Beta 25 = Kubota ??

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  • November 25, 2012 8:27 PM
    Message # 1145803
    Deleted user
    Hello,

    I've recently repowered Namaste with a Beta 25. Needless to say I'm thrilled with the way the new engine sounds and performs. And I want to keep it that way, so I need service parts.
    My Aussie distributor would not tell me what is Kubota engine designation for Beta 25, naturally.
    So the question is: Has any of brothers and sisters Westsailors discovered what Beta 25 means in Kubota lingo so that I can source service and engine parts from anywhere and not just one distributor.

    Thanks,
    Voytek
    s/v Namaste
  • November 25, 2012 9:01 PM
    Reply # 1145819 on 1145803
    Anonymous
    That doesn't sound natural to me.  I hate when people don't disclose critical info.  Shame on the distributor you purchased from! 

    I'd give Stanley a call.  He works for the Beta distributor on the east coast of the USA and provided absolutely awesome service.  Alternatively try emailing Bud Taplin. 
  • November 26, 2012 6:05 PM
    Reply # 1146480 on 1145803
    Deleted user
    I have it.

    Will e-mail you tomorrow after I go down to my boat.
  • December 03, 2012 4:34 PM
    Reply # 1151684 on 1145803
    Deleted user
    Thanks Sean!

    Tate,

    The "naturally" was sarcastic. We only have one Beta distributor in Australia so no competition. I was considering shipping the engine from the States, but then the shipping cost was prohibitive.
    Withholding  information is bad but it's a fact of life and I'm not wasting mine trying to change this.

    Cheers,
    Voytek
  • December 04, 2012 6:02 AM
    Reply # 1152015 on 1145803
    Anonymous member (Administrator)
    In the members area  http://www.westsail.org/manuals there are several beta manuals to download -- also Beta US has a forum under their home page http://www.betamarinenc.com/

    jay
    Last modified: September 17, 2015 4:35 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • December 05, 2012 3:35 AM
    Reply # 1152801 on 1145803
    Deleted user
    Thanks Jay. I'm a non-paying member and do not have access to this section of the site...
    Cheers,
    Voytek
  • September 14, 2015 9:08 PM
    Reply # 3526901 on 1145803
    Deleted user

    Hi,

    When I bought my Westsails (in 1974 and another in 1975) I had to deal with the engine issue. The Volvo diesels are marinized engines, as are a number of others. The cost of developing engines is enormous, considering the limited sales potential. Not all marinized engines are in my humble opinion suited to be used as a marine diesel. Here is a stab at Volvo: I needed a spare part in August, but their warehouse did not have it, and the Swedes could not ship it because of their summer vacation (at least that5 is what I was told). My Volvo MD3B (Marine Diesel 3 Banger) had a leak from the coolant pump into the crank case, causing the oil to be contaminated, rusting everything.

    I did not hear anything negative about the Beta Marine Diesels, I understood twenty years ago that they were a marinized version of the VW diesel. The VW diesel was originally a gasoline engine that was converted to have a very high compression ratio. I owned two of the Golf diesels, but did not like them as they were too complicated to repair by myself. Looking into Wipedia , there is a mention of Isuzu making an engine for Beta Marine.

    That tells me that Beta Marine (abbreviating the company name would be disrespectful) has been buying the blocks and adding things to make it into a marine engine. I have not looked into the company's website but by the limited offering on the marine market, I may assume that there is a interest in providing a product that generates customers goodwill because Beta Marine may not that be big a company.

    What did I buy to replace the Volvo? A Faryman diesel. I saw these guys setting up a Faryman 32hp in a refrigerated trailer and asked them about the crazy location for an engine, they replied that they are demonstrating the engine to be handcranked for Coast Guard lifeboats in freezing temperatures. So I bought one after the cranking worked.    Faryman is still in existence, but they do not make that engine anymore. Another that seemed interesting was a Sabb one or two cylinder diesel that I remember from my year on an North Sea island. It was the ancient ker-chanka-chanka vertical contraption that was always started with a hand crank. Another reason I bought the Faryman is that there were classes on repairing it. Since you have bought the Beta Marine already, try to locate a course in diesel engine repair. I would have never attempted to fix the rusted fuel injection system of the Volvo with what I know now.

    Voytek, knowing who made the engine components is important. What I have seen from the other manufacturers, you need to find out what was made by Beta Marine or who made that block and the head, piston, crankshaft etc. I hope that you do not have to field strip the rusty injection pump like I did and keep the parts really clean and put them together in the correct positions. But that is another story.

    Happy detective work!

    MZ

  • September 15, 2015 4:49 AM
    Reply # 3527326 on 1145803

    LOL.  Swedes are very serious about their vacation month.  I remember once that a Russian submarine was reported having invaded northern Sweden.   The locals called the navy.  The navy said, "We are on vacation."   The locals said, "How can you be on vacation when we are invaded by a foreign country?"   The navy said, "OK."    They sent two sailors with a crate of hand grenades on the train to northern Sweden.  When they got there, they threw the grenades in the water, then went home.  True story.


    When it was time for me to re-power, I used a criterion that you didn't mention.  I chose to get what Bud recommended, and I accepted Bud's help installing it.  To me, that overrides all other criteria.



  • September 15, 2015 7:07 AM
    Reply # 3527430 on 1152015
    Jay Bietz wrote:In the members area  http://www.westsail.org/manuals there are several beta manuals to download -- also Beta US has a forum under their home page http://www.betamarinenc.com/

    jay

    Jay,

    I notice that the owner of the original post on this thread (Voytek on s/v Namaste) is now a "deleted user". But I am supplying the following links to "Parts Lists" nonetheless, in hopes that other Beta owners might benefit.

    B10 to B25 Spares_List  and  B35 to B38 Spares List

    You might want to post these on the "Vessel and Hardware Manual" page as well. Note that the link you posted above does not go where it's intended. The link should be...

    http://www.westsail.org/manuals

    Jack Webb

    Last modified: September 15, 2015 11:05 AM | Anonymous member
  • September 17, 2015 4:50 PM
    Reply # 3531686 on 1145803
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Jack: thanks for the pdf -- I've downloaded and linked into the page... and the url was so mangled - may have been the result of the conversion.

    Fair Winds

    Jay 

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