Drought gives older two-stroke outboard engine tech a stay of execution

The legislation – also intended to rub out higher-polluting engines used for power tools and outdoor equipment, as well as outboard engines – was meant to come into effect from July 1 this year. However, the Department of Environment and Energy on March 25 announced it would give importers another year to clear excess stock after drought conditions hit sales hard.

Any unsold outboard engines that did not comply with the new emissions standards would either have to be shipped overseas, or scrapped. Engine importers have not been allowed to bring the higer-polluting outboard engines into Australia since July last year, and were originally given 12 months to sell remaining stocks.

“This one-off extension has been granted in response to concerns regarding the impacts the drought is having on product demand,” the department said in a statement to boatsales.com.au.

“This extension will allow those experiencing difficulties more time to sell their remaining uncertified stock prior to the new commencement date.”

The new legislation was to effectively rub out two-stroke engines that used carburetors to feed fuel into the engine, producing high emissions. More modern two-stroke engines using direct injection technology to precisely deliver the amount of fuel that the engine needs produce much fewer emissions, and would have remained on sale beyond the deadline.

The stay of execution of the Outdoor Power Equipment and Marine Engines Standards is a nod to power equipment retailers who are struggling to clear their warehouses of stock ahead of the original deadline.

The Department of Environment and Energy said it had consulted with both the Outboard Engine Distributors’ Association and the Australian marine Engine Council before formalising the extension.

A departmental paper said two-stroke carburettor and pre-chamber fuel injection engines were inherently more polluting than two-strokes with direct injection technology, and four-stroke engines.

“This is due to their inability to completely separate the inlet gases from the exhaust gases, resulting in up to 30 per cent of the fuel being left unburnt, plus the need to add oil to the fuel to lubricate the engine,” it said.

“However, two-stroke carburettor engines typically weigh less than a four stroke engine of the same power and this tends to make them attractive for smaller boats.

“They also tend to have fewer components, are generally cheaper to buy and have lower maintenance costs compared to four stroke engines.”

It said even operating a boat with a relatively clean engine would produce “the same pollution as about 50 cars, operated at a similar speed”.

When it comes to jet skis, the Californian Environment Protection Agency claimed operating an older personal watercraft for seven hours would produce the same amount of pollution as driving a new car for more than 160,000km.

The extended deadline is not expected to affect some manufacturers. Tohatsu announced earlier this year it would even stop making fuel-injected two-stroke engines that would have complied with the new emissions standards due to lack of demand for them.