gregoryshock

Ihave some questions about glow engines. What causes a glow engine to run backwards, after you used a starter to start it in the correct direction?
What is the proper way to start a glow engine by hand? I'm looking for answers to how much fuel do you need in the carb etc. How do you know when you have enough fuel or don't have enough fuel. Do you use a chicken stick or gloves? If you use gloves what kind do you recommend? When starting a glow engine that is mounted upside down, is it possible to start them by hand? If so how? *Usually Ihave to grind the starter several times to get everything working in the right way.

vpresley

My Feedback: (162)

An old friend taught me how to hand start an engine works for me!

1. Thumb over carb, using a chicken stick to save fingers, flip prop through compression 3 or 4 times. Draws fuel and primes engine.

2. Thumb off carb, flip prop 3 more times. Distributes fuel through engine. Throttle to just above idle.

3. Attach igniter and flip prop with chicken stick. Starts a very high percentage of the time.

My friend was an old Super Tigre flier and it worked for him like a charm. This method assumes no fuel tank problems and a good glo plug.



Vince

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

I your engine reverses direction while running you are lucky if it hasnt thrown a prop. Dont stand in front of that thing when it is running. Either the compression is too high or the fuel is too hot. Put an extra gasket in the head.
For starting, prime the engine and turn it over a few times without the glow driver. Then hook the glow driver and grasp the prop firmly and slowly turn the engine through compression. Do this until you feel a bump at TDC. Then its ready to go. Flip it backwards and get your hand out of the way. Some guys will flip it backwards using the spinner. That never worked for me though.
If you never feel a bump you havent put enough primed it enough or you have primed it too much. If you practice you will find how much to prime it.

iskandar taib

My Feedback: (5)

S.O.P. for one-flip starts in Fast or Slow Combat (.36 engine) or even Speed Limit with .25 and above sized engines.

1) Launcher holds model, turns it upside down. Give engine a GOOD WET prime in the exhaust. For a Fox Combat Special, this meant closing off the exhaust port, and pouring in enough fuel to fill up the exhaust whatchamacallit, then open exhaust port to admit fuel into cylinder.

2) Turn model upright again. Connect glow clip. Turn engine over through compression two or three times - you should feel the engine "bump" each time if you primed it enough and the battery and plug are good. Then turn the prop counterclockwise up against compression. The prop should be horizontal at this point. Wait for signal from Center Marshal to start.

3) When the signal to start is given, hit the RIGHT prop blade with chicken stick hard, clockwise (i.e. against normal rotation). Done right, the engine will bounce off compression and start immediately in the right direction, at which point the launcher releases the model. Since every second counts, the launcher doesn't wait to see if the engine has actually started before letting go. 95% of the time, it works.

Iskandar

downunder

The usual cause of running backwards is too much priming and generally doesn't happen when using an electric starter unless you remove the starter very quickly. The engine will only run at very low revs because obviously the crankshaft timing is WAY wrong . Opening the throttle will usually make the engine stop but occasionally it might refire in the correct direction.

As for hand starting (and this really should apply to using an electric starter too) the trick is to find exactly how much priming it needs which varies from engine to engine. Start with not too much prime and if that doesn't work give it a bit more but be careful not to overprime. Generally an engine is primed nicely when it begins to have what I can only call a slightly "wet" sound. Priming means getting the right amount of fuel up into the cylinder, not the crankcase. Priming an inverted engine is more difficult because then you have to get fuel to run uphill but with the right technique it's easy. With a proper prime most engines will start with one flick whether upright or inverted.

I hand start unthrottled .60's (meaning they're full revs as soon as they start) with my fingers but I wouldn't recommend that unless someone teaches you how to do it so preferably use a chicken stick. Gloves that are well padded on top of your fingers aren't a bad idea either because one or two wacks will teach some caution around the prop when you find out how hard they can hit .

1QwkSport2.5r

I've never had an engine start in reverse (clockwise) if using an electric starter unless the polarity is reversed on the starter.

If using a chicken stick, gloved hands, or using the backflip method, ensure the engine has a good wet prime. You'll know its "wet" when you flip the prop through compression in the proper direction (counterclockwise) without glow driver, the carb sounds "sloshy". Usually the carb will spit a little if its what I call sloshy. It should fire off easily with almost any method listed above.

My personal preference to get an engine going is A) wet prime - 6-8 flips of the prop with carb covered with a finger (no glow driver), B) 2-3 flips of the prop with finger off carb, C) smack prop clockwise to bounce it off compression allowing it to fire and kick it over the opposite (CCW) direction. If it starts backwards, either kill the engine and retry or throttle it down little by little until it changes direction or quits. My ringed SuperTigres will usually "right" themselves by throttling down, but my tapered bore engines usually don't and need to be stopped and reprimed. Lately I've been cheating and just using a starter. No fuss, engine starts CCW every time.

