I have a tower hobbies .46 engine. I actually got the thing to run but fuel is spraying out of the muffler. If I lean it anymore the engine quits. I would think that if I richen the mixture, that would make it worse. Any suggestions, thanks.

if its actually running, then whats coming out of your exhaust is oil and some unburned fuel...it you lean it until nothing comes out it will lock up your motor...get used to oily exhaust all over your plane after a flight,,its why glow flyers are called "slimers"....Rog
if its not running and fuel is coming out of the exhaust its flooded and toooooo rich

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Glow Slime...

if you lean it any, and it quits, then you may be running it too lean as it is. What you want to do is get it to max RPM (using a tach), and then richen it two or three clicks so that it slows down about 300 RPM. After the engine gets broke in good, you should be able to lean it out some (after a couple of gallons of fuel have been ran through it), but you will never get rid of all of that spray--it comes with the territory!

I hate to say this, but it is the wrong engine for a beginner. Those #$%$#@$^ will give an experienced modeller fits & will drive a newb to drink. Get something else.

There is a delicate balance between high-speed & low-speed needle settings that gives perfect tune.

Start by setting the high-speed needle to peak rpm then back off (richen) until you just hear a drop in rpm.

Go to idle & let it run at idle for at least a minute. If it slowly begins to stumble at idle then eventually dies, the low speed neeedle is too rich. If it just dies away fairly quickly at idle without the "stumbles", it is too lean. Adjust the low speed needle in 1/4 turn increments until it will stay running for at least a minute at idle.

When it will idle reasonably reliably, suddenly accelerate it to full throttle -- if it quits abruptly, the low speed is a bit too lean. If it sputters and stumbles & quits, or accelerates slowly, the low speed is too rich. adjust to suit.

When you have that set up correct, re-adjust the high speed needle for best operation, then repeat the low speed sequence.

With a "good" engine, this will fix everything. Unfortunately, you will probably fight the Tower lump forever.

The fuel is also the oil that lubricates the engine. The oil just gets puked out the muffler. It is suppose to. It might be a little messy, but it makes for a powerful and light weight engine. Just clean your plane good when you are through flying. Use paper towels and windex.

If you don't have a tack and haven't picked up an ear for telling when they're running rich or lean, there's another pretty good way to set two stroke engines:
For the high speed needle, run full throttle (give it a few seconds to stabilize and heat up) and use your needle nose pliers or similar to give the fuel line a fast pinch -- just pinch it and release immediately. If it dies or loses rpm, it's too lean. It's just right when it picks up a couple hundred rpm (that's about the smallest amount that you can hear confidently). If it jumps up a lot, it's too rich.

For idle, do the same thing except hold the line pinched off. the engine should do nothing for several seconds, then slowly gain a few rpm before dying. Speeding up immediately means it's too rich, dying quickly means it's too lean.

This pinch method has the advantage that you don't need a tach or a very good ear to do it. I now tend to do the find-the-peak-back-it-off technique 2slow2matter and britbat suggested, usually with a tach. Give both ways a try and see what works!


Also, to verify that what the OP described is normal, what is your ful throttle fuel consumption like? On the order of an ounce a minute would be reasonable; if you're using 2 or more, you're probably leaking somehow..