Maintance Questions

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Blake Sabo

Active Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2009
Messages
40
Well, i finally have the starting equiptment for my Outboard Tunnel. Pretty excitied! Now iam wondering about maintaince stuff.

To seal the Radio Box, will 3M Double Sided Tape work? Its thick and water resistant.

For greese, can gun greese or silicone work? I dont wanna order from Tower cuz it take a long time.

Blake
 
Well, i finally have the starting equiptment for my Outboard Tunnel. Pretty excitied! Now iam wondering about maintaince stuff.
To seal the Radio Box, will 3M Double Sided Tape work? Its thick and water resistant.

For greese, can gun greese or silicone work? I dont wanna order from Tower cuz it take a long time.

Blake
this is copied from you previous post concerning this matter. Let me know if you need anything else

Blake,

I fully recommend that you go to a lake where there are experienced boaters your first couple of times out so you can get your boat lined out and you don't hurt the engine or have other issues that will ruin your day.........believe me this can and will happen. If you are in Lil Nashville come to Frank Holten State Park in East St. Louis (not a great part of town but a good lake with great people) on just about any given Sunday and the ST. Louis Thunder boaters will be there and will help you out with anything that you need. I travel a lot but I plan on being there in the next few weeks my self to get tuned for the 09 race season and I run a lot of tunnels and will help you get set up and running. I am pretty sure that I know the boat that you have and it is a good running tunnel. To answer some of your questions.......

1. What do i use to start the engine? The seller said something about a Plane Starter, but ill need to reverse the polarity. Is this true? A 12 volt airplane starter will work fine for this boat. Yes you need to reverse the polarity ( make sure the motor is turning so the prop spins counter clock wise.

2. What do i need to use to get fuel in the tank? It doesnt look like theres a cap to unscrew that i can put my fuel bottle in. You will need to get a manual or 12 volt fuel pump and you fill the tank from the fuel line that runs to the carb.

3. What glow plug do you guys recommend for a K&B Mod Engine? Hot or Cold? Hot

4. What do you recommend to seal the plexiglass on the Radio Box? Will regular tape work? Use a 3M clear tape. You can by Aquacraft radio box tape from Tower Hobby. This is very important as you need to keep you electronics dry and it is not a matter of if you flip a tunnel hull but when.

5. What do you guys do yo your boats maintance wise? Before you run do a radio test and oil the prop shaft. Make sure everything is tight and the boat is ready for the water. After running you need to drain all the fuel pull the glow plug and spray WD-40 through the carb while spinning the engine with the starter. Nitro attracts moisture and will rust bearings and anything metal internal. then reinstall the glow plug lube the shaft again and make sure the motor is not on TDC. Open the radio box and check for moisture (dry it out if wet and find out why it is wet) leave the lid off so it can get air.

And finally, what radio settings should i start with? Like throttle, steering, and 3rd needle settings? When trimming your radio, setting the throttle, you want to make sure that you have full throttle but more important you want to make sure that your carb CLOSES all the way so you can kill the engine when you want to. You dont need much steering to turn a tunnel so I recommend about 50% throw for the fist time or 2 out until you get a feel of the way you drive, and make sure that it is centered by looking at it so it drives straight. This setting can be fine tuned when the boat is in the water. The third channel, (with out a flow meter) you will need to fire the engine and listen to it, launch it rich and use the third channel to lean it and bring it to where you are happy with it. With a flow meter and that set up I recommend about 41/2 lbs and tune from there.

If you have any other questions please feel free to give me a call. If you cant go to a lake with experienced boaters call me while you are at the lake if you are having issues. I can be reached 24hrs a day @ 314-954-7015 or 618-670-9594.

thanks, good luck and happy boating!!!!
 
Well, i finally have the starting equiptment for my Outboard Tunnel. Pretty excitied! Now iam wondering about maintaince stuff.
To seal the Radio Box, will 3M Double Sided Tape work? Its thick and water resistant.

For greese, can gun greese or silicone work? I dont wanna order from Tower cuz it take a long time.

Blake
also use a oil can that squirts with STP or Lucas oil treatment and transmision fluid mixed 60/40. Lube the shaft before each run and you will not have any issues.
 
for radio box tape, you can also use black electrical tape. not any old type, get 3m super 33+. it's very pliable, sticks well & conforms to corners well. stretch it some as you put it on, that will "activate" the glue B) . dirt cheap at wal mart, etc., no ordering or waiting. all i use, my electronics stay dry. just don't leave it on after you're done running, it will leave residue if left on for a few days. the residue is easily removed with virtually any solvent or alcohol.
 
To add to the maintenence, after draining your fuel out of the tank, taking out the glow plug and copper ring and spraying WD40 in the carb While turning it over with the starter (PUT A SMALL RAG OVER THE GLOW PLUG HOLE SO YOU DON'T GET SPRAYED IN EYES!), I put a couple drops of Marvel Mystery Oil (Pep Boys) in both the carb opening AND the glow pug hole - you can give it a quick spin with the starter (WITH THE RAG OVER THE GLOWPLUG HOLE- Of course!). When you're done with that just screw the glow plug back in.

Just my 2 cents added to the other great tips all the guys here gave you!

-Kent
 

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