Coming along nicely
- Thread starter Fingers
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Cheers I'm just looking at it running beside me :
, nobody home all day the cylinder felt very cold so naturally I wanted to see if it would work, first flame and of it went, excellent design yet again by Jan ridders.
Regards jamie
, nobody home all day the cylinder felt very cold so naturally I wanted to see if it would work, first flame and of it went, excellent design yet again by Jan ridders.Regards jamie
Hi I have a qustion about my flame eater, It runs pretty good but if I leave it for a few hours after running it, I will have to remove the piston and wipe clean the cylinder and piston, the engine will remain free then until after I run it again, my question is should It always be cleaned afterwards , can I use any lubricant on the piston or is it best run dry as I have been doing.
Or maybe I have a problem I have not even considered?
Regards
Jamie
Or maybe I have a problem I have not even considered?
Regards
Jamie
Jamie,
Mine was the same, but then a few of the boys that had made 'poppin' (small cam operated valve flame licker) suggested that I try oil. Some use sewing machine type oil as it is very thin but I use car engine oil (thin stuff 0 w 30 if possible) It takes a while to get to temperature but it stops the nasty stuff from the meths adhering to the piston and cylinder so lets you run the next time.
The oil causes too much drag on some peoples engines and stops them from running if they have very tightly toleranced cylinder and piston but yours seems to have loads of power so think it'd be ok. Give it a whirl, the worst that can happen is you'll have to clean it off.
Nick
Mine was the same, but then a few of the boys that had made 'poppin' (small cam operated valve flame licker) suggested that I try oil. Some use sewing machine type oil as it is very thin but I use car engine oil (thin stuff 0 w 30 if possible) It takes a while to get to temperature but it stops the nasty stuff from the meths adhering to the piston and cylinder so lets you run the next time.
The oil causes too much drag on some peoples engines and stops them from running if they have very tightly toleranced cylinder and piston but yours seems to have loads of power so think it'd be ok. Give it a whirl, the worst that can happen is you'll have to clean it off.
Nick
Longboy
Well-Known Member
........that nasty stuff inside of flame lickers is water vapor. Running with motor oil you will experiance a drag on the engine cuzz now you have sludge ( water and oil). A couple things you can try to dry out the cylinder between runs. WD40 rejects water. Spray into cyl from the con rod side and leave piston at the bottom of cyl. Rubbing alcohol in the top side thru the flapper valve will evaporate the water. Leave the valve open. Starter fluid. Does same as the alcohol real qiuck. Jets out of the can alittle quick too but leaves no residue and leave the valve open.
Thanks longboy
I taught maybe it was a problem with my engine but if this naturally happens in all flame eaters I am not to bothered. I will follow both of your advice trying a few different oil types and see which suits best, also I can easily remove the cap from the cylinder after use and wipe the cylinder clean with alcohol :, after all the time I spent getting it to run I wont complain about a little cleaning regime cheers lads
Jamie
I taught maybe it was a problem with my engine but if this naturally happens in all flame eaters I am not to bothered. I will follow both of your advice trying a few different oil types and see which suits best, also I can easily remove the cap from the cylinder after use and wipe the cylinder clean with alcohol :
, after all the time I spent getting it to run I wont complain about a little cleaning regime cheers lads Jamie
Fingers,
I have a poppin with CI cylinder and CI piston. After it was finished I ran it a couple of times and like you I would have to take it apart and clean the brown "stuff" that the alcohol left in the cylinder. I discussed this with with Mr. Senft via e-mail and he said that with metal cylinder and piston I should be using oil (it shows an oiler in the plans). So I built an oiler and have tried several types of oil and the one that works best for me so far is 0W-40W Mobil1 synthetic.
i don't try to flip it all the way over. I just turn the flywheel so it sucks the fire in then let it bounce back. This warms the cylinder up to allow the condensation to evaporate. After flipping it this way for a while it begins to oscillate on it own and after a bit of that if you flip the flywheel so it makes over center it will start.
There is a tiny bit of oil left from the previous run and I don't turn on the oiler till it is running by itself. The vacuum sucks the oil up past the piston and it is ejected through the flame port taking the "stuff" with it. I have not had to clean it since using oil.
I burn "Everclear" which is almost straight ethanol.
When I build another one I am going to try a stainless steel cylinder (no rust) and a graphite piston. According to Jerry Howell using a graphite piston you won't need oil and the film of graphite on the cylinder will prevent most of the "stuff" from sticking
I have a poppin with CI cylinder and CI piston. After it was finished I ran it a couple of times and like you I would have to take it apart and clean the brown "stuff" that the alcohol left in the cylinder. I discussed this with with Mr. Senft via e-mail and he said that with metal cylinder and piston I should be using oil (it shows an oiler in the plans). So I built an oiler and have tried several types of oil and the one that works best for me so far is 0W-40W Mobil1 synthetic.
i don't try to flip it all the way over. I just turn the flywheel so it sucks the fire in then let it bounce back. This warms the cylinder up to allow the condensation to evaporate. After flipping it this way for a while it begins to oscillate on it own and after a bit of that if you flip the flywheel so it makes over center it will start.
There is a tiny bit of oil left from the previous run and I don't turn on the oiler till it is running by itself. The vacuum sucks the oil up past the piston and it is ejected through the flame port taking the "stuff" with it. I have not had to clean it since using oil.
I burn "Everclear" which is almost straight ethanol.
When I build another one I am going to try a stainless steel cylinder (no rust) and a graphite piston. According to Jerry Howell using a graphite piston you won't need oil and the film of graphite on the cylinder will prevent most of the "stuff" from sticking
Cheers for the info mike
I have not had much time the past few weeks to try any of the above. I have since purchased mobil 0w-40w fully synthetic oil. 20 euro for the smallest I could get what a rip off lol. Anyway I have tried a few different amounts and it seems that it only like the very smallest amount just a smear from my finger . After this if will stay free from residue for longer maybe a full day lol, I might look into an oiler that will suit a vertical piston ???
Jamie
I have not had much time the past few weeks to try any of the above. I have since purchased mobil 0w-40w fully synthetic oil. 20 euro for the smallest I could get what a rip off lol. Anyway I have tried a few different amounts and it seems that it only like the very smallest amount just a smear from my finger . After this if will stay free from residue for longer maybe a full day lol, I might look into an oiler that will suit a vertical piston ???
Jamie
