Okie dokie, well I bought a Magnum XLS25 engine. While waiting for it to ship and arrive i have a few questions. These will mostly be strange questions as initially this engine is going to be for research/tinkering.

For one thing the glow plugs. Given in a heat range (in this engine's instance hot, and long reach) are the plugs pretty much universal in fitment? Which are good glow plugs without idle bars(the engine's guide says do not use plugs with idle bars quite explicitly. How long do glow plugs last?(I do get a feeling break in will burn through one however)

I bought this engine primarily for just curiocity and study into the glow engine design and operation, however i do want to eventually build a plane for it and fly. Until i can afford all the servos and such, i want to pretty much ground run it. Are these like car engines where you can manually operate the carburator throttle without needing the transmitter and such? With ground running, will a prop be enough for cooling? Or should i fit a fan for supplemental cooling using the prop simply as a run load?
Thank you for taking the time to sift through my weird questions. I am rock bottom new with these kinds of engines, having only tinkering and test bed operation of a Volvo B230F

Make sure you have a sturdy test stand. By that I mean one that is solidly mounted to something rather heavy so it can't move when the engine is powered up and will not loosen up under the engine's vibration. Yes, the propeller should provide adequate cooling if it is the proper size. Most engines come with some recommendation as to what diameter and pitch prop you should use. As to glow plugs, all the major brands will be adequate. There is not that much difference in any of them. Yes, a glow plug can be very sort lived under some conditions, engine break in being one of them as there can be a lot of foreign material deposited on the plug as things wear in initially. If the platinum on the plug coil gets coated with deposits, it may not have enough reaction with the alcohol to maintain sufficient heat to keep the engine running even if it glows bright red when you attach the battery. Also, any lean run can quickly destroy a glow plug. However, once the engine is broken in and never run excessively lean, a glow plug can last a very long time. I've had some that I've been using well over a year.

You're going to have fun. Make sure you use a "chicken stick" or some leather gloves for flip starting. Flip smartly, with intention and get your hand out of the prop. Use the recommended Thunderbolt #3, you can get them easily from many online hobby suppliers like Tower or Hobby People. Also a good fully charged glow starter will help with successful starts. Always disconnect when you're not actually starting to preserve the battery. Always good to have an extra plug for that unusual case where it might blow. Brand new engines are tight at TDC (top dead center) so expect its going to take a few flips. After a few runs it will start easier. Magnum engines come with a very complete manual http://www.hobbypeople.net/media/upl...sers_Guide.pdf read it completely, re reread it, and refer back to it for any question that comes up. A DuBro 4 ounce tank is more than enough for your initial tests, mount it center in relation to the high speed needle.

Have fun, I love starting a model engine and sometimes is the highlight of any day.

AND KEEP YOUR FINGERS AND HAND OUT OF A SPINNING PROP!

Awesome, thanks for the advices Rodney and Tom. Now for the wait for the engine to ship, and deliver.
I planned on making my own stand to bolt the engine to with spring supported rubber mounts, or just rubber mounts. Oh i def will keep my fingers away from the prop, and use a chicken stick, or welding gloves. What differentiates a RC plane engine, from a say rc car engine? I know marine engines tend to use the water to cool themselves, can this engine be used for other workloads (with proper cooling applied).

Bolted directly to a wood mount is all you really need. RC car engines usuall have larger cooling fins. Plus with a car engine, you usually have some kind of slip clutch.

Oooooh ic ic i really wanted to snag either a saito 4 or radial 9 but damn for the price might as well get a jet engine. Lolol

Has anyone bought from hobbypeople online? How long does it take them to ship? Havnt gotten a ship email :/

I have purchased engines and glow plugs from them. They're in California, I'm in Illinois, it does take longer for me. But usually not so bad that I've worried about a purchase. If it seems that it's taking unusually long, contact Customer Service. http://www.hobbypeople.net/index.php/customer-service But Hobby People is very reputable in my opinion.

Good to know! Lol eh maybe im too impatient (a Aries problem) i placed the order yesterday.

I love fuel model engines (slimers), all kinds.
My main experience with glow engines was as a kid thru about high school - smaller engines, never having all the money to do things right or big.
I flew a sailplane in the early 90's which didn't have an engine.
Coming back into the hobby a couple of years ago, I didn't want to waste time with secondary ways of doing things if I could afford not to.
Although not necessary, I bought a David Sexton engine test stand - a real luxury. It is has umpteen configurations to get what you need for each different engine/tank combo you might run into.

I first mounted the DS stand with long screws to a stump in the yard, yeah a stump, which placed the engine where I had to lean over. That got old in a matter of minutes as I could feel the strain in my lower back. I went right in to craigslist and happily + amazingly there was a Black and Decker Workmate for sale at about 1/2 the price of new - $50 to me. It was located only a couple of miles from where I live, to boot. I called, drove over, picked it up and drove it home. Mounting the DS test stand was a breeze, I just screwed a block of wood to the bottom of the stand which the Wmate clamps onto. Was running in less than 30 minutes. Couldn't be happier with this bench running setup. You can use the Workmate for other things so it is very economical.