Starting backwards usually means the engine was too wet or idle speed is too fast.

gregoryshock

I don't know why but I own 3 .61 ABC type engines that can reverse while running. All three have done this since they were brand new! The first one is a cheap engine that I no longer run. The other two are OS FX .61s. Usually when they first fire they will run forward for a short bit, and then reverse. Then if they don't stop (usually they stop) they will "right" themselves and I'm ready to fly. The other day I was flying and I landed. Right after I taxied the plane to the pits, I let it run on idle for a bit. The engine reversed and ran backwards before quitting. The fuel I am using is 10 percent nitro. It is high grade stuff that the hobby shops around here sell. http://morganfuel.com/ And I know that my carb settings are right. I pinch test the high end, and check it with the tach. I also check the low end with the tach, and use a pinch method of testing it. I'm getting 300 rpm Idles, and usually I can force the engine to idle slower if I want too. The engines will thrust from idle to full speed without any hesitation.

Note: They don't always do the reverse thing. Sometimes they start and give any issues like this. It just seems like they do this whenever they feel like it.

Sport_Pilot

If it is starting backwards you have the needle too rich or are overpriming it.

Jim Thomerson

I use a heavy leather glove. If you have a problem with getting whacked, you are doing something wrong. It is possible to put a wooden popsicle stick on top of your finger in the glove for additional protection.

[email protected]

My Feedback: (1)

how long have you been flying????

[email protected]

My Feedback: (1)

how long have you been flying???

[email protected]

My Feedback: (1)

how long have you been flying??

oil_can_harry

My Feedback: (2)

I start all my engines the same way and have sucess starting all of them. I have supertigre's, OS, evolution, magnums,enya, thunder tiger, k&b and royal engines from 25 to 1.4 . On 40 and smaller after filling with fuel I give them wide open throttle, place my finger over the carb intake and rotate 3 to 4 times, then with my finger off the carb intake I rotate it another 3-4 turns. I move the throttle just a little above idle, attach the glow lighter and flip it with a chicken stick ccw. Sometimes it will start backward but most of the time not. If it starts backward, push the throttle forward until it try's to die, then move it to idle. Normally when you move the throttle forward it will make the engine load up and try to die, and when you move it back to idle it will. Cough and most of the time start running the correct direction. If not, kill it and restart it. On bigger engines I do the same thing only prime with my finger on the carb 5 to 6 times and rotate with my finger off 5-6 times. I do use an electric starter too, but I can start every engine I have ( approx 20 ) with a chicken stick.  If you prime too much, it will make it hard to get it started as the glow plug will get wet, but if you don't prime it enough it will not have enough fuel in it to start. With a little practice you can get em to start pretty easy.

vpresley

My Feedback: (162)

Hmm kinda what I said!


Vince

drac1

My Feedback: (4)

Not necessarily. My OS 2 strokes are tuned perfect and i prime just enough and they will start backwards a fair percentage of the time when starting by hand. When they do, i find a quick blip of the throttle will get them to run in the right direction.

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

The gentleman from Malaysia nailed it. Anyone who has flown/pitted CL Combat knows how to hand start. I use the exact same technique.

How many years? 51 as of November.

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

Can I assume that the engine in question is mounted inverted? If so then set your engine at idle and then turn it over using the electric starter. Attach glow driver and repeat process. The engine should start. I do the same procedure with both 2 and 4 stroke engines. Before the advent of electric starter hand starting was the norm. I don't like getting my fingers wacked and the starter avoids this. One thing that you most do when using the starter is too ensure the engine is backed off the compression stroke and this is opposite to the hand starting method. Bottom line it is your choice and others will argue the point of hand versus starter.

flybyjohn

My Feedback: (2)

I start it basically the same as all the others here, with a few turns with finger over carb and then flip it with a glove CCW. But the one thing I have to add is that in colder weather, yes I fly in the winter too, I find my engines need a lot more prime. Sometimes 7-9 Prime turns. Just something to remember if you fly in the winter.

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

I used to fly in the winter, and used lighter fluid for prime. Also used spray ether.

iskandar taib

My Feedback: (5)

Actually, even cooler - one Nats I was volunteering and they gave me a job timing the start for RC Pattern (I was to tell the chief judge if someone went over the allotted time limit to start the engine). This one guy simply backflipped the engine by twirling the front of the spinner with the tips of two fingers and a thumb. Started right up. I was impressed.

Iskandar

1QwkSport2.5r

I've done this as well, though I use spinner nuts. I like giving the spinner nut a twist on engines with small props because those tend to bite harder than big props. The engine has to be primed just right for it to work though.

gregoryshock

I think I have been flying for about 16 years.  In that time I was never taught how to start one without a starter.  I have used a Chicken Stick with a little luck, but I didn't know the proper way to prime or choke it.  Whenever I watched Model Aviation DVDs, I noticed that lots of guys started their engines by hand.  I always wondered why since a starter seems easier and safer.

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

It's a guy thing.

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

Using an electric started equipped with a starter cone places a load on the bearings/bushings of the engine.

Bax

My Feedback: (11)

I've hand-flipped for years, but use a piece of clear hose that fits over my finger. Ace R/C used to sell a black rubber finger cover that would protect your finger. It had an extra-thick section on the back of the protector to give extra protection to the back of the finger.

A six-inch piece of garden hose with a slit at one end to allow it to slide over your finger and hold on will do the trick nicely.