qwertypemdas

My Feedback: (1)

hmmm, ok, just got back from the field. yeah... "I" crashed. But I have a great excuse!!!! I've been having major engine troubles with my evolution 40NT (all bad reviews on this engine). I was taking off, flying a few seconds then landing to adjust the engine. I did this about 7 times not thinking about fuel. At my field we have "the pit". It's a HUGE man made bowl a few hundred feet deep, almost vertical walls and a few hundred feet length and with. I was coming in to land and refuel after I finally got my engine tuned (maybe tuned), I was right over the pit a bit far out so I dicided to throttle up to get over the runway (duh). I didn't hear the engine when I throttled up so I shouted dead stick! Well the plane was to low to glide in, so it went down in the pit, there is a 10 foot burm in front of the pit so you can't see it, my LT-40 was over a massive pit, out of site, engine dead, with a pilot on his 5th solo flight (who never had a deadstick before), and a year of hard work and money has about to hit the vertical rocky wall of "The Pit". The damage is repairable, the wing joint is a little srewed up, the fuselage buckled, the wing mounts popped out (taking some fuse with it), the engine needs a rebuild (ARG!!), and some minor things like the servo tray and prop. The worst thing is the engine, I need to replace the bearings because they are all loose and grindy now and it has been acting up in past flights. It's completely disassembled now and the rear bearings as well as the crankshaft are all RED!!! The are red and gritty like rust! I use green fuel so is this red c*** normal? I hear terrible things about evolution engines. I took some pix of the crankshaft. What concerns me is that the red stuff almost feels sandy, I know that sandy grit on the back of your crankshaft is not good no matter what. So all projects are pushed back until I rebuild my trainer/wing and engine. I can't blame the engine for the crash because I ran out of fuel. Also the engine starts withind maybe a tenth of a second of aplying the starter. Super easy to start and it runs great on the table but as soon as I start down the runway it goes super retarded on me and never revs past about half the normal rpm's. Also, in the air, half throttle is higher than full throttle. The problem is the same even when the mixture is lean perfect or rich. Is the red "rust" responsible for this? Should i just screw it and get a TT or OS? Hmmm. It really sux not haveing a plane in the air, I'm going to miss the field funfly this weekend. I need info plz. I also wiped the grit off with a paper towel and it still looked red. Do crankshafts rust? I use coolpwer 10%, and my engine is brand new on it's first season this year. I can't blame evolution until I figure this out. The tuning problems appeared a few weeks ago. AAAAARG as my friends say.

spaceworm

I have two evolution engines, both previously owned and am completely happy with them. That aside, could that red grit be dirt? What is the runway made of, is there a lot of dust in the air? What color was the pit material into which you crashed? Was the red grit there before the crash? Did you run out of fuel or did it quit with fuel in the tank? All of your problems could be dirt related, either in the fuel system or ingested from local field conditions. Or, the red grit could be rust, do you run the engine dry before storage and use after run oil? Or, the pre crash running problems could be from a restricted tank vent or the clunk line folded or kinked. Good luck

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

here's a good price on bearings

http://www.rc-bearings.com/catalog/p...roducts_id=847

blw

My Feedback: (3)

Actually, the Evolution engines get pretty much rave reviews. Clarence Lee really liked the .40NT in his reviews in RCM magazine. The .40 shares common parts with the .46NT. The .40 crankshaft is well balanced. I have several Evolutions, and have been around others. I think the materials used and quality of construction surpasses OS engines. Parts are less than half what OS charges.

Using Coolpower *could* contribute to the rust situation in your engine too since it is all synthetic.

