isuzu john

I bought a brand new Thunder Tiger F54-S and its been giving me problems from day 1, the engine has been run in as advised in the instruction manual, but the engine will not run smooth and even on tick over, the guys in my club have looked at it and made some adjustments to the mixture, but even these guys with years of experience cannot get it to run smooth on tick over, would be grateful for any comments or suggestions on this please

John

Sport_Pilot

My guess would be to break it in longer. No engine will idle well with a poor ring seal and high ring friction. These engines are like Saitos and Enyas, they take a long break in.

djlyon

I assume this is the model with the airbleed carberator. Many folks encluding myself have had a problem with the engine running way to rich at idle, even with the air bleed all the way open. What fixed mine and others was to drill out the airbleed hole to a larger size. I don't remember the drill size I used but I probably increased the area of the hole by 20 or 30 percent.

Denis

djlyon

There was another fellow from the UK that was having this problem with 2 of them he wanted to use on a twin of some sort. I advised him to drill out the airbleeds. He did it and the engines then worked fine.

Denis

isuzu john

Thanks for your advice guys

TailSpin Walt

I just obtained a new F-54s. Haven't broke it in or anything. Any suggestions on break in? I was plnning on using what the manual said except using 2-cycle fuel 15% nitro and 18% oil blend. What do you think?

If I run into the same problems as above I need some info (I've been into RC for almost a year): what is "tick over"?
And what is the "air bleed" and where would I find the air bleed whole that is being enlarged?

-Walt

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

The TT54 has not had a airbleed carb in more than 10 yrs

Tick over usually refers to idle

The 2 cycle model airplane fuel is usually fine but most people prefer a little castor oil in the fuel

The low speed fuel mixture screw is typically in the center of the throttle arm - Air bleed screws usually replace the needle in the center of the throttle arm with a crew with a spring around it that is parallel to the throttle barrel along the edge of the carb. The screw terminates at a hole on the front o

TailSpin Walt

My F-54s is new but it has sat around apparently from the person I bought it from. It does not have the black anodized head like the new ones. However the manual looks the same as the one on-line, but maybe it is old too.
The idle/low speed needle on my TT54 IS parallel to the throttle barrel and high speed screw and has a spring around it. If I follow where the screw goes in to the body about 10mm there is a hole about 1.5mm in diameter. Is this the air bleed hole? And is my engine 10yr old?

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

That's the airbleed

You will find the engine to be easy to set. you will enjoy it.

The airbleed works backwards. The screw it in is richer and out is leaner

TailSpin Walt

Hey Thanks.

The airbleed works like do!

jaka

Hi!
All engines today are good engines ! There isn't a manufacturer around today that makes "bad" engines.
If you want an engine to run well you have to give it what it wants.

All engines like nitro so give them nitro! 5"-10% is what all engines need! 15% or more is just overkill.
Never ever try to run a four stroke (except a Lazer) without nitro!!

Use the "correct" glow plug! The OS F plug or the one supplied by the manufacturer.

Use the "correct" propeller. For a .54 four stroke that means a prop that loads the engine to ...let's say, no more than 10000 rpm at full throttle. A 12x6 or 13x4 APC prop are good props to use for most planes.

Use the "correct" fuel!
Over here in Europe it's very common to use fuel containing only 10%-15% all synthetic oil (Castor oil is seldom used). Of course more oil could be used too but it isn't necessary in any way!
Many of us mix our own fuel but ready-made fuel is available in all hobby stores. See to that you get fuel containing at least 5% nitro.

TailSpin Walt

Jan,

Thanks for the info.
It seems most of the guys here run 15% Nitro because we are at 3500 ft altitude. Normally they would run 10% at sea level. Typically airplane fuel here is 17-20% oil (usually a blend, but some use full synthetic).

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Your fuel will be fine

Kmot

My Feedback: (24)

Reviving this thread.....

I purchased a used Thunder Tiger F-54S several years ago. It has sat in its box on a shelf since. I never ran it.

I am putting together a new airplane and I decided to use this engine in it. I came to RCU to get the lowdown, if any, on this engine. Well, there was a common theme here, about the air bleed carb and the fact the bleed hole was too small. Enlarging the bleed hole was the solution to numerous problems. So before even attempting to start this engine, I enlarged the hole to a figure given by one gentleman, 3/32".

I attempted to start the engine today. After priming, it started immediately. I warmed it up for a while, ran it through the rpm range a few times. Also did some quick acceleration runs from idle to WOT. Then I pulled the throttle stick down to low idle, and left it there. After idling perfectly for a few minutes, I figured it was good.

This engine runs sweet, smooth, and sounds GOOD! I'm very pleased with my Thunder Tiger four stroke.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the point of this post, duh, is that it is really great having the Glow Engines forum here at RCU as it is a truly comprehensive resource for information on just about any glow engine someone might encounter.