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Which 4-stroke kicker?
pickles1107	#1  Posted on 05/16/13 - 11:24 AM
Member Posts: 29 Comments: 1 Joined: 09/25/12	Hello all, I have a 1997 Dauntless 13 with a 2-stroke Mercury ELPTO 40 hp motor. I would like to get an auxiliary to have as a backup motor and have found locally both a circa 2005 Johnson 4 hp motor and a 2002 Mercury 5 hp. Both are long shaft motors. I believe the mercury is a Tohatsu motor. I also believe the Johnson is a Suzuki. Weight is practically the same ~60 lbs. Any real reason to go for one over the other? Are both equivalent from a reliability standpoint? Roll Tide!
aeriksen	#2  Posted on 05/16/13 - 10:21 PM
Member Posts: 242 Comments: 0 Joined: 07/24/12	Why do you want a 4 stroke kicker? Your main motor is 2 stroke why not go that direction, 2 srokes weigh less.
RossP	#3  Posted on 05/16/13 - 10:58 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 17 Comments: 0 Joined: 12/18/12	The Merc ELPTO is a electric start, power trim oil injection motor, the same as mine. I do not use a premix fuel, my tank is custom that holds 20 gallons of fuel and so a kicker that canuse the same fuel system needs to be a four stroke.
Joe Kriz	#4  Posted on 05/16/13 - 11:09 PM
Site Owner Personal Page Personal Album Photo Albums Project Albums Posts: 11447 Comments: 452 Joined: 03/18/05	Ross, He said his has a 2 stroke motor. And you say yours is a 4 stroke. Not sure what you are trying to say here. Some smaller kicker motors have their own built-in fuel tank or you could use another smaller external tank instead of the main tank you use for the main motor.
RossP	#5  Posted on 05/16/13 - 11:37 PM
Member Personal Page Posts: 17 Comments: 0 Joined: 12/18/12	Hey Joe, mine is a two stroke, it is oil injection so my fuel tank is not a premix, the motor has an oil tank and it injects the oil into the cylinder so a four stoke kicker is optimal for using the same fuel tank.
pickles1107	#6  Posted on 05/17/13 - 6:32 AM
Member Posts: 29 Comments: 1 Joined: 09/25/12	Yes, Ross has it right. 2-stroke but direct injected so no pre-mixing. Hence the desire for a 4-stroke kicker. Any thoughts on the two motors available to me? I know the Johnson probably has a different fuel connection so will need to account for that fact. Just looking for opinions on the motors themselves. Edited by pickles1107 on 05/17/13 - 6:32 AM Roll Tide!
Joe Kriz	#7  Posted on 05/17/13 - 9:40 AM
Site Owner Personal Page Personal Album Photo Albums Project Albums Posts: 11447 Comments: 452 Joined: 03/18/05	Ok. Got it. No, it doesn't have to be a 4 stroke kicker to accomplish that but would make it easier. I have a 2 stroke main motor just like both of you and it is VRO so I don't pre-mix fuel which I hate and won't do. I also have a 2 stroke kicker which I added Oil injection so I don't have to mix fuel for that either. My 63 gallon tank holds straight gas, no pre-mix. See the last photo in this article: http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...icle_id=48
Finnegan	#8  Posted on 05/17/13 - 2:38 PM
Member Posts: 1926 Comments: 16 Joined: 05/02/08	I think a kicker should be the same brand as the main engine.
pickles1107	#9  Posted on 05/17/13 - 4:34 PM
Member Posts: 29 Comments: 1 Joined: 09/25/12	Finnegan wrote: I think a kicker should be the same brand as the main engine. Why is that? Is it an aesthetics thing? If you get a new main motor then do you buy a new kicker to match? Roll Tide!