I have now completed the installation of my new Beta 38 in my Pearson 365, I had a little fun with the motor mounts and offset brackets but all in all it went together with very few problems. I have just complete my first 5 hour test drive and the engine ran like a dream however due to an improper setting on my throttle I could only reach 2800 RPM resulting in 6.25 knots, I know that on start up my idol was a little low at 850 and the engine ran a little rough until I revved it up to 1000+RPM but decided for the first test run to leave the settings be. I have now made an adjustment and my Rpm's on start up are 1500 which I hope will result in a 3800 top end when I take for the next test run. Does anyone have a suggest RPM setting for start up idol ? should I be backing this down to 1000 or. 1200 ? Should my throttle top out at 3800 or should I be able take it above that number that even though 3800 seems to the number referred to in my operators manual?
Normal idle speed on these engines is about 900 RPM. You should reach 3,600 in gear (within 100 RPM).
It sounds like you dont have enough throw (movement) in the throttle lever at the helm station. The fix is to either lengthen the arm at the helm or shorten the one on the engine to get full movement.
The other way is to change your engine control to a different control like our single lever dual function engine control which will do what you want. I have attached a photo of this.
I am using a single lever control it looks similar to yours it's got a Volvo Penta label on it connected to a whitlock steering pedestal Which installed a few years ago. I think I have enough thread adjustment on the Morris cable ends to lower my start up. / idol RPM to 900 +_ which hopefully we give me a 3600 RPM top end Or full throttle. What is your recommendation for a typical RPM when motoring from point A to point B , in normal sea conditions ? Is it OK to push the RPM's up over 3600 in heavy sea conditions or fighting against a current as long as the temperature doesn't rise too much?
Richard
These single lever controls have been in use for almost 40 years now and take a bit of time to get correctly adjusted. They are however almost bullit proof and work extremely well. Over the years I have seen the same control with almost every engine manufacturers label as well as Morse, Teleflex and Johnson controls.
The max RPM under load for your engine is 3,600 and you dont want to run the engine past that speed.
Your normal cruise speed can be anywhere between 1,000 and 3,000. Although the engine will happily run at 3,600 all day, you should find that you have good boat speed and good fuel economy at 2,500 to 2,800 with plenty of reserve power if you have the correct propeller on the boat.