Your engine problems could be the result of several things, such as being out of tune. These engines are very easy to tune and the low speed needles are forgiving. Someone did tune the low speed to the point where it didn't stumble or wheeze after 20 something seconds, didn't they? Or, you could have debris in your carb/remote needle valve and need to back flush that. You can expect these sorts of problems when using a plug that is too cold for this engine. OS 8 plugs are too cold. Try the OS A3.
.

qwertypemdas

My Feedback: (1)

I'll try the hot plug. I'm using the plug it came with, Hanger 9 super plug. I run the plane until like 1/3 tank usually then kill the engine, and drain the tank. That's it. The fuel bottle says "DO NOT USE AFTER RUN OIL" it says it's built into the fuel. Are there additional steps to care for my engine? I might upgrade it because it's an 8lb plane with a .39 engine!! Can nitro plane engines use airfilter? Like do they make a really small one? And the tank ran dry in the air and it was dead on impact. The red stuff must have been there before the crash. hmmm I'll post pix soonish maybe.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LX9160&P=ML



Cool Power = engine rust no matter what you do

qwertypemdas

My Feedback: (1)

And on the intake of the crankshaft in the front. There are some little spots that I KNOW are rust. Could this be from bad fuel!? I stored fuel in the tank for 2 weeks and then the problems started! Did I rust it with bad fuel? hmmm

scott17

Cool Power is good for killing ants and stuff, but it makes a lousy model engine fuel..... Omega is as low as I would go......

qwertypemdas

My Feedback: (1)

CRAP. Ithought coolpwer was the good stuff. I just bought 2 gallons!!! AAAHHH. Ok, what fuel would you guys recommend? My dad is going to be mad about the coolpower.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Poor 4 oz of drug store castor oil (USP) into each one and go on about your model flying using them and never look back. They will work fine for you.

qwertypemdas

My Feedback: (1)

4oz a gallon? ok

captinjohn

How does that drug store Castor compare to brand name castor for RC use? Thanks Capt,n

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Sig caster is usually cheaper if you need a lot

The drug store stuff is like $2.45 for four oz but this is cheaper if you are only going to use 4 oz in the next ten years

At Tower Benoil is $7.39 for 16 oz

At Sig . . . .

Baker's Grade AA Castor Oil The Number 1 Lubricating Oil for blending Glow Fuel

Over the years, CASTOR OIL has proven to be one of the most effective lubricants for glow model airplane engines. Castor Oil lubricates and protects your engines over a wide range of operating conditions, including the extreme high temperatures that an over-lean needle valve setting can cause. Use straight or blend 50-50 with a synthetic oil like KLOTZ KL-200 RACING LUBRICANT. NOTE: If you are using a brand of fuel that is short on oil, you can add 5 oz. of castor oil to 1 gallon of fuel to raise the fuel's total oil content approx. 3%.

<form name="order1" action="/cgi-bin/dpsmart.exe/ProductsV5.html?Z+Sig+jfvs4789" method="post"> <input type="hidden" name="dp_form" value="order1" /><input type="hidden" name="dp_Search1" value="a41FuelISigCasterOil" /><input type="hidden" name="dp_Search" value="Index" />Product Code </form>	Description		Price		Type Order Quantity
SIGCO001<input type="hidden" name="dp_prod1" value="SIGCO001" />	SIG AA CASTOR OIL PINT<input type="hidden" name="dp_desc1" value="SIG AA CASTOR OIL PINT" />	EACH<input type="hidden" name="dp_um1" value="EACH" />	$7.99<input type="hidden" name="dp_price1" value="7.99" />		<input name="dp_qty1" value="" size="4" maxlength="5" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 8pt;" />
SIGCO002<input type="hidden" name="dp_prod2" value="SIGCO002" />	SIG AA CASTOR OIL QUART<input type="hidden" name="dp_desc2" value="SIG AA CASTOR OIL QUART" />	EACH<input type="hidden" name="dp_um2" value="EACH" />	$10.99<input type="hidden" name="dp_price2" value="10.99" />		<input name="dp_qty2" value="" size="4" maxlength="5" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 8pt;" />
SIGCO003<input type="hidden" name="dp_prod3" value="SIGCO003" />	SIG AA CASTOR OIL GALLON<input type="hidden" name="dp_desc3" value="SIG AA CASTOR OIL GALLON" />	EACH<input type="hidden" name="dp_um3" value="EACH" />	$22.99<input type="hidden" name="dp_price3" value="22.99" />		<input name="dp_qty3" value="" size="4" maxlength="5" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica; font-size: 8pt;" />

freakingfast

My Feedback: (3)

I don't care who's fuel you use, not draining the fuel from the plane is asking for it. Two things happen, One; the nitro in the fuel can constantly bathe the bearings from leakage even a closed carburetor. Two; moisture can get at the fuel through the muffler tap.

