150 E-Tech Gen II

G

George Goodsell

Active member
I need some feedback from the brain trust. What are your experiences with the 150 Evinrude E-Tech Gen II. I'm buying a 19ft Ranger aluminum bass boat and had planned on a Mercury or Yamaha 4 stroke. The dealer is offering a 2017 with the Evinrude and tells me I'll be happier with the performance with the 2 stroke. I'm twitching a bit at the thought of $46 a gal. synthetic 2 cycle oil.

Thanks,
George
 
Don't have the 150 but have had the 90 etec for past 5 years. They sip that synthetic oil. First 3 years I owned it I used about 2 gal. in a little over 200 hrs. usage. I buy mine directly from dealer pumped from his drum into my portable container which costs a lot less than individual shelf containers. Motor has been superb.
 
The dealer is telling you that since its in his best interest. Think logically about it for a minute, would Yamaha's have captured the enormous market share they have if they were dogs?

That said, I have a friend that has a big Ranger with a Evinrude, he loves it.

I don't know how loud and smoky the 2 cycles are anymore. I haven't been around a modern one in awhile. If they are comparable from that perspective I'd be open to the E tech.

One last thought, you might go to The Hull Truth and ask there. Lots of great boat/outboard information to be had there.
 
Roy, Joe,
Thanks for the input. I did some digging on boat forums and it sounds like I won't have any issues. Evinrude is offering a 10 yr warranty right now, 3 full and 7 @ $50 deductible.

George
 
A technician can alter the oil-mixing settings on a E-TEC. I always used the synthetic oil in mine. It lasted forever. They really sip the oil. My buddy owns a boat dealership that sells Evinrude and Yamaha. My cousin was looking at purchasing a new outboard, and my buddy offered this insight when I asked him about Evinrude's 10-year warranty.

"When a Yamaha breaks down, it's usually a simple fix. When an Evinrude breaks down, it's usually more catastrophic. The Evinrude warranty is great if you aren't gonna keep it 10 years."

He has a Yamaha on his boat.

I've owned both, and I loved my E-TEC! You won't be disappointed.
 
I believe the Gen II is I-Pilot Compatible which does a bunch of different things like self dock your boat in your slip etc. The I-Pilot though increases the price by almost double. Etecs mixed reviews you either love them or you hate them heard too many stories of people that have had problems with them and there is only one person that can work on them the dealer. They are giving a 10 year warranty for a reason. Suzuki and Yamaha have been making reliable 4 strokes for years with very few problems. I personally like simple designs electronics and computers in a marine environment= problems IMO opinion enough said
 
Last edited:
Capt. Larry M said:
I believe the Gen II is I-Pilot Compatible which does a bunch of different things like self dock your boat in your slip etc. The I-Pilot though increases the price by almost double. Etecs mixed reviews you either love them or you hate them heard too many stories of people that have had problems with them and there is only one person that can work on them the dealer. They are giving a 10 year warranty for a reason. Suzuki and Yamaha have been making reliable 4 strokes for years with very few problems. I personally like simple designs electronics and computers in a marine environment= problems IMO opinion enough said
Click to expand...

I like Larry's simplistic thinking on "Hi-Tech" motors, simple is better IMO too. That said, I have the 225 Etec and run it from April through January, everything from spring trolling, to summer tubing and then fall/winter hunting. The summer months are flawless, during the cold months (10 degrees and below at launch time) I was having problems with it running smoothly. I bought the boat and motor as a package and the prior owner was not much help regarding the Etec. I run the HD100 oil as I did not know what the settings were and was told the 100 was safe for all settings. That statement is true I believe, however...it ran rich. Come to find out (on a cold January morning) I had fouled all my plugs because of the settings. It was set to 50 and I was using HD 100 oil and believe to much oil was being injected and causing the plugs to foul in cold weather. $600 dollars to find that out. I do like the Etec despite that event but I always wonder about that injection system. Had I bought the package new I would have gone with Yamaha. Best of luck.
 
Robert, Larry, Troy,

Yeah, this is a package setup, we were planning on an 18ft with a 115 Merc or Yamaha. Dealer has this 2017 and it has all the extras I was adding to the 18'. This is one of those deals where my sweety wants a more comfortable boat to enjoy the summer with and since she's buying in... The idea of selling before the warranty runs out is conceivable, I'd be 77 and I'm not sure if I'll need a go-fast boat then.
Do you run the premium (NonEthanol) gas or regular (10% ethanol)
Thanks,
George
 
Thanks Troy, We'll pick it up next week and I've got a list of questions for the dealer. I like the 87 octane, I've been running non ethanol in my last two motors, this one could get expensive... Keep telling my wife "she'll look good going fast".
 
That warranty is great. Had the same when I bought mine. Just prior to year 3 my power trim cylinder started leaking. Seems it was a fairly common problem and it was non rebuildable. My etec dealer refused to replace it with same type/single ram unit because of past history. Upgraded me to dual ram unit , same as is used on 150. Told me he had never had one of those go bad in all his years servicing that type. Didn't cost me a dime. That's the only issue I,ve had in the 5 years I,ve owned. At that time he told me the best fuel treatment was what merc made. I,ve used it religiously everytime fuel is added to tank and have had zero issues. I run high test pump gas in mine but just because I,ve always done so with all my boat motors along with stabilizer.
 
Roy,
Had it been the standard 3 yr warranty I would have bought a 4 stroke, warranty sold the rig. I've had multiple Evinrudes in the past and had very little problems, just got comfortable with the 4 Stroke I traded in. Problem is, I have a long time to wait until this boat gets wet

George
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top