Hello guys

I have a 46la on my Kadet Senior. The engine had about a gallon of fuel run through it. The engine will "load up" so much that the starter will not turn it. I have to take out the glow plug and spin it a few seconds and replace the glow plug and she will start. This happens every time! It gets old trying to fly frequently during the day and having to fight this engine to get it to start. Any ideas from you OS experts.

Thanks.

Sounds like your tank is too high. The centerline of the tank should be even with or slightly higher than the needle valve.

Enjoy,

Jim

Well Im no "expert" but I had some not so good experience with
a 40LA that was on a students Tower trainer. We fought an excessively
rich low end problem for a long time. Once you got it started and
cleaned out and in the air it was fine. But it would start to load up
as soon as you went back to idle and we had far too many flameouts
and deadstick landings. Not exactly what you want for training flights.

The LA engines have air bleed carbs. Meaning you open up the
bleed hole to allow more air in to lean the idle mixture.

First make sure the air bleed hole isnt obstructed. Then set
the air bleed adjustment screw so its half way across the bleed hole.
Start from that point.

If you cant get it lean enough even with the bleed hole fully open
(like we had with the 40LA) remove the air bleed screw entirely.
It will be able to suck additional air through the vacated adjustment
screw hole. This is the only way we got that 40LA to run right.

Mike Hammer

DR,


I guess you are taking about this situation happening after you fill the tank and before you start the engine.

What Jim wrote, with the tank set too high in the model, does fit the situation. Check the fuel jet (the center of the carburettor's barrel) is at the same level as the fuel tank's centerline.

Also check that when the plane is standing in the sun, the warmth does not cause fuel to just spew out of the carburettor's fuel line, even when it is pointed up. This could hint you have something obstructing the tank's breather tube, or the muffler pressure nipple.


Loading-up is used to describe fuel being accumulated in the engine, while it is idling, due to the idle mixture circuit being adjusted too rich, which is what Mike is referring to.

If this situation occurs too, lean the idle mixture, by opening the air-bleed screw.
This engine has been in a couple of threads here, saying the air-bleed hole is too small and that it cannot be made lean enough to prevent loading up.
If this is the case, the air-bleed hole can be enlarged to the next drill size, after first removing the carburettor from the engine and removing the carburettor barrel.

You don't want any aluminium shavings inside your engine, or carburettor...

Hi!
Load up?? You mean you start the engine and it sits running for a while and then stops?

Here is the soulution!
First put an a 11x6 or 12x4 prop, preferably APC.
Then get fuel containing 5%-15% nitro and 20% castor oil (or synthetic or a mix)
If in Europe get 15% synthetic oil like Aerosave or Aerosynt 2 or Motul "Micro".
It is vital that you mount the tank so that when the airplane sits horizontal the center of the tank is inline with the fuel intake orifice in the carb!
Use pressure to the tank, preferably a 2 clunk system called "Uniflow".
You should also use a 240-300cc (8oz-10oz) tank not bigger!
Best glowplug for the OS .40-.46 is an OS 8 or Enya 3 glowplug.
If you have followed the the above recommendations it is not necessary to drill the airbleed hole in the engine. Al OS LA engines run jsut fine as they are.
Standard setting for the idle needle (airbleed) is half way open, but try open it some what if the engine load up at low rpm and stops.
But remember the throttle drum must first be adjusted so that you have good idle. The throttle drum should be 1,5-2mm open at idle.That's the standard setting on all glow engines.
Good luck!

Regards!
Jan K
Sweden

That is also my experience. The airbleed hole is to small, and needs to be dilled larger. After that, the regulating screw can do it's job again.

The airbleed hole is too small when you use high nitro and have to open the HS needle more because of it. The airbleed screws on my LA .46 and .65 are dead center in the hole using 5% nitro as Jan suggests.

You don't need to do all that, just tip the plane up and at some wierd angle and let the excess fuel run out the muffler.

Gentlemen, All of these ideas are good ones. I have tried them all already. I have had several (4) 20 plus years in the hobby examine this problem and we are all drawing a blank. Any other ideas or from the OS guy?

You haven't mentioned that once you get it started it runs fine. Sounds like when your filling tank your filling crankcase too. Are you using remote fill line? I have 3 LA's and one thing I notice is they are hard to prime . So I can't imagine a couple of prime flips flooding engine. I have to put my fingure over the muffler exit a long time to prime good. It's cold out now and starting is a little more of a challenge.

Now that it is cold try an A3 OS plug, it is hotter than a #8 . I was at the field saturday and a guy wore out his field battery trying to get started at 28 degrees. He said his glow plug was just fine. Pulled it out and it was colasped slightly. Well he put in a new one and used my starter setup and started right up.......