Here's a spellbinding vid of one of my engine tests:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PC8DT9CwaA

Looking forward to updates on your progress, keep the news coming.

Ill watch the vid when i get back on wifi ive always had a interest in engines of all kinds. Id like to have a Ford 427 Cammer on a stand in my garage destined for a Galaxie body. However i lack the 50 grand for it, nor 2 grand for a JetCat. While im quite handy with most engines, theyve always been fuel injected and 2.3 litres or larger. So i have ZERO experience with a two stroke, and adjusting fuel/air mixture, and the only glow plug ive had experience with is a Ford Powerstroke, and it wasnt even mine. Soooooo im def rock bottom. However i am a tuner, even brewing up in my head for a way to adapt this tiny little engine for forced air induction down the road. Though not sure if forced induction is a good idea on these given that they dont have piston rings. Also looking into a possible way to convert this little engine to injected with a arduino engine controller. I am thinking it may be possible to convert this little engine to direct injection, with a form of diesel fuel. Alas cant say until i try. Given what a pain in the *** building a injector is. On top of sensors and building/programming the ECU.

Question about these nitro engines that just popped into my head, has any other fuel been used? Like biodiesel? I know these engines run by catalytic reaction of plat to nitromethane, but has anyone ran another type of fuel strictly on compression? Or spark ignition? What is the compression ratio of a engine like this?
Sorry for the weird and out of place questions but this engine is research, curiocity, and mad scientist prey first, propulsion for a plane second why i chose the magnum 25 vs a 4 stroke. 80 bucks if i f up vs 150+$ for a 4 stroke. I guess what im babbling about is what is the limits of these engines vs the heavy oil/diesel/gasoline engines im used to.

It is not the reaction between plat and nitrometheen, it is the reaction between alcohol and platinum. QUOTE=Sigma256;12178139]Ill watch the vid when i get back on wifi ive always had a interest in engines of all kinds. Id like to have a Ford 427 Cammer on a stand in my garage destined for a Galaxie body. However i lack the 50 grand for it, nor 2 grand for a JetCat. While im quite handy with most engines, theyve always been fuel injected and 2.3 litres or larger. So i have ZERO experience with a two stroke, and adjusting fuel/air mixture, and the only glow plug ive had experience with is a Ford Powerstroke, and it wasnt even mine. Soooooo im def rock bottom. However i am a tuner, even brewing up in my head for a way to adapt this tiny little engine for forced air induction down the road. Though not sure if forced induction is a good idea on these given that they dont have piston rings. Also looking into a possible way to convert this little engine to injected with a arduino engine controller. I am thinking it may be possible to convert this little engine to direct injection, with a form of diesel fuel. Alas cant say until i try. Given what a pain in the *** building a injector is. On top of sensors and building/programming the ECU.

Question about these nitro engines that just popped into my head, has any other fuel been used? Like biodiesel? I know these engines run by catalytic reaction of plat to nitromethane, but has anyone ran another type of fuel strictly on compression? Or spark ignition? What is the compression ratio of a engine like this?
Sorry for the weird and out of place questions but this engine is research, curiocity, and mad scientist prey first, propulsion for a plane second why i chose the magnum 25 vs a 4 stroke. 80 bucks if i f up vs 150+$ for a 4 stroke. I guess what im babbling about is what is the limits of these engines vs the heavy oil/diesel/gasoline engines im used to.[/QUOTE]

With the appropriate head button, you can run diesel.
With the appropriate head button and ignition system, you can run pump or white gas. I'd forget about this one as some manufacturers are now making gas burners in the nitro sizes
With the standard head button and glow plug, you can run nitro fuel

One thing you do need to remember is that not all aircraft engines are the same:
Heli motors are similar to aircraft but make more torque(if I've been told correctly) since they will be turning a big rotor. This could be the opposite if they were designed to run through a gearbox
Ducted fan motors run at a low torque but at very high RPM and therefore won't spin a standard prop effectively
Standard aircraft engines are designed to spin up to the MAXIMUM EFFECTIVE SPEED of the props it's intended to run. Installing a larger prop can ruin the crank and or bearings while a smaller will overspeed the motor and destroy it

I think it's the other way with heli engines, more RPM and less torque. It's common for 3D heli pilots to run their engines 17,000 RPM in flight.

As for the other questions, if you can imagine it, it's probably been done given how long glow engines have been around. That doesn't mean though there still isn't room for innovation, especially with the recent advances in hobby grade microprocessors. The big problem with fuel injection though isn't the sensors or the ECU or even the weight and complexity that such a system would add. It's the tiny orifice of the injector itself and the tight tolerances of the pump and regulator that a fuel injection system uses. Alcohol and nitromethane won't cause any problems, but the castor oil in our fuel turns to varnish pretty quickly. A carburetor spraybar can handle quite a bit of it, but a fuel injection system can't.

