Would aluminum foil work? I don't have any screen wire, could buy some if I need to, but I've got plenty of foil if that will also work.

Thanks for the suggestion Bob, the metering leaver pop off pressure turned out to be my problem with my DL50. I did not have a gage so I used the trial and error method. It took me 7 tries and probably would not have gotten it correctly if I had not read the article below on Walbro Carburetors.

It turns out that the needle leaver needs to be lower than the carb base. Mine was at the same height as the base and running rich causing the mid range burble and a lot of mis-fires. I was making adjustments to the leaver a few thousands at a time and getting nowhere. Once I read the article and set the leaver below the base by what looked to my eye about 2 mm give or take, it ran like a top, all the burble and misses are gone. It idles and accelerate a lot better as well, and an added bonus >> I get a couple of extra flight minutes out of my tank.

I also did a spark plug test by running full throttle for a minute and shutting it off. Then I removed the plug and now it's a perfect tan colour.

Thanks
Geppino

Here are the instructions and a photo from the article. http://www.geocities.com/farellus/idle_adaptation.html

The Metering System is very simple: It consists of a pivoting lever working like a seesaw with a spring on one side and an Inlet Needle (with a red rubber tip valve) on the other.
If you don't have the pressure-testing tool, don't worry, just make sure you clean the carb, blow it dry and use new diaphragms & gaskets and set the Metering Lever height; The resulting pop-off and reseat pressure will be functional as long as you don't damage or modify the Metering Spring:
1) Don't deform or cut the small Metering Spring. If in doubt, replace it with Walbro part Walbro part # 98-320-7 (OEM # 503 28 12-18; WG8 carburetor).
2) Set the Metering Lever at the correct height as explained below.

The height of the Metering Lever on any diaphragm carburetor is critical for controlling when and how far the inlet needle 'pops' open, thus configuring the engine's acceleration characteristics. If the Metering Lever height is set too high, it may create a rich condition, while a Metering Lever set too low may create a lean condition. The height of the Metering Lever must be 1.7 mm or 0.067" (WG carbs) and 1.45 mm or 0.057" (WB carbs) below the edge of the carburetor body. Walbro sells a calibrated brass plate gage to be used as depth meter (Walbro item # 500-13-1) available through most power tool shops.

Geppino, CONGRATS!!!! Some have tried what you did and not been close to successful (me, especially)
Great job!

BOUND_4_HELL

Thanks for posting this info, it is quite valuable. However, at slight correction is needed in the 1.7MM measurement, it should be .067" not 1.067".

Chuck

The height of the Metering Lever on any diaphragm carburetor is critical for controlling when and how far the inlet needle 'pops' open, thus configuring the engine's acceleration characteristics. If the Metering Lever height is set too high, it may create a rich condition, while a Metering Lever set too low may create a lean condition. The height of the Metering Lever must be 1.7 mm or 1.067" (WG carbs) and 1.45 mm or 0.057" (WB carbs) below the edge of the carburetor body. Walbro sells a calibrated brass plate gage to be used as depth meter (Walbro item # 500-13-1) available through most power tool shops.

Hi Chuck,

Thanks for the correction .........

Sorry about that, I just copied from the article and did not check the figures in thousands. Up here in the Great White North we measure in millimetres. I corrected the original post.

Geppino

According to RCXCEL who make the ignition, the spring that fits inside the plug cap is not actually needed.

Is just an extra insurance policy to help ensure good contact is made to the plug.

To be sure to be sure I suppose.

AS long as plug cap is in good nic and it and the plug are clean, they have told me it wont make a difference.

Cheers

We have not tried aluminum foil but I don't see why it would not work. I would not suggest this for a fix but only to test your module.
Let me know how it goes.
Tom
Valley View RC

What's all this about "metering levers," and gr8taznitro, I hope you get your engine figured out. I hate to brag about how good my engine is running in light of your problems, but I can't help it.

Well, about six more tanks of fuel this morning. Went through the two gallons of break-in fuel (with the Lawnboy). I said it before, but man, with the DL this is like a whole other plane!!! The power isn't what I would call "stupid," but let me put it this way, I don't even use full throttle for vertical up lines, otherwise, the plane gets out of sight in a hurry! I just can't express how pleased I am with this engine (I know, I know, I've got only a few gallons through it).

Well, onto the Amsoil tomorrow! (Then, I guess I can expect "stupid" power).

Tim

Anybody got a muffler for sale? Mine fell off in flight today, cant find it. Email me if you do please.

