motors – toss re-sale value out the window, new tank or not. Also, hope you can avoid breakdowns associated with poor fuel quality.
Go Diesel – salvage some of your re-sale value. Save replacement cost of your fiberglass tank. Decrease operating costs as you’ll have better economy and cheaper fuel. The only real down side is finding the $40 - $60 it costs to make the conversion.
…makes me sick thinking about the whole issue.
br,
JohnD
(Lucky enough to own 2 gas Bertram’s!)
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