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11-11-2011 | 10:23 PM

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Planeclothes

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From: Ocala, FL

RE: DLE 20 Break In procedure?

Quote:

ORIGINAL: oldtyme

Quote:

ORIGINAL: a1pcfixer

Quote:

ORIGINAL: oldtyme

OK OK I've read that the Tower (DLE20) manual has numerous errors..........do I believe that??????????? I have both manuals, the DLE which is half Chinese and the manual that comes with the engine if you purchase it from Tower.............who can authoritatively point out the errors in the Tower manual...........

You should start believing it.

Errors in the Tower Hobbies/Hobby Services/Hobbico manual for the DLE20;

Pg 4 - 93 octane gas {NOT required! 87 octane gas is all that's needed}

Pg 7 - Dubro vibration reduction mount {NOT required! Most any mount designed for a glow 1.20 will work. That Dubro only adds unnecessary extra weight}

Pg 9 - In the photo of the idle screw {Idle screw is NOT required and is best removed! Use
the throttle linkage & your Tx to set & control idle speed.}

Pg 9 - deactivate throttle return spring. {WRONG! Leave it in place! Should your linkage ever come off for whatever reason, that little spring will assist in bringing the engine back down to idle. It also reduces shaft wear on throttle shaft itself in carb.}

Pg 12 - ''Each DLE engine has been factory preset'' {BIG time B.S. They're ONLY preset to start in most locations for most buyers, NOT preset to run correctly! Each buyer needs to go through the LS/HS needles after warm up & set each for proper operation.}

Pg 13 - where it states the DLE 20 timing is supposed to be 38-40 degrees. {B.S. again, correct timing is 28-30 degrees BTDC.}

Jody.....did I miss any?

I sent an eMail to Hobby Services/Tower Hobbies about these earlier this year, but no response. Initially they even stated they included stand-off's {no such thing as the DLE20 is a rail mount, NOT a radial mount!}

One correction IS needed for/by DLEngines themselves, in that running on the ground for break-in. BAD idea! Tune it & fly it, moderately for first couple gallons.

a1pcfixer............thanks for pointing those out............that's what I wanted to know............it helps when items that are said to be wrong are point out rather than just saying there are errors.............just like going to the doctor and saying ''I don't feel good............fix me''

thanks again.......much appreciated.
Andy

I don't want to sound argumentative, but what I see on this list, except for the suggested timing of 38-40 degrees, are not necessarily errors. First of all, it is very rare to find any manuals that are 100% error free, even my Airtronics $400 SD-10G's manual has some errors. IMO it is DLE's responsibility to produce a decent manual. At least Hobbico took the time and effort to print a more detailed manual. It does say 93 octane gas (actually that was taken from the original Chinese manual but it also states "87 octane gasoline will suffice". On page 7 it recommends to use a two-piece engine mount that does not overlap at the firewall LIKE the Dubro VREM (only a suggestion). The idle screw issue is common sense, you either loosen it or remove it. That I figured out from the time I bought my first gas engine. About leaving the throttle spring engaged, that has been debated before by many, some of us prefer to deactivate it others will rather leave it in place. I prefer to disengage it to diminish servo stress, in most cases if the linkage comes off what the spring will do is close the throttle completely and kill the engine, which I can accomplish with an opto kill switch. As for the engine being factory preset, the manual says clearly "...slight adjustment of the carburetor may be necessary." My DLE 20 actually ran almost perfectly out of the box, and only required minor adjustments. I read both the Chinese and Hobbico manuals and then just used some common sense to set things up. Once again, IMO none of the items above (except for the timing info, if you decide to mess with it) may seriously affect engine perfomance, they are only recommendations that I would not call "numerous errors".

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