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Carburettors | Glow plugs | |
Engine Mounts | Shafts & props | Silencers |
Tuned pipes | Fuel & Supply | Starting Up |
Maiden Voyage | Tweaking | Maintenance |
Get a lot of advice before investing in an engine as they are not cheap and some are better than others. The quality of engines varies from maker to maker and even between engines from the same manufacture. Everybody will have their own personal favourite engine, especially model shop keepers, so make sure you know what your requirements are before buying. Second hand engines can be a real bargain or a costly mistake. If you don't know what you are looking out for, don't buy second hand, take someone with you that's experienced in these things. Whatever engine you do buy, make sure spares are easily available in case the worst happens..... and it will.
There are generally five types of IC engine available.... Glow engines come in a range of sizes from 0.5 to 20cc+. The most popular sizes being 3.5, 6.5, 10, 11 & 15cc. Some of the real powerful race engines can develop 5bhp and/or rev over 30,000 r.p.m., but even the power of a small IC engine should be respected, so Always take proper safety precautions with IC engines to avoid lost fingers. There are practical limitations to what size engine you can put in your boat i.e. a 3.5cc engine won't push a 6 foot boat very fast whereas a 15cc engine in a 2 foot boat will probably leave the planet! All kits or hulls give a range of recommended engine sizes, usually I would lean towards the largest size as the smaller ones tend to leave me with an under powered boat. Well all of this is just my opinion, but what do I know ! |
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SAFETY - SAFETY |
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And that's all there is to it. Look after your motive power and they will last a long time. I have tried to cover all the basics so a lot of it may be seem brief but there is more details in the review of my various boats. If I've missed something glaringly obvious out, then email me and I will ask somebody else that knows what they are talking about!
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Further reading on model IC engines... | ||
http://www.rcnitro.com/rn/articles/
ENGINE TUNING BASICS FOR GLOW HELI ENGINES
http://www.hpt-sport.com/direct.htm
http://askuri.com/RC/SIG-BRC/002.htm http://www.rcnitro.com/rn/articles/10_lobudget.asp http://www.mecoa.com/museum/museum.htm http://www.modelengine.org/index.htm
Well all of this is just
my opinion, but what do I know ! |
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