Do you guys do anything special to help protect your turbine when you're not going to run it again until next season?

I have a Ram 500 and was thinking of making sure all of the fuel was out of it and then forcing a bit of oil into the fuel line to help coat the bearings etc.

Joe

Joe, I have stored my Wren MW 54 indoors, and out in my model shed (non heated in the winter but very dry) with much success. I now have three engines I store the same way.

Here is a letter I received from Mike Murphy of Wren Turbines on how to store the engines for the winter. I hope its OK to post it.. I edited things not pertaining to the storage question I had asked...


"Hello Andrew, Mike Murphy here.

The main issue about storage is of course moisture and this will affect the bearings. Jet A1 and
paraffin both have a fair quantity of water absorbed from the atmosphere and
therefore we need to get this away from the bearings when going into
storage. I would recommend running neat lube oil into the lubrication line
and spin the rotor gently by hand, to ensure it gets well into each bearing
and this will help displace any remaining fuel. Do not take the engine apart
to do this or you will spoil your balance and positioning of the bearings.
Keep the engine stored in a clean dry place and wrapped in your favourite
oily rag! A wipe of grease will ensure no rusting occurs on the case rear.

When next flying season comes around, wash the neat oil out of the bearings
using pressurized fuel into the lube line connection. Hold the engine
vertically, compressor upwards to ensure the fuel runs clean out and spin
the rotor quickly to help clear the excess. When you come to do your first
start, keep the fuel shut off and spin the engine well up on the starter so
if there is a fuel residue it will blow clear. Do one attempt at starting
with the fuel still off to allow any last residue to burn off cleanly with
the gas. After this you should be able to start up as normal with the
bearings lovely and free-running.


Regards

Mike. "

Winter?? whats that?? sorry, couldn`t resist that one
V..

I don't know, could it be related to something we had here today, called "p-r-e-c-i-p-i-t-a-t-i-o-n".

Apparently the last time we had any was 6 months ago. Personally I do not remember, maybe I was out of town or something.

Joe,

I'm also from the Midwest, or WAS. I think the best way to winterize your turbine is to move to PHX and fly for the nest nine months!!

Hey Vin, did you fly at the fly-in this weekend?

Tailwinds,

John

Hey John,
No,I was out of town fri and sat in Las vegas for a biz meeting.Me and Kev got out there at SVF today (sun).
V..

OK, all of you warm weather guys don't need to rub it in. Someday, when I retire I'll more to a warmer climate. In the meantime should I do anything special before my turbine sits for the next 6 months?

AJ,
Thanks for the input. The Ram 500 doesn't have a separate lubrication line. Oil is mixed with the fuel and a certain amount of fuel is diverted to the bearings to lube them. I was wondering if I should run some oil down the fuel line to coat things.

Joe

Yes, the wren is the same (as are my other engines) and I just put a little oil down the kero line. Just pinch off the line to the fuell needles and blow a little oil down the lube line. You will of course have to remove the cowl to get to the Y connector under there.

AJC

There is something i dont uunderstand. I builted a MW54 and the lub line go directly on the front bearing, the rear one get oil by 'mist' so it takes a fair amount of air to 'push' the oil from front to back...So i think that only the front bearing get oil if you had oil on the lube tube. So how can we put oil on the rear bearing???

Push a couple of cc's of oil into the lube line, put the engine vertical (compressor up obviously), and wait until the oil comes out the back. If it comes out the back, it must have gone through the rear bearing.

STEP 2: put the RAM in your freezer for a week, then thaw it out and start it, if it starts great re-oil and put into winterstorage, if not wait till spring and buy a new turbine