I've discounted the new, extremely cheap, engines coming in from China.... there are just too many quality issues yet.... we need an engine that we can utterly rely on for our long term plans. Maybe in a few years time, when they've got a track record, they will be viable alternatives.
In the meantime, I will look for pricing from the main three, Nanni and Beta, and Vetus... I've also come across Craftsman marine, which look very interesting... its a new-ish company set up by ex Vetus management, and their engine looks very very similar to the Vetus, and is based on the same block, which is widely used in commercial applucations globally, so availability of spares isn't a problem... I suspect they'll be quite competitive price wise... lets see.
Craftsman sounds interesting. The Vetus engines have always been a bit pricey making the Kubota based Betas and Nannis more attractive. I've a fondness for Beta Marine for making the effort to adapt a Ford / Italian tractor engine into a mill suitable for narrowboats so I'm very happy that Erbas came with a Beta 20 but Nanni have their fans too.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I like the idea of a Beta too, but looking at list prices, they are about 40%, or £4k more expensive.... that's a lot!.... will see what they are all prepared to offer
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