Can DLE85 one cylinder engine be mounted sideways?

[Peter Lukaszuk]

Hi guys,

I am building a motorised surfboard like JetSurf. I think that DLE85 or the similar one cylinder engine would be a great fit (of course changed to be liquid-cooled)

As mentioned before it is a one-cylinder engine and I know that you can install it cylinder up and cylinder down but can you install it cylinder sideways?

Or would it be a better idea to go for something like DLE111 and redo the carb

the whole thing is to make the motor as flat as possible to fit the board.

If you have any suggestions for engines to use, I would love to hear them.

I am planning to surround cylinders with copper piping with cold water coming from the water jet pump.

Thank you very much for your replies.

Peter

[TigerOC]

Technically the engine will run in any attitude. DLE use Walbro/equivalent carbs which are pumped carbs and no float chamber which would rely on gravity. The pump mechanism is driven by the pulse of the engine. Technically it should also operate in any orientation. There is a small hole on the top of the pump mechanism that requires atmospheric pressure and in some situations with strange airflow eddies in a cowl this can cause problems.

In short; no reason why it shouldn't work.

Some detailed info on how these carbs work;

Walbro carb function

Edited By TigerOC on 03/09/2020 22:01:25

[MattyB]

Posted by Peter Lukaszuk on 25/08/2020 16:26:54:

Hi guys,

I am building a motorised surfboard like JetSurf. I think that DLE85 or the similar one cylinder engine would be a great fit (of course changed to be liquid-cooled)

Sounds like it might be noisy! Are you going to add some additional silencing?

[Robin Colbourne]

Peter, I had a1970s/1980s Surfjet for a while, but was in need of restoration. As I recall it had a twin cylinder watercooled inline engine of about 20hp driving the impeller, so the DLE engines sound a bit low on power to me.

Wouldn't it be best to use either a jetski engine or a the top end of an outboard motor so you have all the cooling, starting and marinised ignition and materials already done for you?

Have a look on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and Ebay. If you can get an outboard with problems in the lower end that you don't need, you could be onto a winner.

Alternatively, you could go for these ready made waterjets and use either a number of electric motors or large glow/petrol marine engines to drive them if you can get the required RPM.  Aliexpress Waterjet

A watercooled kart or paramotor engine is probably the closest you could get to the power/weight  of the engines in the commercial Jetsurf, although they aren't designed to match the low profile of those units. 

I look forward to reading more about your project however you decide to go about it.

Cheers, Robin

Edited By Robin Colbourne on 03/09/2020 23:14:47