Any help with Tower .46?
 

I just purchased one after being a little skeptical, but I figured i'd give it a shot. Can anyone offer any tips on tuning? I ran one tank through it on the ground, then four tanks in the air, all with the needle set rich, like the instructions said. After the final flight, I tried tuning it to get it to run a little better. No matter what I did, I couldn't get it to run right. It seems like it loads up, and runs really rich. If I dial the needle in a few clicks, it dies. The idle needle doesn't seem to change anything. Thanks guys and girls.

RE: Any help with Tower .46?
 

Sounds like an air leak. Loosen the carb and press down real hard on the carb while tightening back up. Make sure the back plate bolts are tight. Make sure the head bolts are tight. Once you get all the possible air leaks taken care of, it will be less tempermental.

Cheers,

Chip

RE: Any help with Tower .46?
 

what fuel are you using ?
also don't expect too much till you have aleast a gallon or more through it they are tight engines
I run 15% omega in mine it has great power for a 46

RE: Any help with Tower .46?
 

I'm using 10% wildcat with 18% oil. I tried pushing the carb down tight, but i'll try again tomorrow. I'm also gonna try tightening the head and back plate. And, I read some other posts on tuning and I picked up some other tips on setting the needles. Thanks guys.

RE: Any help with Tower .46?
 

I had a similar problem with the engine that was installed in the RTF Tower 40. In my case the carb, which is a tight fit into the engine housing was not pushed in all the by; thus the "O" ring didn't seal. Loosen up the bolt or screw that holds the carb on, press it down with your thumb - put a dime over the carb opening then push down hard - and tighten the bolt or screw. This problem appears to be quite common. I learned about the fix on this forum. Overall the engine seems to be a powerhouse but quite loud.

Good luck,
Bert

RE: Any help with Tower .46?
 

On my Tower 46, the idle needle was too small in diameter and did not have the correct taper. I wasn't sure what the problem was so ordered a new body and idle needle. I noticed the difference as soon as I compared the two needles. Little Quality control issue! [:@]

RE: Any help with Tower .46?
 

Quality control seems to be lacking across the pond
I now take my engines apart and make sure that everthing is good to go before I start them up much easier to seal things before the fuel get in the picture

RE: Any help with Tower .46?
 

Good advice! However, I don't think I would have noticed the problem if I hadn't had the good needle in front of me.

RE: Any help with Tower .46?
 

I was having problems with the TH .46's (I have a couple of them) until I started bench testing them.

I found that it is best to bench test the engines before installing them on your plane.

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First, if possible tune the engine with the included muffler. The included muffler seems to be the optimal configuration for this engine.

The manual tells you to start with the high speed. However you should really start with the low speed.

As suggested here, open the carb about 2-3 mm. Hold or fix it in this position temporarily.

Now close the low speed needle until hit hits the stops. Do this carefully and do not apply a lot of force so as not to damage the needle itself.

Once done back off about 1 1/2 turns.

Using a piece of tubing, blow through the fuel inlet port.

You should be able to produce enough pressure at the needle to hear a hiss of air. If you merely get a slow lessening of pressure, back off the needle until you get some flow... preferably enough to cause a hiss.

Now release the carb throttle and try the same thing with the throttle 1/2 open. The air should release far more quickly if you've done it right.

Turn the high speed needle fully in, and as per the directions turn it out about 3 turns.

Prime the engine and get it running.

Now work on the low speed needle to stabilize the idle at about 2500 RPM w/o any cutting out (though I can now get far less while still running very reliably). Adjust the LS needle in 1/2 turn increments... get it a little lean, then back off 1/2 turn or more.

Perform the pinch test.


Once done work on the high speed.

Maximize RPM's and back off 1/4 turn.

Pinch test again.


Bring the engine to a very fast idle.

Tilt the engine and tank down about 30 degrees.

Does the speed of the engine go down because it is getting rich?

If so lean the low speed out out until you get almost no change when you nose the engine/tank down.

Now tilt the engine and tank up about 30 degrees.

Does the engine stall out?

If it stalls out quickly richen the high and low a bit.

Get it to the point that it will go lean, but not stall out.

Level it off and check RPM's.

Again try to maximize RPM's at level, but richen the engine enough to where it will not stall out when pointed up.

This will be about optimal with the TH .46

Double check with your pinch tests again.

My .46's will idle very slowly, 4 stroking all the time, after all of this, and has no rough spots throughout it's entire range.

It produces very good output for it's size, and appears more powerful than my similiar O.S. AX engines.