started 33cc homelite conversion today(99$ at home depot). stripped it down and noticed that the flywheel looks a lot like the flywheel on my 31cc ryobi conversion. upon further examination it seems that they are identical with the exeption of the key-way(older ryobi with key in the crank). same casting # on both 21870. can i bolt the the ryobi flywheel and prop hub on my homie(with a little key-way work)?? any input would be appreciated.

Yep. Its been my experience that my ryobi 31cc and homie 25cc flywheel and hub can be used on one another so your 33cc is likely in the same boat.

BTW, you can also just grind away the cast key all together. Mark with a pen on the outside of the flywheel its position and using this mark and the key-way in the crankshaft, Line up your timing or advance it slightly for more power at rpm's or retard it for a smoother idle. Now a "slight" adjustment is only about the width of the key-way or less. To much advance and the motor will "pop" at high rpms. I've tweeked on my ryobi this way and went too far till I heard it pop and moved it back a frog's hair and it quit, got 600 rpm more from the motor but what a rough idle. If your flying a Cub with it, go with a bit larger carb, free breathing muffler, large dia./flat pitch prop and pull the timing back for a smooooth running motor with good torque. A fire breathing motor isnt always the best way to go if your just wanting to shoot touch and go's late in the afternoon from your lawn chair with your favorite floater. I have a number of ryobi 31cc's and homie 25cc' and 30cc's and there all setup differently in regards to timing and carbs. Piper

There are two brands of flywheels commonly on the Homelites and Ryobi's. The Phelon is more commonly on the Ryobi and the Walbro on the Homelites. But it's not unusual to see either flywheel on either engine. Homelite on their 25/30, list both as interchangeable with each other and with no choice as to which one you are likely to get when you order one.

I think the Walbro gives a hotter spark and the flywheel is more balanced but you can get satisfactory performance from the Phelon.

Enjoy,

Jim

o/k thanks guys for the good info.i will bolt the ryobi flywheel on the homey 33cc saw motor and save some time and $.I`m going to fly my tf stinson reliant with it as the ryobi did`nt quite have enough poop for me.this homey is an easy conversion and if hurry up and get it bolted on my plane i can get a couple of flights in b-4 the weather gets nasty.thanks again.

Post your prop and rpm when you get it fly'n...I got a saw calling my name at a local repair shop with the 33cc in it. I've been on the fence on getting it given all the other motors I've got laying on the bench.

I should have the conversion done today. I'm going to use apc 18x10 to start with.I don't have a tach so I can't help there...

I just bought two of the Homelite "Bandit" 14" saws today from Home Depot ($99ea.) to get the 33cc engines for a twin project I'm working on. Those are great engines! ...more compression than the 25/30s and they already have the bigger carb on them. I have one in a BUSA triplane and it flies it great.

BTW, wackerengines.com now has mounts for them available.

Jim

Finished the 33cc homey conversion today,used the ryobi flywheel and prop hub.I lined it all up like MR.PIPER CUB suggested and torqued down the nut w/ a little threadlocker. bolted the motor to my TF stinson reliant, hooked up the throttle,fuel line,etc. I tied the plane down to the starting table,set the choke and put the starter to it. the motor popped right away so open choke and hit it again with the starter. the motor fired right up. A little needle adjusting and she runs great! Charge the batteries overnite,check the CG and I should be doing lazy 8`ts tommorrow... I ran the motor with open exhaust so earplugs are a must. My flying field is only 300` from my house and a muffler is not mandatory. Sounds cool !! I ran the curtis hawk with ryobi and open exhaust 50+ flights, lots of fun!!

Sounds like a cool project Timoth4! I`ve been scoping out 1/4 scale fokkers (I really like the DVIII) for a couple of years now. I`m going to convert another 33cc homey soon for my scratch-built from wendell hostetler plans curtis hawk p6-e. I wore out the twin ringed 31cc ryobi that was always underpowered and overweight on the bipe and for 99$ the homie is a bargain! what kind of plane is your twin project going to be? I`ve been thinking about a catalina PBY powered by twin homeys... here`s a pic of my low budjet 1/3 scale never finished/flown Fokker DVIII.

The DVIII would be excellent for the 33cc Homelite!

I have a couple other planes with the 25cc motors out of leafblowers but that was before I heard about the 33cc ones. The two I just bought are for a Messerschmitt 110 from don Smith plans. I was going to use two 25s but I decided to use the 33s instead for a little more power. I have a thread about the 110 under the warbirds forum called "Don Smith Me 110 Build".

Also, if you hit the gallery button below you'll see the BUSA DR1 that has the Homie 33cc in it. I tried converting a Ryobi but I couldn't get it to run right and gave up on it. The hub I bought for it fit on the Homelite 33.

