BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Haris,
what is considered Hi Octane where you live? I know that it varies depending on what area of the world one lives in.

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

Saito specifically says, "Unleaded high-octane gasoline is not required for SAITO engine." You say that this is due to "market policy", but what does that mean? If you use what Saito recommends and the engine is damaged they have to fix it. Is that "marketing"? You further add that Saito says, "on your own risk". Where did you find that....it's not in the users manual?

When dealing with equipment like this engine I would follow the recommendations of the manufacturer.

HARRIS-G

Hello again
I live in Europe and specific in Greece. I use only high octane premium gasoline in my engine and after 6 liters of use no problem at all.

@Radfordc Yes my friend they write REQUIRED so they say you don't have to pay an expensive gasoline you can put in whatever......(that is market policy) And when the temps goes up and detonation starts to do damage then.... they just need more money to fix them WITHOUT TELLING YOU WHAT BROKE THE ENGINE........
And putting again at engine that has alot of compression low octane gasoline you continue to make the same damage.......
Everyone must understand that high octane gasoline it's about high compression AND NOT FOR MORE POWER. And unfortunately because this engine desingned about glow (methanol) fuel must have a lot compression to burn it and work properly...
You can put inside whatever gasoline you like........i will still use high octane gasoline because i know the reason of doing that.........!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't want to start an argument here i just use to work with high performance engines for Drag race and know some few things about engines... that's all.

Haris



.

757jonp

My Feedback: (48)

I can think of three things that'd cause detonation in this engine. To low an octane rating for it's compression ratio/combustion chamber design... ignition timing to far advanced.... Operating temp to high.... Or a combination of all three.

I'm kinda curious to see how it'd operate on glow fuel. Adjust timing to around 34 degrees and hope the carb gaskets tolerate methanol? As touchy as this carb is on gas, I don't think you'd have to much problem getting it to flow enough on glow... Not crazy about the amount of slime this thing would produce though, I'd have to buy stock in a paper towel company!

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

I haven't seen anyone yet say that detonation caused any of the problems reported with this engine. Especially those who have had multiple cylinder failures haven't said that detonation was the cause. I think we're making much ado about nothing.

GalenB

My Feedback: (18)

I was (am?) hoping to hear from those that have had cylinder failures what octane of gasoline they were using... So far all we have heard about are the oils and ratios used; and whether or not a Keleo exhaust ring was used...

PCT

My Feedback: (3)

I treated mine very badly. Bought it when it first became available from RC Japan. Put it on a 3D plane, no cowl, no break in, used 16:1 Pennzoil Air Cooled (not synthetic), hand started it, flew quite a few times and had zero problem. Must be cooling issue if folks are breaking cylinders?

SWORDSN

My Feedback: (13)

Here is the answer on the Keleo exhaust . See page 45 post 1125. Not a lot of data.

slither

That says it does not seem to matter... cracks with both stock and Keleo exhausts.

SWORDSN

My Feedback: (13)

Correct,they have cracked with both,but i think most are using the ring.Still not a lot of data for a sure conclusion.I'm going to use the ring on mine,hope to maiden soon

MDavis28

Hi guys, I have always ran 93 octane ethonal free mixed 20:1 to Sthil ultra HP. I have ran this in my FG-60. I also ran it in my FG-20 and 2 different FG-21's not a problem from any of them, only the FG-60 have I had engine failures.

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

I got my engine back from Horizon and flew it today. First flight was perfect and so was the second until the radio locked out and the plane flew straight into the ground at full throttle.

One broken cylinder, all fins broken off one head, all pushrods broken, carb broken, sparkplugs broken, mangled ignition leads. Keleo exhaust destroyed.

757jonp

My Feedback: (48)

radfordc.... Sorry to hear about your misshap, my condolences go out to you on that one. Some days the only luck you get is bad luck. Do you plan on repairing the engine?

