losifiend

I'm new to boats and just got a Blackjack 26. I have not run it yet at all. I have replaced all the electronics with JR Racing ones. I have also ordered Twistedliquids rudder and prop [link]http://www.*******************.com/blackjack.html[/link]. I have read the good and bad things about the boat and just though I would try and do things rite from the start.

My question is do I break in the motor like any other nitro motor? I usually use the heat cycle method but don’t know if this would be possible with a boat since it’s harder to read the temp every few seconds to keep it at 200-210 degrees through the heat cycle. I have a small water pump. Would it be a good idea to hook it up to the pump and break it in on my workbench controlling the temperature by restricting or adding water and put it through the standard 30-minute heat cycle?

The guy at the LHS told me to just put it in the water and drive it form 1/4 to 3/4 throttle through a few tanks. That’s how I killed the motor in my first nitro vehicle. I don’t trust that break in method.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

That method will work along with a hundred others. People have their own ways of breaking in engines. One friend of mine cycles his engines by going fast in the straights then slowing down while making wide turns.
Use the same fuel that you plan on running in the boat for break-in, no special break-in fuel needed.
You want to keep enough speed so that you keep water flowing through the head so keep an eye on the water outlet. Keep it rich the first few tankfuls then slowly lean it out as the oil and fuel will help in keeping it cool. You can run faster, 1/2 to 3/4 throttle in the turns and open it up more on the straights.
There's my 2 cents so now you'll have more opinions.

jetpack

My Feedback: (1)

Here's what I would add to that.

Add a head shim to keep the compression down for the con-rod's sake.

Use all castor fuel with at least 20% oil content if you can find it. Synthetics just don't have the high pressure properties that a new piston will put on it in my opinion. Or buy a car fuel with a low percent of total synthetic oil content, and add castor to bring the total percent of oil up to 20% total.

More oil will mean a richer setting, and lots of oil going through the motor to carry away particles. Don't use an exhaust system. Let that oil blow out soon as possible and not contaminate a new exhaust system. There will be metal comming out of the motor with the oil, and there's no need to fill the pipe and all that up with sticky castor that still has metal in it that can backflow into the motor.

Use around a 5%-10% nitro so needle settings are easier, and it will want to idle better too.

Use a medium to hot plug to keep it from dying due to lots of oil and low nitro and a rich setting.

Heat temper the new plug by getting it orange hot five or six times letting it cool between cycles before you use it.

No wide open, no heavy rake prop.

What Ron had mentioned about no special fuel needed is true to an extent...and the theory behind that is when you switch from heavy castor mix to synthetics, it takes another slight "break-in" to the new oil because the film thickness is thinner on synthetics.

Don't let the motor jump rpm's over chop, no real high rpm blips on shore. Get it into the water and working asap to keep the back and forth loads on the internals down. Free loads on a tight motor does little good on rod bushings.

Pre-heat the cylinder if you can if you have an outlet with a hair dryer or such before starting.

After you bring it in, bring the piston up just past the ports but not too deep into its compression, and wrap with a dry rag to prevent rapid cooling. This keeps things round for the cyl/piston.

Might seem overwhelming for a new boater, but if you let it soak in you'll start to see the picture that the motor needs to be "blown" out of wear particles, heat cycled, and never over-loaded or rpm'd near its max.

The best kind of break-in is a painfully slow one, unfortunatly. And takes a little bit of special preperation with the fuel.

One thing you never want to do is run lean, or too rich and stalling, where you have to keep cold starting the motor. Hot and slobbery is the key so that liner opens up it's grip on the piston. The castor will keep it from siezing much better than synthetics.

After you break it in, you can change oil, and remove the extra head shim and start to have fun with it.

losifiend

Thanks for the repplies guys. You both have good sugestions.

Jetpack, if I remove the exhaust pipe wont it make a mess in the boat?


Good tip on cycleing the plug. As far as preheating the engine, I try and allways cary a small propane cylinder while breaking in an engine.

jetpack

My Feedback: (1)

Yep, it will be messy...especially with the castor and rich setting. But let that stuff go till your done for the day, and all that will clean up well with a good spray down of Simple Green cleaner first and a little water and some sloshing. Just be sure to cover your carb and exhaust with foam ear plugs pushed in them or whatever you think might work to keep water out while your doing that.

After your all done for the day and its clean, then treat the motor and bearings with after-run through the carb with the glow plug out. Spin that thing and blow it out good. That is one thing important with boats is making sure all the water, soap, nitro, everything...is out of the cases and bearings and nothing but fresh after-run all through it, or the bearings will suffer.

4wheelinrevo

i catagorie engines in 2 differnt class's, you regular engines then you H.O. engines.

H.O. engines will have a very tight piston and sleeve fropm the factory, for these engines i break in like this

1st tank: slowly apply gas to 1/4 throttle over 3 seconds, then release throttle slowly, do this over and over again for the whole tank

2nd and 3rd: same as above but go up to 1/2 tank

4th: same as above but up to 3/4 throttle

5th: same as above, but up to full throttle

6th: same as above but once you reach full throttle stay full throttle for 3 seconds, then slowly release throttle.

