So i have an old Thunder Tinger .42, and i wanted to see if it still worked. I cranked her in my vice (HARD. I though i almost bent the metal). I got a fuel tank hooked up, and started it. It worked! So i had it at about half throddle, and i was adjusting the needle when the engine began to tilt. I pulled my hand back as quickly as i could, and the engine.. took off! If flew across my garage (Literally flew). It then hit the wall, and fell to the ground, breaking the muffler. When i picked it up however, it was boiling hot. I think the heat caused the metal to contract a little and let it slip. I remember overheating being my problem way back when i quit using the engine. Damn, it was a close call. I know you guys are going to go crazy, but i really did try to get that thing as tightly on there as possible.


This all brings me to my next question, is there any place i can buy a replacement muffler? Nothing special, just a replacement.

tsk tsk tsk....

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=311]try this next time[/link]

Is this a trolling expedition? [:@]

If not, what you did was VERY foolhardy and dangerous. You should NEVER EVER put an engine in a vise. It will most likely bend the crankcase and destroy the engine. Get an engine test stand!!!!


You could have been seriously injured!

also, heat expands metal.... no coment on the rest

sean

You were lucky it didn't get a piece of you! Not a good idea to clamp an engine down for running - with vise or other clamping device. Bolt it down is far wiser.

If a broken muffler was the only damage/injury then I'd say you had a cheap lesson. Glad to see you were not injured.

Try [link=http://www.paulsmodelsupply.com/]Paul's Model Supply[/link] for a new muffler. Paul gives very good service. He normally has a pretty good stock of Thunder Tiger parts and knows the engines well. His prices are as good or better than any I've found - anywhere. Call him! He'll look and see if he has one while you are on the phone. He ships fast.

Sigh, i know. I was a very stupid mistake. Now that i only have 1 engine, there's no need for a stand anymore. If i get another, i will buy a stand right away.

Did you at least get a video?

how does putting an engine in a vice rather than a test stand cause damage to the crank etc (assuming the engine does not slip out of the vice). By the way, my OS manual says the same thing can happen so I am not questioning the correctness of your statement. I am simply trying to understand why a test stand stope internal damage while a vice can cause it.

Thanks,
phtoniq

Sadly, i can answer that question.

When you vice it, you are sqeezing the metal together, which could cause it to bend. The force that is holding it in place is the sqeezing of the metal (Obviously not enough for for me []). When you bolt it down, the force holding it on is through the bolts, and through the mount. There is no sqeezing involved in the actual engine.

God i am stupid


Edit:

I have to admit though, it was pretty cool. The engine didnt just fall foward. It went down, then actually flew up! Here is a picture to help you better see how neat it was. Dont try this at home [&:]

ALL RIGHT!!! We HAVE a visual!!!

I can relate to this, having seen similar things happen in many different circumstances. These engines scare the devil out of me, knowing what kind of damage they can do! My "test stand" consists of a piece of treated 4X6 lumber about 2 feet long with a motor mount attached to one end.
It is then strapped to a sawhorse, and sawhorse weighted accordingly. It may even fit the "You Might Be a Redneck if..." category, but it's safe and get's the job done. Most importantly, it is used outdoors where I can get BEHIND the engine as soon as it is started (Unlike a vise or bench mounted engine test stand)!

DlDude,
You learned first hand what MANY have done before, just not admitted to.

My learning in this hobby has been three fold. Reading (experiences such as yours), observation at the field, and finally asking questions I am not clear on.

I could go on and on, but won't... Read the posts, even if they are vaguely similar to your problem(s). They can be very helpful.

Good luck!

dano13

Always be alert. I stuck my car key in my apartment door a few years ago by mistake.
Before I could do anything, the apartment building started up and drove across the street !
I finally got it stopped, nearly taking out a 7-11 and leaving my apartment building parked in the street.




(standard disclaimer: I'm just kidding)

Glad no one was hurt. Sounds like an easy mistake to make. One would think a vice would be pretty safe but I guess not.

See the attached diagram; when you squeeze the engine, it exherts force in the direction of the arrows. Even if there is no actual bending of the crankcase at that time, as it heats up it will tend to expand in that direction, causing the case to be out of round and wearing the crankshaft as well as a host of other problems (like flying across the room and removing a finger!)

2 Visuals [8D]
As stated we've all made "stupid" mistakes. The very first time I started my heli, the throttle was reversed [X(], good thing I had a good grip on the rotor blades, or my sticks for legs would have become toothpicks. At least I had sense enough to rip the gas line off. Completely fried the clutch. After that experience, I check everything on anything I fly, or attempt to fly[&:] The sad part is, probably never should have happened.
Joe

Next time that happens, park it in a schoolyard and tell all the kids...

HEY! GET OFF THE LAWN!!!

Yeah, the cops pulled me over, wanted to know where I lived.
I said 'right here'.





hehe
You know I stole that whole bit from some comedian... Steven Right I think...
The guy that talks monotone and looks down a lot.

DL, I did something similar however I WAS using a stand mounted to the beam under my deck with TWO big c-clamps and the motor was an ASP .80 four stroke. The clamps vibrated loose and the thing took off just like yours up into the bottom side of my deck, off the house, and down into the back yard. I'm glad I was running low rpm, fat rich, and out of the way.

I have a great heli story about my freind starting one up in his living room with a dead battery.

Oh my,,, that sounds very interesting, do procede when you have time. No one was hurt I hope.

I don't remember where I read this, but some guy was breaking in his engine in the plane. He had the plane inside the garage with the door down far enough to catch the tail. He had the engine throttled up and was enjoying himself until his wife came home and activated the automatic garage door opener. The door went up and his plane began a very exciting but very brief journey across the garage floor. Too bad there was no video of that one either.

I would like to have seen the look on his face when he saw the garage door opening [X(][&:][:@]

Ok... My buddy was showing me his new .60 size heli and how cool it was (no alcohol involved...miraculusly) and decided to start it. He was a bachelor at the time and nothing was out of line when it came to rc stuff in his house. Just after he got it started and it started spooling up he cried out OH S***! set the tranny down and jumped on it like he was wrestling it like a gator. As I watched him flailing on the floor and the smoke building in the house I had to make a decision. All I could think of while man and machine were flailing around on the floor was "wife and kid" so I hit the door and waited for the quiet I knew would follow. I didn't have to wait long maybe a minute. Since the time was short I was confident the heli wasn't hurt too bad, when I went back into the house it was filled with smoke and a terrible burnt clutch smell. I found my freind laying on the floor panting, scared and only a little hurt from the tail rotor grinding at his shins and a few red marks from the main. He called me a few names for bailing on him but shortly realized I made a good call (he likes my son) and explained what happened. The bird had half a tank of fuel by the way. He knew what happened as soon as it didn't respond and realized he had to get the fuel shut off before it took off in the house. He said the hardest part was just as the motor was running out of fuel it got REAL strong from leaning out.

Sorry for my poor writing skills but this story is hilarious when I can tell it in person.

The heli was ok by the way only a burnt clutch.

Safety first!![8D]

I don't want to be around your friend when he HAS been drinking!
Dennis-

hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe,,,,wellllllllll,, ,,ive never heard the before...LOL...im with everyone bud....engine stand.....thank god you wernt hurt...hehehehehe...good luck in the years to come...bet you wont do that again..LOL....Rod

A buddy of mine started his helo in the garage to test something or other and quickly realized that he didn't have control of it at all. Soon it was spooled up and hovering in the middle of the garage. He said, "I did the only intelligent thing and stepped into the kitchen and closed the door until the crunching was over."