Hello all, i know this could get ugly but i have to share this with everyone !!!!! i've got alot of help on this site so i would like to return a little something,,,, I always run my engine dry and add after run oil, all kinds of oils !!!! they always rust after a year or so, some in the basements, some in my bedroom, it does not matter,,,,,, my brother never did this, he just does not care, well his way is far better than mine, his engines always stay smooth,,,, i ran a couple of engines last year that i left full of fuel, it was cold and i was having trouble with them, i just pulled them from a box and they are sweet and smooth,,,, better than any of the ones i ran dry,,,,, i remember someone saying you end up with alot of HALF BURNED FUEL, that starts all the problems!!!! i will always do this, i know alot of you are saying this guy is nuts, well i'm in shock how nice the engines are and i just wanted to share this with you guys,,,,, flyby50....

Hi!
Run dry doesn't mean everything is fine inside the engine,there is still some fuel residue left.
Over here in Europe where all synthetic oils are dominant since 15-20 years ago we have no problem with rust due to the fact our oils (Aerosynt 2 and 3 and Motul "Micro"!) contain rust inhibitors.
We just run our engines and store them...that's it!

I agree jaka but you guys are spoiled because you get the esther based oils there where as most of us use the cheaper glycol based stuff,US importers or price i don't know whats going on

There are endless threads about this topic already...
Another factor might also be bad quality nitro (contains acids), so with the lower fuel prices that you have in USA you might get both a lower quality nitro and oil.

Well this concept has been beat to death in numerous threads already.
Anyway, I don't use after run oil. I don't bother with cleaning and oiling the engines unless I am planning on storing them for a long time.
But my fuels all have at least some castor oil in them. So they get good protection without me doing anything extra.

One word and one letter. Corrosion X

Wow, i wish we had those oils,,,,,, thanks for the replies, i tried to remove this post, with no luck,,,,,, I realize this stuff will give anyone a headache,, but anyway there it is,,, I need to smell some fuel burning [:@]

Have been using glow engines for at least 40 yrs. and have never given them any care. Have about 30 now and have never replaced anything, just lucky?? I guess. Never use after run either! Only problem I recall ever happening is having carb barrel stuck. A bit of oil and heat and all is well.

I would guess that you don't burn much nitro either. Either way, some castor provides a good bit more protection against lean/hot runs and rust.

Second that.

Mike,
Are you useing Corrosion X as a after run oil? I have been using it to waterproof my electronics on my electric water planes, but never though to use it as a after run oil in my glow engines.

Hobbsy has been using CorrosionX and he has convinced me enough to order a can. It sounds like it is the best care for glow engines.

I like fnq's idea about turning your 4 stroke upside down and squirting a bit of atf down the exhaust.If you flip it over and handcrank it the atf seeps into the combustion chamber if you plan to store it for a while.

4 stroke engines have always had the problem where squirting oil into the intake or exhaust only oils the top end of the piston and cylinder. It doesn't do anything to oil the bottom end or the valve train. You might be able to squirt some oil into the crankcase vent, if you have one on the back of the engine, but even then the valve train is still not oiled, so you have to remove the valve covers and oil the top end part, but also dribble oil down the push rod tubes to get to the lifers too. But still the camshaft may not be oiled and protected. If you are going to store the engine, I suggest removing the backplate and valve covers and liberally flushing out the engine good and then oiling it up good. You want to remove as much of the old combustion products residue inside the crankcase as you can before you put it away.

I have been in this hobby for 34+ years and never use "after run oil" I just run them and put away. I will say that I believe the bearings in the OS engines are of less quality than they were 5-10 years ago. i am always replacing them in the OS engines. guys at the field that use after run oil still have to replace the bearings. I have a old webra 120, 4 OS 46's and different 25-32's that are 8-10 years old and the bearings look good.

Anyway i dont waste my time or money with "after run oil" . Now i do believe that if you use the "after run oil" and get the stuff well into the bearings where nothing is exposed to the air then will last a very long time stored.

You can always do the quick and dirty for long term storage. Take the engine from the model and deposit it into a sealed bucked of kerosene. some of the Race people still do it i suppose. You can't get rust if you have no oxygen to make it.
Dennis

dennis one other way also is to vaccume bag the engine..

Humm that might be another use for those left over food vacuum bagger things they are always advertising on TV, etc.
Not a bad idea to vacuum pack the engines after you clean and oil them up good.

I've always used fuels with all or high percentage castor, never used afterrun oil, never had internal rust, even when the engine hasn't been used for years. If they gum up setting, a few minutes in a 250 F oven frees them right up. I've only changed 2 sets of ball bearings because I neglected to clean them adequately after vertical landings in clay.

In fact, I once had a Fox BB .15 RC sit for almost a month in a puddle of water that it shared with oak leaves. Oak leaves are very acidic. When I found the remains of the plane, the engine and muffler were full of brownish water. Many metal fittings on the plane, including some of the servo wiring, were scrap.. I drained the engine, flushed with clean water and fuel, and couldn't find a bit of rust or corrosion outside or inside, not even in the balls. Nothing protects like castor.

In fact, I have some engines from the 1950s that were run on Fox Blast and Hi Nitro (IIRC, around 40% nitro) that were put away wet that are still not showing corrosion.

To the contrary, if you have already read enough about this topic, look at something else and leave those folks that have not read it before to learn something of value. Few things tick me off more than someone insisting that a subject has been beat to death. That is strictly a matter of opinion. There is no scarcity of bandwidth these days. The habits of conserving bandwidth should go the way of the dinosaur, like the people protesting the mentioning of a recurrring topic. New people join the hobby every day. Using RCU's search engine is troublesome, tiring and boring.


Ed Cregger

Everyone has different standards. Any engine that runs OK is a "good" engine regardless of its internal condidtion. Usually they stay "good" right up until they fail nevermind that the rusty bearing has been grinding itself away for a several of seasons. I have not found one single used glow engine that does not have corrosion pitting on all steel parts. The harder that I look the more corrosion I find. I suppose that the previous owners just chose to stick their head in the sand and say everything is fine and whatever "I" am doing is the correct action.