microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

Truckracer - just checked the plug cap - don't see any damage, outside or in. The silicone liner looks healthy.

computermonkey

My Feedback: (90)

I would still replace the complete cap assembly. You won't be able to see a hair line crack that the spark can travel through.

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

If it's quitting up near WOT, I'm guessing it's too lean, especially if you can pull back on the throttle stick to "catch" it prior to it going dead stick.

Idle rpm should not be V8 smooth. If the engine is set up and running right, it's going to have kind of a rambling, unsteady idle - on the rich side, and it will never quit. If it quits, it's generally lean.

My only other thought has to do with an opti switch, if you're running one of those? Wondering if your end points might be set so the switch is not fully "on"? If the end points are set to 100%, maybe try increasing them to 125%, or whatever you have available?

Just got my Revolver back together too. It's getting to be kind of a Porker at 10 lb 1 oz. but still anxious to "maiden" it - for the 3rd time now.....

Best of luck! -Al

Second thought? Air bubbles might cause what you're talking about? Are you running a felt clunk?

fickjr

What kind of gas are you using? I use aviation fuel. Mix it with 100/1 Amsoil Saber Professional It won't foul over winter. Check for gunk in the carb or dirt under the check valve and dirt in the filter. I have in the past set the gap of the spark plug by passing a number 11 xacto blade thru the electrodes.

[email protected]

My Feedback: (29)

I thought Vallyview had their hands on that one.

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

Question on fuel barbs on tank tubing. Are they needed on the outside as well as the inside? I always have, but am wondering if they're needed. Thanks.

clive45

I use tank barbs or solder ridges on all connections with 2 turns of thin soft wire on the outside with twist finish. Better than loosing a hose at the wrong time and it also prevents air leaks as well. HTH

Jim Branaum

My Feedback: (3)

A wrap of soft wire 1/8 inch from the end and soldered is a great (and cheap) barb. Put your tubing over it and use a tie wrap to 'crip' it smaller than the 'barb' and you are in business. I really hated it when gas lines developed leaks and I did change away from hobby filters as they tend to get full of garbage and cause engine starvation. For me that happened twice at very bad times. I now use filters I bought at a tractor place. They do cause a lot of first start of the day problems as it takes a while to fill them up, but since I switched to them I have not had an engine failure due to fuel starvation.

YMMV

av8tor1977

My Feedback: (6)

I have been running three line tanks, but I might switch back to a two line tank and one of these neat units on my planes.... It not only filters the fuel with a really good filter, but maintains a reservoir of fuel near the engine somewhat like a header tank. Actually, I think these are so cool I wish I had thought of it!

http://www.jlproducts.net/ProductQuikFire.html

AV8TOR

Jim Branaum

My Feedback: (3)

Those are neat looking "little" units, but again still hobby filters or I would order several today. The issue is that most of us rarely clean (back flush) our fuel filters and they ALL collect garbage that eventually will clog the filter media. Small filters have less media to clog before they will not pass gas.

Actually if you change engines around a lot for one reason or another, this is not as serious a problem as it sounds. It becomes a problem when you are flying the same airframe for a long time. Long means more than one season. There are some folks who get away for a long time with filtering the fuel from the can to the aircraft, but eventually even that will fail.

av8tor1977

My Feedback: (6)

I filter my fuel both going into my fuel jug, then again from the fuel jug into the airplane. I use a Walbro felt type clunk and have never, ever had a problem with fuel filter blockage. But then again I service all my fuel systems every year, besides the triple filtering.

The unit I showed uses a GM car type filter that filters hundreds and hundreds of gallons of fuel in a car before possibly becoming clogged. I think that is a bit more than even the most avid flyer would use....

