A1RENCH

I thank all of you for your advice and information! When I said my engines were old, I'm talking 30-40 years. I don't know the history of glow engines, but I know they have been around since at least the forties. Most of mine are 1960's. The K&B Stallions maybe older than that. I have three that were my first "big" engines, and 25 years ago, they ran like new on castor oil and 5% nitro. I hope they are O.K.
now. They all have untold gallons of fuel through them, all pure castor lube. I know a lot of the "modern"
engines are of ABC construction, and make a considerable amount more power than did the older cast piston/steel liner engines, but from what I can tell, they don't last as long, and they are far more cantankerous to tune. Maybe they are too hot? (souped-up). A couple of guys I work with have nitro cars and trucks. One, called the T-maxx has a .15 engine,they refer to as a 2.5, has a claimed horsepower rating 1.3 horse! It also has a life expectancy of three gallons of the recommended fuel, and is VERY
hard to tune. I tried to help them tune it, as I was the only one that had any experience with glow engines at all. the recommended fuel for these engines is synthetic lube, 16% with 20% nitro. I wonder if using caster oil in these engines would increase the life expectancy? Just curious. Are the newer R/C and C/L engines ABC? I wonder if I need to do anything special before starting these engines that have been sitting. They are a little dusty and gummy. I know fresh fuel will free them up, but should I oil them, or clean them internally?

Thanks again guys!
Bud

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

Bud:

I wouldn't want to take them apart any further than pulling the backplate off to get free access for inspection and oiling.

Don't ever pull a lapped piston out of its sleeve unless absolutely necessary. As they break in microscopic grooves are worn in the surface of the piston and sleeve, when reassembled unless the sleeve is in exactly the same angular relation to the piston it will have to reseat, and the compression will suffer from the added wear of reseating.

And be sure to use a fuel with high lube content, and a large part of the lube should be castor oil. Omega "Heli" fuel is a good choice. Try 10% nitro, 5% nitro should also be fine, if not better. But the 5% will be harder to find. If the lowest nitro you can find is 15% try it, but it might be too much. If yu can't find the Heli blend, go to a larger food store and get "Baker's AA" castor oil, add two ounces per gallon, or a little more I you had to get 15% nitro. None at the food store? Then go to the drug store and get "USP" castor oil.

Hope this helps, and welcome back to the mad world of powered modeling.

Bill.

gcb

I would suggest flushing out the engines and oiling them before use. As mentioned, just remove the plug and backplate. If any loose rust has formed, it will flush out first running and rust is iron oxide, which is a lapping compound. For that reason also make your first run "super rich" to lessen the wear.
If you need extra castor oil, another place to get it is at the hobby shop. Sig sells it.
Some of the racing car engines run at a very high RPM and are designed to run on specific fuels. You might want to do a search on that engine and see what others have been using...and more importantly, what they are NOT using.
One famous engine guy posted (a couple of years ago) that some cars are using 5% lube...albeit probably a very special and expensive lube.

George

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

George:

5% oil? Yes, you're right.

And the "Go-faster" car boys are also gettng engine maximum life in the range of one hour.

Speed costs money. How fast can you afford?

Bill.

big max 1935

My Feedback: (9)

Have some U/C stuff. E-mail me. MAX H. Now have more stuff! MAX H.