My opinion, such experimentation leads to de-tuning and less performance. Model engines usually run great stock from the manufacturers original setup. Maybe a head shim, leak fix, prop change. But hey, if messing with a perfectly good engine is your thing. Have fun.

Just was curious about modding i wouldnt use this engine for that, id use some cheapo throw away engine, looking at the engine design though, gasoline wouldnt be good.

Anyhoo! Got my engine in, now im looking to get all the recommended stuff for it. However it says recommended break in fuel is Hobby People 15% 2-stroke Sport fuel for break in and normal use. I cannot find it on their website, found everything else and Traxxas fuels. Any recommendations on a high quality 15% nitro 18% synth/castor blend?(required by the manual) Im picky about using top fuel for everything.

Also, when installing the muffler, and i was tightening the lugs, this grey graphite like stuff came out from the mating surfaces, is this bad? I dont think i over tightened it, didnt feel like i was.

You don't need 15% fuel. 5% or 10% will work just as well. As for brands, just don't use anything that's all synthetic for break in. Omega and Powermaster are the popular ones where I live. It doesn't really matter though as long as it has blended or all castor oil instead of full synthetic. After the 2 break in tanks, you can run whatever you want.

Do you have a local hobby shop LHS? You can use 10%, save money, and it will run just fine. I buy Omega 10% from Hobby Town, add 4 ounces of castor oil and few drops of Armour All. Problem with ordering fuel online is that they really hit you with the hazard shipping fee. Buying at a hobby shop it's not as bad because they buy in quantity and pass along the savings. I've never bought 15%. It does depend where you live though. If you're at a higher altitude or fly competitively, then maybe I would agree 15% is needed. But I've used 10% from the '60s with all my engines and its always been fine. I do like to add 4 ounces of castor to a gallon to bring up the oil content protection, and a few drops of ArmourAll for de-foaming. Long story, but its a controline formula that has always worked for me. I have never fried an engine, the extra castor effectively protects/cools all engines. These 2 stroke engines cool by passing castor right through them. Yeah, I know, they call them "slimers", lots of oil to clean up after a day of flying. But I consider coming home smelling like castor = to having a great day.

Ill have to look for a local shop, i think theres one in the next town over. ill start with a small amount of 15% for the break in as thats what magnum says to use. Just to be on the safe side. Esp seeing is this is my first engine. Add a little more castor as you suggest to nicely get a good film of oil in there.

I think if you can find some Omega or Morgan 15% model airplane fuel, you'll be fine. I always buy fuel that have a synthetic oil/castor oil mix, most manufacturers recommend that. I add castor just for added protection, but todays fuels are formulated very carefully with high standards that I wouldn't be afraid to say to you just use the fuel as is.

Here's a link to Nitro engine tuning tips that I think you would benefit from taking a look at. Lots of info. The "Pinch Test" is very valuable, learn it. http://www.hooked-on-rc-airplanes.co...ning-tips.html

Unless Sig has just recently changed it, their fuel is half synthetic, half castor. Castor will continue to protect long after synthetic has given up, so it is good in new engines in case of an inadvertent lean run.

The two cycle engines are -air cooled - and will be damaged by heat ,unless you get them into the air ,were they should be broken in - In the air !
Run the engine rich ,to prevent heat build up ,if its on a stand
Run 20% oil , with castor oil ,on a stand

If you go to the forums - scroll down to -Glo engines ,scroll down to - Tips and technics- then go to - Things i have learned to keep my glo planes flying reliably over the years
You will have my own complete explination on how to run and fly two cycle glo engines and aircraft in the 40 and 60 size airframes
I do every aspect of flying this style airframe ,for over 20 years ,with an Outstanding track record ,to look back on
Build battey packs ( nicads ) and do all my engine work and air frame building ,at times from plans and a pile of balsa wood
My galley ,on the left of this post ,will have pictures of some of the best two cycle aircraft and power plants from the last 20 years
Many of my collection have hundreds of flights on them
i have thousands of flights on a 60 size stik ,that is very very modified , to my liking
The 20 size stik ( a kit ) was the first kit i built , the 40 size stik ,is a plane i have redone three times , over the years and the second plane - i ever flew ,and they are still going strong
Constant maintenance and inspection is the key ,to keeping the airframes in tip top condition
Building it right ,after years of hands on experience ,then working out the BUGS the first 10 flights of a new plane , is the key to long term success
The jouney is all about the FUN , of getting it right

Enjoy

Something else you can do is buy a gallon of helicopter fuel for breaking in. It has a higher oil content than standard aircraft fuel so no adding of castor would be needed. Just be careful with the castor/synthetic mix when you buy

I like to clean off my airframe of the glo fuel ,after every flight
Leaving the oil on the airframe ,can only cause the oil to do more damage ,than if you choose to clean off the plane at the end of the days flying
Cleanlness Counts Here ! to protect your investment ,so work clean always