When done for the day, pump the fuel out, ALWAYS run the engine completely dry and add some after-run. I even take it one step further(optional): pump out the nitro fuel, add FAI fuel (no nitro), run that till warm, pump out, run dry, add after run.

The red stuff is rust, plain and simple. This is what you get with nitro containing fuel+moisture+steel+ time. The bearing always rust the most and thats where most of the red stuff is from. Have a close look at the balls and bearing races and you will see craters and pits...yuk. Rub off what you can of the loose rust from the crank with a towel and don't worry about the rest, install new bearings from RC-Bearings and go fly.

Do add caster to the Cool power fuel as was suggested.

freakingfast

My Feedback: (3)

Oh, fresh fuel and new glow plug. The rust played heck with the glow plug element I'm sure. That and bad bearings could explain the poor running. Other things to check, is you prop balanced, is you tank wrapped in foam rubber?

DarZeelon

The fuel Morgan recommend for ABC/ABN engines, is their own [link=http://www.morganfuel.com/omega_main.htm]Omega blend[/link]...

As I see it, as it comes from the factory and without elaborate after-treatment (both to the engine and to the fuel), CruelPower is not suitable for any engine.

...No, not even YS four-strokes... They eventually rust their bearings too.

qwertypemdas

My Feedback: (1)

Wow, lots of great info guys. I'll get omega and I'll treat my cruelpower with castor. I'm really ticked off about this. If I knew this 2 days ago my plane wouldn't be in a box. lol we need to start a poll on coolpower and other fuels. hmmm

Sport_Pilot

Methanol causes more damage than nitro. Nitro is slightly acidic, but well in the tolerable range for most metals. Methanol will atack aluminum and attract moisture.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

There certainly seems to be Nitric acid residue left in a crankcase of a engine that has been run

freakingfast

My Feedback: (3)

Leave a little 60% fuel in an engine than let it sit for a few days, it may not want to turn at first and when it does turn, you have that gritty feel to the bearings like poured some sand in there.
Try the same with FAI fuel.....smooth as silk, at least for a short test, given time this may rust too.

The nito is not bad, it's nitric acid that it breaks down to is what kills anything that has iron in it. Methanol is hygroscopic (attracts moisture out of the air) and given enough time it may attack aluminum. I have yet to see more than a barely visible aluminum etch in any model engine that I've look into even when the bearings were orange/red fuzz balls in old engines that were given to me.

I'm thinking that the methanol helps pull in water and with that plus oxygen any nitro present can rapidly begin to make acid.

qwertypemdas

My Feedback: (1)

well, if i run the engine REALLY lean now it has ample power and it's like it was before the problem. It's 1/2 a full turn leaner than what worked before. Hmmm. It was also pretty cool today. Maybe the heat and stuff also played a factor. I cleaned the engine and I flew today with some questionable power.

Sport_Pilot

There is no nitric acid till the fuel burns, so there is no nitric acid in the crankcase of a two stroke. It is very very reactive, and thus none left in the crankcase of a four stroke, though some may form other acids. Nitric acid is really only a problem when nitro is over 80%. The burned methanol reacts with the nitric acid. That is a major reason for the masks used in nitro fuel dragsters. Nitro by its lonesome is slightly acidic, but just so. I think its around 6.7 Ph.

Sport_Pilot

Breaking down of nitro when sitting does not form nitric acid. Google up nitric acid, it is unstable and reacts quickly. The problem with nitro sitting in the open is becoming contact sensitive. Especially if there are alkaline material around. Nitro drag racers will wash out their metal fuel tanks with vinegar to remove alkaline formed from corrosion to prevent this. You actually have to burn the nitro to get nitric acid. It is from incomplete burning of the fuel.

qwertypemdas

My Feedback: (1)

ok, my dad just got 4oz of "CASTOR OIL U.S.P.". It says 100% castor oil. So let me get this straight. I poor the 4oz of castor oil into 1 gallon of coolpower 10% and then shake? Once you say ok I'll do it. My dad wants to make sure that I don't ruin a gallon of fuel.

scott17

That would be good!