7th: same as the 6th tank but stay on full throttle for 5 seconds.

you should be good to go now, you might want to take it easy up until the 10th tank, then after that let it rip.


on your regular engines:

1st: idle the whole tank

2nd, 3rd, 4th : joggle 1/2 throttle up and down to half throttle

5th: joggle full throttle up and down

6th: do 20ft-30ft runs of full throttle

after the 5th you should be good to go.


on a side not i always break in the 1st and 2nd tanks withthe body off (or lid)

this is how i have been breaking in my engines for years and i have had nothing but good running engines, im actually about to start my 13th gallon on a traxxas 3.3 with the only thing ever being replaced was the conrod and glow plug, conrods should be replaced every few gallons no matter what engine you run or how good of shape it looks to be in

f16man

boy o boy, rocket science.

losifiend

Sorry, I wasn't born with crazy knowledgeablities like yourself . I rather ask a "dumb" question than burn a motor.

330T

I've always just fired the boat up thrown it in the water drove slow for about 20 min then it was off to the races

f16man

That was not directed at you it was directed to the engine gurus?????

f16man

NO QUESTION IS A DUMB QUESTION BUD.

jetpack

My Feedback: (1)

This advice is directed towards people like you that probably hasn't checked out the price on marine motors lately.

f16man

I have been running nitro engines and building blown alky automotive engines since 1972 and have heard a lot of ways to [break] an engine and sometimes it sounds like rocket science to me sorry.

jetpack

My Feedback: (1)

Please resist the urge to curse, flame, degrade, insult or embarrass someone in your post. We encourage the free flow of your ideas, but believe that they can be communicated (and received) much more effectively if you keep things civil. If you have to vent, take it offline. We carefully monitor posts and will ban individuals who engage in offensive conduct within the forums. Thanks. (RCU Policies)

give it up.

Hydro Guy

Absolutely no offence intended.

Hydro Guy

Absolutely no offence intended.

f16man

sorry last post by hydroguy was me f16man hydros dad.

losifiend

Jetpack, you and 4wheelinrevo have some good tips. I think I will combine both your tips and give it a go.

The reason I made this post was because when I bought my LST2 the guy at the LHS gave me some bad tips that resulted in a dead engine after bairly a gallon. "just put it on the ground and drive it like you plan too" I rebuilt the engine and used the 30 minute heat cycle method and my 427 purrs like a kitten and idles for days. It starts rite away and temps are consistant 210-235 with plenty of blue/white smoke trailing. It still hasnt seen more than 3/4 throttle, yet it will lift the front wheels off the ground.

I know that there are 400000000 ways to break in an engine. I was just wanted to see if you boat guys did something different.

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

I just borrowed this off the Aquacraft site for the way that Mike advises how to break in an engine:


Engine break-in:
Breaking in the engine on your new boat properly provides better power and longer engine life. The best way we have found to break in a new engine is to run the first two tanks rich enough that the boat is running slow at full throttle. The high speed needle valve should be turned out about 2-1/2 to 3 turns out. After the first two tanks start leaning the engine out (turn the needle clockwise) 1/8 turn. Start the boat and make another lap or two. The boat should go faster and the engine should start to clean out. If it does not, bring the boat in and turn the needle clockwise another 1/8 turn. Continue this until the engine gets on the pipe and is running fast, not lean but fast. Run the next two tanks at this setting as it will allow the engine to warm up and help seat the running parts. "Grimracer Says"....Do not run your engine overly rich for more than 2 full tanks. Doing so can prematurely wear the engine internal parts out by not allowing the engine to reach proper operating temperature.

Note that the carb settings are for the Aquacraft .18 engine so yours will vary.

4wheelinrevo

i try to give my experience in what ha worked for me and hasnt worked for me. I am in no way a engine guru, i can tear down an engine rebuild an engine fix an engine, tune an engine and break in a engine.

i can build an engine or port an engine, i can port match the sleeve to the crankcase.

i was just trying to let the new guy know that there are more then 1 kind of motor, what i call your normal motor and what are called "hot" motors. like teh dynamite .32 in my TC31 is a normal motor and the traxxas 3.3 is a "hot" motor. these 2 different types of motors should be broken in differently from each other.

when i first started in nitro engines i was told a million ways to break in an engine, all i did was combine what i was told that i thought sounded logical and broke in my motors after a while i developed my own way of breaking in a engine, and that is the point here and i think losifiend got that point.

so i am in no way a nitro engine guru, i just give my experience with nitro engines, i always try to explain stuff at a 5th graders level (not saying anyone here is ata 5th grade level) so that anyone can understand it.

there really isnt a better feeling then when you give advice to someone just starting out because you know that you have quit possible just made R/C a little more enjoyable for the person just learning, i know it can be very frustrating when you cant get an engine started, im sure that is probably the #1 reason that people quit nitro R/C, becasue of problems with there engines, i have been doing it for quit some time now and i still get frustrated