cox surestart engine help
 

hi im new to this stuff. I just got a 049 surestart engine from a guy and he said it doesn't have a reed valve.
Does it need this to run? [:o]

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Yes a surestart needs a reed to run, you can cut 1 from a floppy disk.
To make a Reed , first cut a circle that fits neatly but loosly inside of the reed retainer- ie it falls out easily. then cut the sides off the disk to look like the 1 in the picture- note it must still be wide enough to cover the raised circular flange on the back plate or it wont seal.
Stewart

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Jason,

The reed controls the fuel and air that enters the engine. As the piston goes up, the reed opens and a vacuum in the crankcase pulls air and fuel in. As the piston goes down, the reed closes and creates pressure. At a point the piston uncovers bypass ports that allow the mixture of fuel and air to be pushed to the upper part of the cylinder.

George

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

hey, that thing about cutting out a reed from a floppy disk worked!!! 2 flicks of the prop and she fired up!!!!:D:D:D:D:D

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Your addiction begins. If you know what's good for you you'll sell that Cox and run for your life. Cox reed engines are the crack cocaine of the aeromodelling world. They aren't good for you and one is never enough. Never!![X(]


Luke

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

whats so bad about cox engines? I like'em cause their cheap!

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Yep, the first one's usually free, and its all down hill from there...

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

I passed a guy on the sidewalk today, mumbling something about could I spare a gray 5x3. So sad.

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

That was me, man, that was me! :(

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Hey Jason, let's fly some 1/2A DUDE!

BTW....are you old enough to drink MOOSEHEAD LAGER?

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Again with the Moosehead...
Ales, man, ales are the thing to drink. Why would a flyer want to drink a Bottom Fermented brewskie? Shouldnt that place be packed with Redhook, I figured you guys would be tripping over ESBs in the street.

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

how did this go from engines to alcohol???????[&:]

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Both me and my engines can run on alcohol.:D Jason, go back and read post #10. Now say "OK!".

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Jason,
It sounds like CP is offering to help you- take him up on it. Having some one who knows this hobby give you a hand is the best way to learn. I wish I had started that way- my learning curve would have been shorter.
Sounds like you found a engine and got it to work - CP can help you w/ that as well.
I have a couple of old Cox's that still work that you can have if you guys can't get that one working.
Start saving for 2 small servo's and a radio while you start building your plane.
Most of all - have fun and post what your doing so we can help
Dale

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

;)Guiness...Guiness......Guiness. Unfortunately my engines won't run off of this as well as I do.[:o] In the end i have to pick the little bits of oatmeal out of the crank case.:D

ZZ.

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Guiness ? Ugh![:'(]

Bourbon ! :D

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

:DYikes!! High Octane!


Come to think of it though.....I wonder if you could really get one of these little buzzers to run off an alcahol base like this though? Of course with some sort of lubricant additive. Dont wanna waste good Bourbon tryin though!

ZZ.

Ie. rubbin alcahol and corn oil mix? We could start a "whats the strangest thing you've run your 1/2A off of?" Thread.;)

Peace

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Jason-
Beer talk aside, If I were anywhere near CP I would spend as much time as I could over at his place.
Not just because of him being a genarally nice enogh guy and RC guru, but there is nothing like hands on training.

oh, that, & my TV is a little piece of junk & I'll hang out with anyone offering Free Beer.....
but mostly the RC thing

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

OK Guys... Enough of the Booze talk already. I get the feeling, although I may be wrong, that our new friend Jason is at school. He has enough on his plate with School, Peers and Role Models and I am Honoured that he is asking me for Direction Not DIVERSION.

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

yeah, your right im just starting high school. It sucks. I need a job.

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

hey lukesp, why do you think they are the crack cocaine of aeromodelling???????

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

:D:D:D:Dyyyyyyy

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Jason, don't mind the old geezers and their imaginations. As for the Cox engines they are just yanking your leg. Yeah they can be a bit of a pain to learn how to start but once you get the hang of what they need to run you'll find they light up easily time after time and run just fine. The crack addiction angle is just for the ones that got their engine to burp a few times but they weren't enough of a proper modeler to keep them running consistently..... :D

As for the banter and nonsense just consider it as your initiation into the Small Model Flyer's Club... :D

As you're finding a lot of us cut our teeth in modeling with control line models. And I suspect it's very fair to say that most of us did that with Cox powered models. And despite the rants and proddings we all have very fond memories of those days.

As for your own efforts I think you'll find that you need a buddy to get into this with you or at least a helper to come along. Small model flying over grass fields (STRONGLY recomended) means you need someone to hand launch the model when you're in the middle of the circle. So see if you can get one of your buddy's hooked on this as well.

Successful operation of any small engine requires a smaller fuel tank mounted close to the engine and connected with a small short length of tubing. For control line even a 1 oz tank is too large. You need something more like 1/2 to 2/3 at most. Or run with a slack balloon tank. (do a search on "balloon" here in the 1/2A area).

There's a lot to learn with this hobby. As you're probably finding out these things aren't just another toy. There's a lot of technology, thought and learning that needs to go into just getting a simple corroplast CL trainer to fly and survive.

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Contrary to what some may believe, Cox reed valve engines are some of the most reliable engines around - once you master the technique of starting them. I've found that many people accidentally flood them. When all else fails, read the owner's manual. I ran a Black Widow for years and never had it fail to start. The last plane it was on was a fairly hot pattern-type self design RC job. I ran it with a TD head for a bit of extra oomph. After a year or so, I noticed that it was losing compression when I hand-flipped it during priming. Turns out the higher compression was forcing the con-rod THROUGH the top of the piston - there was a hole in the piston, but not quite big enough to let the ball go all the way through. It STILL started on the first try every single time!

RE: cox surestart engine help
 

Digital_Trucker;
Wow,thanks ! I always wanted to know what to look for, as far as damage from high compression glow heads with Cox engines. I will inspect for this more often. Can anything else show signs? Is is possible that damage was crash related, or perhaps you prefer to give a no comment?