Hi,

Just a quick question, all the books i seem to read and magazines all state when you have finished flying you should either disconnect the fuel line or after youve drained emptyed the fuel tank after your last flight........ and to start you engine again to make sure all the fuel is out of the engine..... then use after run oil...............

I have never seen anyone (including myself) do this at the field of course we all empty them but never start them again to get rid of any fuel in the engine itself and all the engines seem to be fine........... i tried it once but i couldnt get it too start soo i guess thier wasnt any fuel in thier lol....

What are your views on this ?

Thx in advance im just curious as i want to try to keep my engines alive for as long as possible as im moving up to large fourstrokes and they can tend to be a bit pricey......

Oh boy!! You will now get a zillion individual practices!! The interesting thing is that they ALL seem to end up working OK. Personally, I live in a high humidity area and feel better if I run out my engines and use some ARO, especially if I`m not going to be flying for a couple or three weeks. This is truly a subject that appears to be every man for himself!!

i use omega fuel...so i don't have to use after run oil

I didn't really think what type of fuel you used made any difference.

Anyway, all of the engines I have are less than two years old, so I'm not an authority on engine life. I won't use after run oil unless I store an engine or I know I won't use it for a few weeks. I will empty the tank, but I don't run the rest of the fuel out of the engine at the end of the day.

I think a lot of the problems people run into is what you will or won't do when you store an engine. Lots of practices used for storage of an engine have been taken for gospel and used after every time you get done flying. There are those who will fly once a month and then put up thier stuff for a while. Those people should probably use all the steps when they get done. Someone who flies almost every weekend probably could get away with not doing as much. I think the damage happens when an engine sits for a long period of time with no precautions taken before the down time. Just my opinion.

Thx for the replys,

Yes when im storing my engines for a while i take all the steps (ie : Afterun oil, sealed in bags etc) but the engines in the planes i fly i just hang back up until its thier time in the air again usually once a week (Depending on plane)......... soo im wondering do i need to take more precautions

Let me ask you this, would you drain all the oil out of your car and then start it to make sure it is all out? Why would you do it to a plane engine? There is so much oil in the fuel, just drain the tank and leave the fuel in the engine to keep it lubed. The nitro evaproates off so fast its not there by the time the engine cools, leaving just oil. What better way to protect your engine.

This it what I do. Empty the tank. Pull the fuel line and put the glow starter on and burn up the fuel left in the line,carb, and cylinder. Then pull the glow plug, put in couple drops of ARO in and put a couple drops in the carb. turn the prop a couple trime around(with the glow plug still out). Then put the plug back in and put the starter on it for 3-4 seconds. Then whenI get home I put the fuel line back on when the plane is in it's place so that if there is any fuel left in the clunk line, any movement of the prop will not let fuel get in. Takes about 2 minutes at the field to do.

Not too many at the field worry about it. It's just MY routine.

I don't always run the fuel out after, but I've started to because otherwise it seems to get gummed up if I don't fly it for a few weeks. Never used after run oil and engine is still running strong after 12 years (with about 9 in storage)[8D]

Just my point, all the fuel in the engine is oil at that point. You start it, run it out, the engine is then running with no oil in it. Thats why all the guys I know that do it are always replacing bearings. The guys that don't do it, don't ever have to replace bearings. Would you run all the oil out of your car when you change it? I hope not. Why run it out of your plane?

I never ran the fuel out of my engine, just because it was a hassle, but I never thought about it like FLYBOY, it makes sense. I'd rather have it gummed up, then be completely void of oil.

I'm not running the motor with no lube. If it doesn't fire it just means that there is no nitro left. "The engine is running with no oil in it". How is it running at all? It won't run with no fuel. No fuel, no heat generated. A car will run with no oil because the fuel is seperate from the oil delivery. You run the motor out of nitro, so it will not run at all.But there is oil left in the crank case and on everything in the motor. Then add the after run to rust proof and keep the castor from becoming gummy after time. My instructor told me to do this and he has motors that are 25 years old and still run without ever changing a bearing. You should see some of these planes. Ancient! But he has always used a castor based fuel. If there is no heat, no damage.

i do just what flyboy does, never thought about the nitro evaperating out and leaving just oil
i knew there was a reason i did that i just didnt know why it was
but now i wont think about what to do for after run ill just do what i always have done

From the manual of the O.S. .46:

"1. At the end of each operating session,drain out any fuel that may remian in the fuel tank.

2. Next, energize the glow plug and try to restart the engine to burn off any fuel that may remain inside the engine. Repeat this procedure until the engine fails to fire. Remove the glow plug and eject any residue by rotating the engine with an electric starter for 4-5 seconds while the engine is still warm.

3. Finally, inject some after-run oil into the engine. Rotate the engine a few times by hand, to make sure that it is free, and then with an electric starter for 4-5 seconds to distribute the oil to all the working parts."

O.S. 46 FX manual, page 22 under engine care and maintenance

and back to flyboy's saying
drain the oil out of your car and start it, you will damage the piston, sleeve and other parts the only reason they tell you to run the fuel out is so it dont gum up, if you are going to start them within the next week they won't do that, heck i let mine sit without running it out for months and it starts right up.
im not saying its bad to run the fuel out of the engine but if the shaft turns the piston is going to move if there is no lube inside its going to scratch something

I'm just posting what the manual says. I trust O.S. engineers not to lead me wrong. There is lube inside. It's not bone dry. Take your head off and look inside. There is oil still on everything. As long as it has enough to coat the parts it will not hurt it. Even a car will run for 10 minutes with the oil drained because there is still oil on everything. Heck maybe even longer.

