Timing

[diymark]

G' Day,

I was thinking of making my next engine Internal combustion - glow plug because Im not buying model spark plugs at the prices they sell for or also becuase of ignition timing and sprk needs. Glow is easy to employ and works good.

Anyway, whats holding me back is the timing of the engine. I would like to use a timing belt/pulley but Im having a hard time finding them. Id even use gears but still I cant find them. So what I was wondering is where does everyone else source their timing belts/pulley or gears from? I cant make them my self as I lack a dividing head/rotary table.

Any links to suppliers that will ship to australia would be great!

PS - as a last resort Id have to make my IC engine atkinson cycle haha - no timing requirements.

 

[tel]

Not the cheapest elephant ride in town, but smallparts carry a good range, are pretty reliable AND local to us Ozonians. And they carry gears as well, but sit down when you look them up!

And if you can tolerate a 10mm stem, the CM6 - Spark Plugs are available quite reasonably HERE

 

[deverett]

First off , diymark, welcome to this very friendly and informative forum. You will learn lots from the various contributors.

You say 'your next engine'. What have you built so far? We would all like to see your efforts.

Have you researched the cost of spark plugs thoroughly? CM-6 plugs - a commonly used plug - in the UK are a coupla quid each and in the US can be got for a few $. Surely in the grand scheme of things, that shouldn't break the bank? I don't know for sure, but I would imagine that glow plugs are about the same price. You could always make your own plugs. There are several articles around giving instructions on how to make them.

Normally glow engines do not require timing. They are usually used in 2 stroke engines and the heat of combustion keeps the plug glowing. If you are considering a 4 stroke engine with a glow plug to simulate a spark plug, it will probably be quite a small engine.

You will only require two gears in the ratio of 2:1 to operate the push rods to the valves. OHC engines with valves driven by a cam belt are beyond my experience. However, the first place I would look is a model shop that specialises in RC cars for both gears and toothed belts.

Dave
The Emerald Isle