Jim

Jim, you have some good looking planes! Love the paint scheme on the Dr1. The ME 110 is a cool german bird that would be great for the homey conversion! I too gave up on the ryobi, too many deadstick landings... It seems that the 33cc homey and the ryobi have a lot in common, same bolt pattern for carb, muffler, even the flywheel is the same. Makes for an easy upgrade,buy a homelite bandit 14" saw for 99$ strip the goodies off the ryobi and wa-la.

Yeah, $99 sure beats $300-400 for a name brand engine and I have spare chains and stuff for the chainsaw that I DO use!

I heard the 45cc Homelite chainsaw engine is a good one too...similar to the 33.

I flew the TF stinson with the 33cc homelite today! Woke up this morning.looked outside and it was snowing and only 5 degrees F. -BUMMER! Luckily it cleared up by noon so I hauled her out to the field and fired it up. What a difference in power! The plane broke ground in 40' even with 2" of fresh snow on the ground and climbed right out! I flew it for 10 minutes and then landed because thats all my fingers could take.(10 degrees F with a lite breeze). Thanks for the input on the homelite. Can`t wait for the weather to warm up a little... Ron

Excellent, Ron!

Just out of curiosity, how much does your Stinson weigh? Did you use the 18-10 prop? My DR1 weighs 15# max and it will leap into the air if I'm not careful, then I can cruise at half throttle. I figure my Me110 will be in the 30# range, so the two 33s should work well.

Jim

Jim, acording to my bathroom scale the Stinson weighs 21# minus the cowl and wheelpants, as flown today with the the homelite 33cc and 18x10 prop. This combo has plenty of onions for this plane. after all with 100.5" w.s. and nearly 1500 sq. in. of area the Stinson is just a glorified Piper Cub,ha,ha. speaking of multiple wings my curtis hawk is sitting upstairs just begging for a new homelite 45cc conversion.... That bipe flew like a big trainer with no bad habits and was very aerobatic, I even made several helicoptor-like landings in a stiff breeze... I think twin 33`s in your ME 110 at 30# should scoot along just fine. BTW how do you adjust the needles on you tripe? I used a pair of hemo-stats and turned em a little at a time, not the best way I`m sure but I did get em close. Ron

oop`s I`m still learning how to post pic`s....

That's good info that the 33cc will fly the Stinson at 21# with the 18-10. I think I have it underpropped on my Triplane. I'm using an 18-6. Next season I'm going to try a 20-6.
The 45 should work great in the Curtis Hawk. What engine did you have in it before?

Why do you have to use hemostats? I just turn the screws from the front with a screwdriver. Are you removing the plastic limiter caps off the adjustment screws? Of course, I can't adjust while the engine running.

Sorry, no dummy engine in the DR1 yet.

Jim

Jim, I turned the carb around so that the adjustment srews are facing the cowl, not enough room for a srewdriver. This way i can make adjustments with the engine running.(I did remove the limiter caps). I need to move the engine forward anyway so that the cowl will fit. I saw a large aluminum iso mount (dubro?) at central hobbies for 38$ that should work good. It appears to be the same one on the rsengines site. A dummy engine that was attached to your homelites mag on the Dr1 would look neat! Probably have balance issues tho. Not to mention a ventilated cowl if it ever came apart.... I had a twin ring 31 cc ryobi with a home-made mount and prop hub and open exhaust on the curtis hawk. I built the hawk to be a fun fly type plane,no cowl. wheelpants or fairings,etc. Covered it with monokote. weight is aprox. 20#. Looking back I should have built a ryans rebel because this was my first giant scale gasoline powered plane. I wish I,d known about this forum sooner...I've wasted a lot of time fiddling with engines that aren't really suitable for r/c use (mcculochs). Thanks again for the help. Ron

Hoello:
33cc homelite souds interesting.
I have four ryobis and this week I have solved a problem with one of them, a loosed fuel line.
But seems that homelites have more power.
Do you have any numbers: props, rpms, weigth with and with out muffler,=???
Thanks

Tato

I think I would attach the dummy engine to the inside face of the cowl, but I nose that plane over so much it might get broken a lot.
This site is where I first heard about the Homelite 33cc motors.

Jim

I heard that, Jim. The last time I flew the Stinson with the ryobi it quit me soon after take-off so i had to bring her around in a hurry and landed a little "hot" in the tall grass and 3"of snow. the wheels dug in and she nosed over hard. Boogered up the cowl pretty good. Been thinking about a fiberglass cowl caus' there's no way im gonna build another TF cowl...Tooo many parts! Ron

www.rsengines.net has info on the 33cc and 45cc engines. They call them the "Brute".
http://www.rsengines.net/brute33/33kit.html

wackerengines.com also has parts for them.

Jim

The 33cc homelite engine mounts on the wacker engines site might be the way to go.. mount and adapter plates in one unit.

Tato, I ran the ryobi and the 33cc homelite with the APC 18x10 on the same plane and the homelite has lots more power and it's not even broken in yet. The rsengines site that Jim posted will give you the numbers you're looking for. Ron