ccrebidoux

My Feedback: (3)

Ok, I've been to the web site and I've e-mailed the owner of the company. All the stats seem to be very good, though slightly biased.

Has ANYBODY else had experiences with this engine????????

He says this engine will flip an 18x8 @ 7200 rpm. Pretty impressive. How reliable is it??????

If I go by sales pitches I'd have one installed in my 1/7 Hawker Typhoon now. It looks like I'd end up as the only guy in Canada and one of a few in North America with this engine.

The price is very good but with a wife in college and a terrible 2 year old, I gotta be certain of where I spend my scrimpted and saved RC money.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

ajcoholic

My Feedback: (10)

Those engines are basic homelite conversions - ie, I believe they do NOT adjust the timing or bypass. I have converted quite a few 30cc homelite trimmer engines, with the stock magneto, C&H and prospark ignitions. All turned a standard zinger 18-8 at about 6800 rpm. I have owned one of the Wolf Preditor engines, also based on a homelite 30cc jug but they modify the bypass and use their own custom piston. They run a bit higher rpm's.

As far as reliability, the Homelite engines are very reliable, start easily by hand (even the magneto versions) and run fine.

I'd say anything over 7000 on an 18-8 is dreaming (never tried an APC but it might do it).

One thing, with these small (1.8 to 2.4 cubic inch) gasoline engines, if they are running the stock cdi ignition with flywheel, etc they are so heavy! Buying a good ignition like a C&H is the way to go, saves over a pound of weight.

I really liked that Wolf Preditor, for that size engine but a Brison or Fox 2.4 will be even better.

These of course are just my personal experiences and thoughts. If I were you I'd look for a good used engine with a C&H ignition instead.

Andrew Coholic
(by the way, I am from Kirkland Lake, Northern Ontario. Maac#26287)

Loopman

My Feedback: (195)

If you want a solid homelite engine that does'nt look like it came out of someone's weedeater that sat out in the rain with rust and crud in the fins check out RS ENGINES. These guys are the best and their engines are 1st rate! No brag just fact!

Happy Flying!

LOOPMAN

kevin mcgrath

My Feedback: (1)

Agree with most of AJ,s comments.........Have seen and flown converted Homelites very successfully in a Dynaflite Chipmunk flywheel and all.Have converted Ryobis and flown them in Cubs,4/120s etc........anything over 7000 on an 18/8 is a stretch and 16/8 or 18/6 is more like it.I question the hand starting on a magneto version too,although a standard 12 volt starter will spin any weeder conversion unless the CR has been raised.
Particularly agree a CH conversion is very nice and saves mucho weight and makes the fit around the nose area a much easier proposition.......Consider converting one yourself or ask around for someone local to do it ......the $US conversion,plus freight,plus all the filthy taxes sure raises the price in a hurry if you import a conversion...........

tkg

My Feedback: (1)

If you want to roll your own, try Carr Precision for conversion kits.

ajcoholic

My Feedback: (10)

Homelite stock CDI ignitions are well known in the small engine world to produce a good hot spark at a slower speed than most other brands. I have hand started a stock homelite conversion myself many times, honest!

AJC

rev

I have had 3 homelite 25cc motors and one 30cc they run good but are under powered!!! I got a homelite chainsaw 33cc motor , : model 3300d at the home depot store for 115.00 changed the muffler and machined the fins off the flywheel, that is all the mods. needed. It puts the 25 and 30 to shame. It likes a 20x8 , 18x10 or 17x10 and 16x10 I have 3 of these motors now and WILL NOT USE ANYTHING ELSE !!!!! :spinnyeye

Smokin Cap

My Feedback: (49)

I have a Homelite 25cc in my H-9 CAP 232. Plane needs something around a 1.80 or larger but my 25cc pulled nicely(no 3d though). I was getting a constant 7300 rpm using an 18x8 Schimitar profile prop. All other props I tried I could only max out at 6800 or 6900 rpm. Very reliable engine based on my experience with em.

fop26

I have converted about 15 of the Homelites, this was a few years ago when the 30 cc ones were easy to find, i think the 25 ccs are the norm today and not worth the time to convert them.
They are a very easy to start heavy underpowered engine, putting on a C&H or other ignition will save some weight, but you add about half of it back when you add a battery and ignition module. You can also get a couple of hundred rpm s by changing to a bigger carb.
The compression ratio is the biggest problem, you could play with raising the compression by milling the bottom of the jug, but you would be changing your port timing at the same time.
The weight that theese engines come out at and the power that they put out is not proportionate. if you started out with a chainsaw engine, you would get a lot better power out of them, they are a lot better made and higher output engine.
I wish these engines would have worked out better, i even designed and built, along with other guys in my club, a couple of planes that would use the weight upfront without having to add any tail weight to balance, they seem to come out about 12-14 lbs and flew ok, but nothing like we wanted, they will fly a 14-15 lb airplane very scale like, they would be good on a big PT 19 or a Chipmunk if you wanted scale like flight. one good use was a large C-130, i weighed about 45-50 lbs and needed the heavy engines up close to the wing to balance and using multiple engines seems to up the power to weight ratio somehow.
I have the motor mounts and prop-hub adapters for the 25 and 30 Homies if you need them. Latter:

tkg

My Feedback: (1)

Just some numbers off the test stand. These are NOT stock engines but have had work done to them. All have CH ignition and good mufflers
25cc APC 16x8 9100
25cc APC 17x8n 7900 Ported and has very little torque, likes to rev.
30cc 18x8 MA Classic 7700
30cc APC 17x8n 8750 Mildly ported.
30cc Wolf 18x8 APC 8400
30cc Wolf 19x8 MA Simitar 7800 High compression and very good torque

glowplugboy

My Feedback: (17)

