DaleD

Nice looking prop, did you notice it says '3 Blade Electric Propeller'?

DaleD

w1nd6urfa

My Feedback: (4)

Yeah, I saw that and was cautious when I ordered the 1st one about a year ago. The blades are quite thin but the hub is well built and has metal reinforcements where the blades join.

I have used them with DLE 20cc and even Saito 125, no problems. I do use spinners and keep bystanders at a safe distance as a rule

JH313

I just purchased my first gas engine, a DLE 20.  In the manual, it says that I need to use non-synthetic oil.  I have also read that there are errors in the manual.  Can I use synthetic oil for the break in?  I have seen many different answers in the previous pages of this forum.

bgw45

My Feedback: (1)

When the 20 was first released Jody from Valley View posted to go ahead and use Sthil Ultra HP @ 32to1 ( a good synthetic ) from the beginning. I have done this on all my 20s. I never lost a bearing or had any mechanical issue with them. I expect them to continue running great. Thanks, Jody!

nikonlarry

JH313

Thanks for the help.  I have looked and can't find any non-synthetic oil, but I have some synthetic I will run.  I'm not too worried as its going into a revolver and I won't be over-prop it.  I have one more question, though.  What is spark plug gap and how do I set it?  I keep seeing this term but nowhere does it say how to measure/set it.  Thanks for all of the help.

Richard D Bahmann aka/Wrongway

My Feedback: (42)

Pennzoil Air cooled 2 stroke oil is an excellent choice to break in on... or more.. Most automotive parts houses will have it... a little bottle will do two gallons for about 3 bucks or less.....

When I was a kid I worked at the airport next to the engine overhaul shop.... spent lots of time helping, lots of hands on... There has got
to be some method to the madness of breaking in an engine (heat cycle,........ heat cycle..... heat cycle) on a specific oil and then moving on to the oil that takes you for the duration...

I have had great luck with breaking in on a good non syn oil then choosing the after break in.

Oh, and one more thing... heat cycle...

JH313

Thanks for that, I will keep that in mind.  Heat cycle, right?   I answered my own question on the gap, just had to leave RCU.  One more question, though, can I use the same gauges used to measure the 4 stroke valves?

Richard D Bahmann aka/Wrongway

My Feedback: (42)

They would run the engine on the stand at.... likely 70% power then reduce greatly...a few short runs before putting on the plane..

In models... I do full power climbs... or vertical... a few seconds will get you altitude... then reduce power and fly around to let it cool and decend... then full power to go up again.... The heat cycle tends to help with metal tempering and ring seat... all the while not extreme enough to overheat or hurt anything...

The guys who put an engine on a stand and run it for a half hour at a certain rpm are doing themselves a great dis-service...

On the full scale they would mount it on the test stand, run it for a small period of time to check seals and similar, then mount on the airframe and sign off... On an occasion I got the chance to go out and burn fuel for them...the type of flying was specific.... they were all into the heat cycle...and proper cooling..

Gapping tools with a measure can be used for valve gap if the numbers are right...

kmeyers

I think most of the failures were a result of not "over-proping it" and in a revoler like plane(sleek low drag plane).

If your engine peaks on the ground over 8500 you need more prop.

Just a couple of cents worth

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

Someone on RCU said the gap can be set with a #11 Xacto blade. I use that and it works fine. .020.

nikonlarry

A flying buddy if mine has a Revolver with a DLE 20cc and is using a 16x8 prop and it works great. One fast and good handling plane. I run a 16x8 on my AW ProX 260 profile and it does just fine. Could run a 17x6 but not really enough ground clearance.

Bonified Wingnut

Mine came with an A-02 ignition and it says 4.8-8.4 volts. So is this a newer one and can I use a w cell LiFe or a Lipo?

nikonlarry

Yes you can. Makes it a lot easier to wire up the plane. No regulator to worry about. If your servos can handle it you could use just one battery.

rye

My Feedback: (10)

Hi
Is there a trick to getting the spark plug cap on ,and could I hook up my smoke pump into the 6 volt Rx battery or the 4.8 motor battery with a Y thanks

RBean

Just thought I would report. Had two engine failure with a DLE 20 in my Flight Models KI-61 Tony. It just quit both times like someone switched off the ignition. On ground running it idled ok and good midrange, but had an intermittent high speed miss. Thought the electronic ignition system was the problem. About a year ago Hobby King had some "XYZ" electronic ignitions systems on sale cheap. So since I had several engines with CM-6 plugs I bought two of them. I replaced the DLE system with one and it seems to have solved the problem. However, idled slower and didn't rev as high. I think it has a different timing curve. Advance the timing slightly. Probably less that 3 degrees. Now almost as much top end and better idle. Only problem is the plug cap does not fit a tight as the DLE but seems to do ok. I think these were on sale for $18 or something like that. I am using a 4.8v NiMHa battery for the ignition.

I think the DLE ignition was about 3yrs old with at least 200 flights on it when it started going on me.

rye

My Feedback: (10)

i thankyou but still need to know how to keep the plug cap on ,it wouldnt stay on

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

You can secure a plug cap with an appropriately sized worm-gear hose clamp.

Bob Howard

My Feedback: (2)

The plug wire snaps on very hard. there i a ring on the cap is stiff and holds on very well.

captinjohn

<br +1

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

rye, when you have that cap on all the way the hex section of the plug will be covered by the cap. Once on that far, they're just as hard to remove! The plan behind it being so tight is absolute assurance of a good ground between that boot and the spark plug.

Michel

Hi

Force it on ,....... with the palm of youre hand( Support the engine with the other hand ) ,................ the first time , can be a ," pain ". May the force , be with you ,......

Michel

raptureboy

Like the others; push hard. Depends on the requirements of your smoke pump. Why not just use a seperate battery? I don't know why everyone wants to trust all their investment in 1 battery to do everything, most pumps work better on 6-12 volts so i just use a 2 cell lipo for mine. Weighs almost nothing

rye

My Feedback: (10)

thanks guys ,i got it on

Indiomike

My Feedback: (5)

It appears that new DLE20 engines being sold come with a new version ignition module. The newer version (A-02) is labeled to handle up to 8.4 volts, compared to 6.0 volts on the older version.

Some people have said that the newer version has also gotten rid of the timing curve (step) that the old version had. Can anyone verify that as a matter of fact. I haven't found anything from dlpower.com or dleengines that confirm that has happened.