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

OH no.. !!! What a bummer ...!!

the pope

Tell horizon they did a crap job repairing it . Send it back and say u want it done properly this time ! Cheers

308jockey

Evening all,

I am just finding this very long thread and haven't been able to go through it all so I want to ask two questions. I have this engine mounted such that all three cylinders are out in the breeze. The cowling has no blockage for incoming and outgoing air. It is open front and back except for the firewall but each cylinder is open. First question, does this engine require baffles or not in such a setup? I'm not sure why it would. I've run many cowled single cylinder engines and as long as air flow in and out is adequate I've had no overheating problems. I'm unsure why this one would but Ray English seems to think it is a must. I plan to use his recommendation for oil brand and amount used per gallon and will be using premium alcohol free gasoline.

Second question: is there a Saito 3 cylinder engine that will fit in the cowl of a TF Corsair? This one has flown well with a YS .91AC 4 stroke but I think it would be even better with a radial if one will fit. This is a beautifully built and finished plane and I want a very reliable engine for it. No one anywhere near here is running a radial of any kind so I am on my own. Thanks for any information and helpful tips.

Rick H.

PCT

My Feedback: (3)

Hi Rick,

See my post #1332 and this short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yMGezO4fkc a friend made on my second outing. On subsequent outings I even tuned the engine too lean and was so scared that I had hurt it. The cylinders were so hot that they would have burned spit off my finger and this was after I have landed and shut it down.

I let it cool down completely, richened it back up and flew without any detectable loss of performance. Good luck with yours..

308jockey

I had read your earlier post. It looks like you are very happy with this engine, it was great in the video. The plane I am setting up is on a Sig SpaceWalker and it is using a custom made cowling and not the factory cowl which wouldn't work with this engine. I watched some of the other videos and it looks like no one is having over heating problems if the engine is not leaned too far. I did not see any of them that had baffles. Another question. There is of course a firing order on this spark ignition engine. I didn't get any directions with it so which cylinder is which. Looking at it from the front, which is #1, 2 and 3? What is the firing order? On a full size single row radial the order is all odds and then all evens, say 1-3-5-7-9-2-4-6-8 on a 9 cylinder engine. Would this one be 1-3-2? This is going to be a very cool setup I think. Maiden flight is set for Wednesday!

Rick H.

CRG

My Feedback: (3)

Firing order is 1-3-2. The top cylinder is #1, cylinders are numbered clockwise, same as direction of rotation.

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

I did a post-mortem of the engine to see what needed to be replaced. Right now I'm up to $560 in parts. This doesn't include the ignition system...I think I can find parts to fix the crushed spark plug caps. One cylinder is usable except that most of the cooling fins on the head are missing....this might cause a overheating problem. If I use that cylinder the cost of parts drops by $125. The carb body needs replaced because the high speed needle valve broke off....no way to replace just the high speed assembly.

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

Here is the manual: http://www.horizonhobby.com/pdf/SAIE...nual-MULTI.pdf

Standing in front of the engine and looking at it....#1 is at the top, #2 is lower left, #3 is lower right

ForcesR

Sorry to hear such sad news radfordc, that's a real bummer for sure? What brand of radio, and what model receiver were you using?

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

FrSky Horus and X8R

ALFIEV

Sorry to hear radfordc. Hope you can salvage the engine.

I haven't run mine since fitting a new ignition harness. Fell down some steps, dislocated knee and cracked wrist. No modelling for me for another 5 weeks.


regards

Alf



P.S post sales request through RCjapan, 5 months now, nothin' doin'!

PCT

My Feedback: (3)

I felt so very bad seeing pics of your broken Saito. I still have not felt confident enough about radio setup after a Hitec titanium gear servo shorted in flight and wiped out my 35% Yak. I had read guys reporting the short circuit disaster with the HS-7955TG and it also happened to a club member. I double, triple checked everything, had two successful flights but not a third. The shorted servo melted the wiring and smoked both A123 batteries. I had Futaba 12FG and Futaba 14-ch receiver in the Yak. Solid radio but what I did not have was independent battery redundancy, and overcurrent protection for individual servos.

Anything you could tell us about your radio lockout will be very valuable. I am just now getting into the FrSky radio technology and so far I am extremely impressed. I plan to use the Redundant Bus with two batteries and two receivers. I have a Taranis Plus and X8R in a small Extra and have made a few flights. Was your lockout due to the Horus, X8R, or something else? Many thanks.