Marco S.

I purchase from OS the .46 AX ABL and I´m about to break in the engine.

My doubt is:

Every site I´ve been read about breaking in ABL engine says that do not run it into 4-cycle operation under any circunstance and the manual says to vary the cycle between 2 - 4 cycle every 10 seconds for 1 tank.

Is there any problem break in the engine using the procedure below? Or use the procedure below first and then the OS procedure?


1) Install your engine in the plane. Fill the tank full of fuel and set the needle setting to what the initial settings are in the owner’s manual.

2) Fire it up! Take it to wide open then adjust so its breaks into a clean two-stroke. Do not lean it out to maximum rpm.

3) Run it for 2 to 3 minutes. After that shut it down and let it cool completely before doing again.
Let it cool naturally.

4) After it’s cooled down, fire it up again and do the same thing. Just run it a little harder this time.
Make sure to break in into a good clean 2-stroke run.
Shut it down after 2 to 3 minutes of running it around and let it cool.

5) Again, after a complete cool down, do it again, running it even harder.
Now you need to start leaning into the high speed needle a little bit closer to optimum running and get the low speed needle closer to a good clean crisp response.
Shut it down after 2 to 3 minutes of running and let it cool completely.
Repeat this step one or two more times.

broke_n_bummin

http://manuals.hobbico.com/osm/46ax-manual.pdf
When all else faills, RTFM
Do it just like it says in the manual. If you break in the engine like someone here tels you to, ask them if they will honor the warrantee if something gets too hot and it locks up, because O.S. won't.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

I think you will find the engine to be very rich in fuel to get it to four cycle. It will be unlikely that you would run it in 4 cycle.

The engine was designed to need a minimum of break in.

The sequence you described should work great.

broke_n_bummin

I'm not taking anything away from w8ye, as a matter of fact, the process you described is how I do a break in after I have rebuilt an engine, but I have bought a lot of used engines that weren't too old that have scarring on the top of the cyllander sleeve, or bent piston rods, or other tell tale signs that someone either skipped the break in or abbreviated it. Every engine I buy new is broken in per the manual, no matter how silly it seems. That's just my way to make sure that if something goes wrong, it wasn't anything I did.

Checklst

When all else fails read the Manual............engines for the most part are vary tolerant mechanical devices...........that why most can do their own thing(break in) and still have a good motor................. but it's still best just to read the manual and follow the direction.

DarZeelon

Marco,


Follow [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Tapered%2DBore_Engine_Break%2Din_%2D_Upgraded/m_1850473/tm.htm]this break-in[/link] procedure.


ABL engines are ABN engines that have a very thin copper flash-coat, between the sleeve's brass and the electro-less nickel layer, for better bonding.

The [link=http://osengines.com/faq/product-faq.html#q2]OS Q&A[/link] contradicts the manual expressly, by telling you NOT to run the engine in four-cycle mode during break-in...

I believe the Q&A gives you the better advice, since the manual (Post #2) states exactly what the previous FX/SX manual did; not bothering to differentiate at all, between tapered-bore, non-ring engines (most) and ringed engines (the .50SX and the .91FX)... These two engine types need different procedures and temperatures, for the break-in to be most fruitful.

Even though the technique stated in the OS manual will probably not cause your new engine to fail outright, the hotter method will get the break-in done better and faster.

quepasa

"RTFM"!...........Gotta love it!

Ed_Moorman

My Feedback: (1)

I've got 4 of the .46AXs and a .55AX. I broke all of them in just as the manual says and I can't find better running engines anywhere.

rainedave

My Feedback: (1)

I believe that the manuals that come with O.S.'s ABL engines like the AX .46 (which I own) are intended to err on the safe side to reduce warranty claims.

However, just because you're not damaging your engine during their break-in procedure doesn't mean that you are concurrently giving your non-ringed engine the best break-in it can receive.

If you pay attention to what you're doing you can safely use the "rich 2-cycle" method that Dar describes without fear of overheating the engine. But, you have to stay with the engine and listen to it carefully. Any sign of sagging during those first few runs means it's too lean.

Again, O.S. has no way of knowing how careful and attentive a customer will be while breaking in an engine, so they instruct you to play it very safe. That's the way I see it, anyway.

David

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

What I see at the flying field, in reality . . . .

Few people "Break-one-in" They just come out to the field with the new plane and engine, start it up and fly. It may quit a couple times until the engine gets loosened up.

But I have some friends that will run a couple tanks through them on the bench first.

Here in the glow engine forum, the concerned people that want to do the correct thing inquire about the best procedure. In turn, concerned people give an acceptable break-in solution to the best of their knowledge.

I figure for every one that inquires about a situation, there are 10 others that read about it and never post a question. In addition to these people, there are ten times that many modelers that do not own a computer or do not get on the internet. The concerned ones of this bunch read the instructions or at least read them at one time.

OS has attempted to allow for this impatience for years with innovations in materials and tolerances so there is a minimum of damage to the engines as a result of the crank and fly guys.

quepasa

And thankfull I am! I never had a problem with a new engine til I got a tach & tried to break one in on the bench! A new piston/liner solved that. Tachs back in the box where it belongs! Yea a little rich for the 1st. tank full, but after that?...I'm a crank-n-fly-guy!

blw

My Feedback: (3)

While I prefer to run an engine on the bench first, there are some that I would take to the field and crank without worrying. Like Jim said, the OS engines have soft nickel plating and they break in fast. I once ran an Evolution a few minutes and then flew it without problems. It was a little rough for 5 minutes or so, but it put out a lot of power from the first. I've seen Magnum 4 strokes brought to the field and flown on the first tank ran thru them, but I would rather put a little time on a bench first myself.

A Saito engine? Nope, that one is going to be broken in on the bench.

Tower .75? No, lots of time on the bench.

You can learn a lot about engine characteristics by reading about them here. You can't go wrong by running them on a test stand first, and it's a good place to learn things about it.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Some engines do not break in easily

A friend near BLW's home bought a new Magnum 30 FS that would run hot right now with a 10-6 prop. The owner and I ran 5 or 6 tanks through it with a 9-6 and then for several flights the owner used the 9-6. The engine is now on a different plane and pulls a 10-6 with no problem. We also ran a couple Saito 30's and a OS 30 on the bench and they would pull a 10-6 from the beginning without getting hot.

I acquired my Magnum 30 second hand but it looked new. It would pull a 10-6 fine the first time I ran it. Several years ago I received a OS 26 FS NIB and it would pull a 10-6 without getting hot although not very fast.