AV8TOR

Jim Branaum

My Feedback: (3)

Fair enough. I use a filter for a Chevete...but probably don't do enough filtering on the main supply. Call me lazy...

mach2

My Feedback: (5)

A #11 blade is .020" thick. That will work, but if you have "feeler gauges", try something a little bigger. I started my DLE20 at .024" then went to .026" and it ran even smoother. On my new RCGF 26CC Beam Mount engine I'm running plug gap at .028" and it runs great. I think anything over that would probably be too much. I feel like im at the limit of gap performance.

Also, I only use NGK CM-6 plugs.

Jeremy

mach2

My Feedback: (5)

Oh yeah? Well I use a fuel filter from a Corvette C6 ZR1...(just kidding, I just wanted to "one up" ya, HAHA!).

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

Are there any negatives to running a much larger plug gap?

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

If it gets too stupid, like when you cut the electrode off, it's pretty hard on the coil. Otherwise, the wider gaps (.024"- .026") help a bunch (especially mid range!) when running richer mixtures. That's my understanding from guys that know a lot more about it than I do anyway.

At the club I belong to, we've taken some engines that were burbling noticeably in mid range, widened the gap to .025, and with no other changes, pretty much eliminated the burble.

mach2

My Feedback: (5)

More gap makes a bigger spark which will help more complete burning. It'll run a little cleaner and most likely have more power. And as Al said, reduce burble because it is more likely to ignite the rich mixture that a smaller spark can't.

Because it causes the spark to have to jump farther, it could shorten the life of the ignition. But that's just a guess. You have to ask the guys who make them. I can almost guarantee that using the gaps we're talking about won't harm anything. Just don't run a .040-.050" gap like you would on a car and you'll be fine.

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

So, a potential to shorten the life of the ignition unit is the suspected risk?

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

I would suspect that might be an issue only when taken to the extreme.

lean-run

Interesting, on a 20cc gas engine (not DLE, its waiting for Revolver build) I'm running .025" gap, tried another plug that
had a smaller gap (.015" about). The mixtures needed altering, but it seemed harder to get settings, changed back, and the settings seemed much easier to get.
That was my method of finding what to run.
As in above posts have found the larger gap better, and agree some mixture issues would get some help from gapping plugs.

p.s.
like the bit about cutting electrode off, reckon it might be a bit hard on the coil !

[email protected]

My Feedback: (29)

Those sound like they work like hopper tanks. I need to try these

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

Just installed a brand new DLE 20 onto a 72" Extra 300 profile (was a kit - I bought the plane assembled, pre-owned). Yesterday was the first run of the engine. It seems to be having trouble pulling fuel - I have to keep choking it to get it started (on my other DLE 20 once I choke it and run it I don't need to choke it the rest of the day). The engine might start and run fine for a few minutes, but then die while in flight, or once it died on take-off (good thing we have a long field). I have two suspicions - on this profile I have the tank mounted lower than the carbuerator, on the other side of the profile (for balance). I thought that the carb should pull fuel even though the tank is lower - am I wrong on this? Should the tank be level with the carb? Also I used 1/8" Tygon tubing, instead of the normal 5/32 (since I ran out of the smaller). All of the fittings seem secure (no obvious leaks). Could this wider tubing be part of the problem, somehow dispersing the carb pump pressure enough so that it does not pull \ hold the fuel in the line?

Or is this just a tuning problem on a new DLE 20? (both needles were set to 1.5 out of the box). I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks.

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

The larger line shouldn't matter a bit. Sounds like your low-end needle is lean. Pumper carbs don't really care where the tank is. They will pull fuel 3 feet straight up.

mach2

My Feedback: (5)

Agreed. It's too lean. The tank height shouldn't matter. If the tank being mounted a little low would cause problems, imagine the issues guys would have who hover their planes for minutes on end. I remember watching a video that a company put made to show off their 20cc profile plane and the guy just hovered it for nearly the whole duration of the 5-7 minute video. It was actually pretty frustrating to watch. All I could think was, "yeah, we get it. It can hover. Now show how it flies with the wings..." haha!

karolh

Sounds like you are a bit lean on the HS needle.