Hi guys,
Gee, if I had known a thread was going about the engine my company converts, I would have looked and replied sooner. I'll stand by my claims regarding the power output on the GCBM R/C 25cc. Our 3 year old Prototypes swing 18X8's all day @ 7,200 rpm, and a friend's production engine actually turned a Dynathrust 18X8 @ 7,600 rpm. A couple of things to consider: we are at 15 feet above sealevel, so we will get the maximum output here, and tachometers can be off a smidge, too. If you are in Denver, don't expect the GCBM R/C 25cc, or ANY engine for that matter to produce what it says on the spec sheet. To offer an engine like ours at the price we offer it, we can't take the time to modify the timing and such, nor can we add an electronic ignition. With the big carb and open B&B muffler, this little motor is a work horse FOR THE PRICE. 1/4 scale airplanes of all types with 900+ inches of wing area can handle this 62 oz. motor quite easily.

Regards,
Mike McGraw, President
GCBM R/C Inc.

craigman

My Feedback: (1)

Hey, where are you guys getting mufflers and prop hubs for the Homelites?
I'm converting a 50cc ( i think. it's model #cs50) chainsaw motor and could use a good muffler and prop hub.
Any help?
Thanks

glowplugboy

My Feedback: (17)

We can machine just about any length prop shaft in house, but I would not advise going over 2 1/2 or 3". Our standard 1 7/8" shaft goes for $25.00 plus S&H.
Regards,
Glowplugboy

www.gcbmrc.com

Tmoth4

My Feedback: (1)

I've converted several of these small Homelites (25 and 30cc). If you plug the small hole that is located just above the exhaust port the compression will increase about 25 percent. This, along with putting the bigger bore carb on from Carrprecision will increase the power of these engines considerably.

Jim

ajcoholic

My Feedback: (10)

Something to think about if you plan to do a bunch of conversions (and maybe you have friends that fly converted gassers too) is to look for a good used lathe. When you can machine your own stuff like flywheels and prop adapters (that run at least $25 a pop) you will be surprised at how much you can save. Also, you find many more uses, espeically in the larger gas engines, like making mounts, extensions, velocity stacks, etc. Aluminum alloy barstock is cheap, and you end up saving a lot. If its just one engine, not worth it but something to consider if you plan to stick with it.

Andrew Coholic

captinjohn

What brands of lathes would do the trick. Seems like some small lathes are made in other countries that do not cost a arm and a leg. Does anyone have any recomendations??? Thanks John

glowplugboy

My Feedback: (17)

A Lathe is a wonderful thing to have, but if you are not spinning a lot of metal with it, it can be a very expensive table adornment. Since I use mine several hours a week as a part of my business, the investment is worth it, but the investment of nearly $3K I have made cannot possibly be justified if you want a couple of prop shafts. Remember: whatever the price of the lathe, you can expect to invest nearly the same amount on tools and accesories to make it do the things you need it to do for you, AND you have to learn how to use the machine.
There are 18 manufacturing steps in the making of my prop shafts. I use a $50.00 drill bit to drill the center holes, and a $45.00 pulley tap to thread it... so there is 4 prop shafts for you right there on two small but very precision lathe tools.
My best word of advice is this: buy the biggest lathe you can afford money wise and space wise. Lathes under 9" simply don't have the rigidness required for rapid, precision work, so you have to take very small cuts which can become pretty tedious. Think: Bigger is better...

KenLambert

My Feedback: (107)

I use my 2 lathes and one mill several hours EACH day doing nothing more than converting engines to rc making prop hubs ,mufflers ,mounts ,thottle arms and so on ,theres not any money in it i just have alot of time

ajcoholic

My Feedback: (10)

Yes, I said a lathe can be usefull for many things in this hobby, just one example is converting gasoline engines to rc use.

I have an old south bend 12" by 48 I bought for $1000 and I put another $2000 to $3000 into accessories and such. But you dont need fancy stuff to do simple turning which prop adapters are.

By the way, My lathe PAYS for my model airplane hobby - no joke! You would be surprised at how many people dont/cant/wont do anytyhing mechanically related for themselves. Therefore I do small jobs for other people and end up paying for my own hobby!

It helps if you like to work metal, then it is like a hobby in itself.

Andrew

NapaFloyd

My Feedback: (1)

Mike, I have a 25cc engine converted by your company.. Finally got it into the air... Need to change the plug.

It has NGK BPMR7A Plug.. What is the recomended plug gap??

Floyd in the Republic of Panama...

glowplugboy

My Feedback: (17)

Howdy Floyd,

Ball park should be 0.045 to 0.50.

Regards,
Mike

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

That doesn't sound right? You must be talking about a late model car?

The usual gap for that plug is in the .020" to .025"

glowplugboy

My Feedback: (17)

We haven't mfg'ed the engine in over five years... I took the plug out of my personal engine and that was the gap. Maybe I should adjust mine too!

NapaFloyd

My Feedback: (1)

Mike, I have to agree with W9YE... I have been having intermeadiate momentary cut outs of the engine at high speeds. Thought it was the plug and pulled it.. It was set at .16 and a .20 to .25 could be the answer.. Will change it anyway because I read that sometime the insulators get cracked.. Since this is a restister plug changing it would be the best..

I like the engine and it does well on my ´Spezio tu Holer´ (Home built Acft) It has a 80 inch wingspan and weighs in at 14.7 pounds. It is swinging a 17-8 prop.

SunnyFlyer09

Mike, I have one of your engines I bought from u years ago and still have never run it.

Do you recommend converting it to cdi , and what is required to do it?

(Can't belive this thread is still going, hehehehe)

Matt