I have 3 DL's now and i would recommend you dont touch anything mixture wise as it should be fairly close settings wise from the factory. All mine have had a sightly rich low end that you lean out as the motor gets run in.

All my engines 3 DA's and 3 DL's are not run in. Put one tank through it on the ground to ensure a reliable idle, then go fly.

I also run 50:1 fully synthetic from Day 1. Break in on a 22 x 8 then maybe a 22 x 10. That said all my DL's are on Mejzlik 23 x 8.

To start it, follow Bobs instructions. www.dlusa.net

Cheers

W

I would hesitate to 'not touch anything mixture wise'...take the time, get to know your engine, get to know how the needles affect its performance....and read your plug as you tune, test fly, and repeat. You'll be doing yourself and the engine a favor

[sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbup.gif]

Ok folks, the saga may be coming to an end. Let me first state for the record, The problem is NOT the engine. I was finally able to recreate the issue with the ignition pulled of and packaged up in a box to ship in to DLUSA. The problem appears to be in the mix in my radio. When I copied my program to another memory and when I copied it to another TX I used the same model 4 setup as my source. I broke down and setup the plane on a different model from scratch just like if I bought the plane used and started reprogramming trims, mixes, etc. No glitch, no frame loss, ran the motor 10 minutes, everything worked great. Put it on the old model with original settings, dropped 143 frames and glitched in under 2 minutes. Still baffled as to why I got a more than 20 flights before this showed up, but it's electronics .

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions. I won't name any names cause I don't want to leave anyone out, but thanks again guys.

If you have mix conditions that are exceeding "known" limits of servos, you could have nailed it. I know full travel ATV on a JR at 150% will "overdrive" Hitec 5955's; you may have a mix that causes the "120%" suggested limit to be over.

Even though this is an engine thread - I'm quite sure many of us JR guys would like to know what your specific situation (mixes) is that produced that kind of a problem.

Please email me, or PM, or start a thread on the Radio forum. This is the kind of detective work that we all benefit from.

Bob you stated that some mixes with a JR will over drive Hitec 5955's. I ask because i use a JR 10X (the best buts that for another time) and i am putting Hitec 985mg's in my GP 330S. Is this something that i need to be aware of? Will all Hitecs have that issue?

PM me; I don't want to wander off topic too much.

Hi guys, I'm intending to get one of these DL50 engines but from what I hear there seems to be some dissatisfaction with the stock muffler. Is this true or am I over reacting to a few posts here?

Hard to say, actually. I've had three of these, and one had a defective weld at the canister/downtube junction, which is where I beleive most problems are occuring.
Bob at DLUSA replaced mine quickly. Another developed a very small leak, and after cleaning and putting a small bead of JB weld on it, it resolved.

Tough to say; but I wouldn't let the 'odds' dissuade me from buying. They are good engines and represent good values, I think.

What i meant was stock needle settings are a good starting point and dont adjust them until you have the motor running....

From what I have read on this site and another, the stock muffler had some problems with broken or leaking welds, but has been improved. The stock DL muffler that came with my engine had the newer, improved end caps that are turned over the can portion of the muffler. (But I'm not using the stock muffler because I wanted a Pitts wrap-around.)

I wish I could have purchased the engine without the muffler (maybe I could have).

Kahuna
The stock DL-50 muffler is working fine for me. The only drawback with it is the fact it is a side mounted muffler and depending which plane you will be mounting the engine in you may have a problem with cowl interference. Mine is in an SD 30% YAK 54 and the muffler hit the side of the cowl. I chopped an angle off the front/side, had an aluminum piece welded back in place to cover the hole I had made. Cost me $10 from a local welder. This solved my problem, but wish the DL-50 came with a Pitts style wrap around muffler instead of the side mount.
Rcflyrc3

four flights on mine and aleast 3hours worht of ground time no leak but the one I made with my makesift smoke nipple

After reading of problems with the muffler, I made a triangle gusset and had it welded to the joint of the muffler and the pipe. Really stiffens it up, had a nose over, bent the pipe 30' backward, still no leaks.... fact is, it looks better with the pipe at that angle....

I have went through three mufflers. Two stock and one TBM Silent beauty. All three broke at the down tube junction. Bob did send me a replacement right away after the first one broke. After the second one broke is when I bought the TBM muffler. After that broke I'm left beating my head against the wall trying to figure out why I can't keep a muffler on this engine. I have no problems or complaints about the engine itself. It runs great.

You can purchase a Da muffler or Get a Jtec muffler it will last.