"Drain the oil out of your car and start it." It will run until "heat" gets the piston and cylinder too hot and it wil seize. The oil is not just there to lube everything but also to take the heat away form the parts and cool them. Yes, I will agree with you that if it is RUNNING without no lube it will damage the parts. But when I start it it has the after run coating all over the piston,cylinder and crank.

This could go on forever. Some people use after run and some people don't. Some say they use it and no problems and some say they don't and no problems. Maybe they are both right because it doesn't matter either way. Just do what gives you peace of mind.

Do this, go to the search box at the bottom of the beginners foum, type in "after run oil" and hit "search". You will see what I mean.

Heres a story for you.
Years ago as a teenager I had a small OS engine (20 or 25 ?) I used in an air driven swamp boat sort of thingy. I never did any sort of after run procedure with it, it sometimes ended up in the salt water too, then it got a good fluushing with castor based fuel and restarted to dry out but thats it. I dont ever recall running the boat in non salty water. One day all my modeling gear got put in a box and stashed away in storage. About 4 years later whilst looking for other items Id stored away I found the modeling gear. Curiousity got to me and I pulled it all out, the engine wouldnt turn over at all. I took out the glo plug, squirted in some 4 yr old fuel and let it sit a while. After I got the engine to turn over, I tested the glow plug and to my surprise found it still worked so I filled the tank, primed the engine, attached the glo driver and gave it 3, yes 3 flicks and it started and ran out the whole tank. Now some 15 years later that same engine is in a small RC aeroplane and still flying (a friend has it) and still has NEVER had after runoil or anything added to it, never had anything relplaced, in fact I think he's using the same prop I had on it. We live in a very humid coastal environment and its still fine.
Now Im back into glo I dont do anything after flying except to drain the tank to prevent possible spillage during transport, even then I forget sometimes. I have one engine in storage, its in a sealed plastic bag, but still as it was after it was last flown.

Excactly, it depends what you want to do. It doesn't matter either way just do what makes you happy.

I'm seeing a trend here. Seems like it won't matter either way. If you would have put the after run oil in it before that 4 year storage it would have started too. And probably started alot easier. Thre is no right or wrong just personal opinions.

I do the same thing FLYBOY does...nothing. I've seen some guys pull the glow plug out, and flood the engine with ARO, then spin it to death with the starter. YIKES! Not only are they going to snap a crank sometime, but every time they dump in ARO, they are introducing contaminents into their engines.

Have they snapped a crank yet? Contaminents? Which would be what? If you taking about just exposing it to the outside air then I take it you have air cleaners on all your engines?

What I mean is the tendency of the ARO container to become dusty. They pull the cap, and squirt away. Introducing the dust into the engine. Nope, haven't seen a crank snap yet, but common sense tells one that if you fill the engine, it will lock with all of that oil in it with no place to go.

Yeah, you don't have to fill it. No need to. I just put 4-5 drops in the glow plug hole and 3-4 drops in the carb. And I let it drop from the tip, I never actually touch the bottle with the motor. I could see how that could happen being that a bottle will last you a while.

O.k., so here's my point. If you use the ARO right it will not hurt the engine. Or if you don't use ARO and just leave the oil form the last run in there, it won't hurt it. Everybody saying this and that, this could happen, bla, bla ,bla, but with no actual cases of the engine rusting up if you don't use it or the engine giving out after a year because you used ARO. Just do what you think is right for your engine.

I just do a combo of what my instructor says and the manual for the engine says. I think my motor will be fine.

RoNeRic, yea, you can do it however you like. There really isn't a wrong way. Everyone will do it differently. Yea, you can trust the manual, they won't lead you wrong..... well, not too wrong. They sell parts.

The manual in my full scale twin says to let the engine cool for at least 3 minutes after landing before shutting it down to cool the turbos down. My mechanic says that I will replace the turbos more often letting them cool that way than I would if I just shut them off. I have yet to replace one doing it his way. He is good. He has spent his life dealing with these engines. Sometimes you have to go with the people that you know and trust and forget the manual.

Not a big deal, you won't hurt the engine either way, but you will burn more bearings running it out after you are done than not. I have some 30 year old engines that still run great, never had a bearing change. My buddies that run the fuel out of their 61 SF engines replace bearings about every other year. Seems to me, theres a reason. My 61 sf has been running at least 15 years and never had a change.

Not trying to change your mind, just trying to show, many ways work. Some like one better than the other. Have fun, thats all that counts in the end.

That is interesting to hear. Id always been told it wasnt so much letting the engines 'cool' at idle for 3 minutes, but letting the turbo's slow down whilst oil is still being pumped to them. Shutting down with the turbos still spinning hard meant they then spin for a bit without oil being pumped to them which can or may cause damage. Thats why trucks and other vehicles with turbos have timers, so after turning of the ignition and getting out, the engine will still run for a few minutes. Admitably after an approach to land and then taxi to parking at your average airfield the engines will have been at or near idle for at least three minutes anyway. Im not disagreeing with your mechanic, just commenting on my experience flying turbo aircraft.

Don't know that one, I am not a mechanic. I just fly the things. Yea, you can't hardly get it shut down anyway within 3 minutes. Just another example of everyone having their own way of doing it.