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- Apr 13, 2011
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Guys and Gals,
I had one of my resellers, RRC, reach out to me for an official Novarossi engine break-in procedure. I have has several boaters, especially new boaters, request this information from me many times. I had a few minutes today and put the following together. This information helps sport boaters but I think will help many racers as well. Some may or may not agree with every word, but this is a general statemwnt to cover the vast majority of customers served by Novarossi Marine USA and its resellers. Please let me know your thoughts before I post this on the website. Your valuable input is appreciated. Thank you.
NOVAROSSI MARINE USA RECOMMENDED NEW ENGINE BREAK-IN PROCEDURE
It is important to break-in any new RC engine properly, as to not not diminish motor life. Attempting to rush this process by means such as lapping the piston to the liner will only serve to greatly reduce the overall life of the engine. The proper method of break-in starts with a total fuel premium synthetic lubrication content of no less than 12%. Also, an additional 4oz of premium engine castor oil such as Benzol Castor oil should also be added to each gallon of racing fuel for additional engine protection. The proper bench ( bench motor mount or while mounted in the rc boat) break in period should always start by preheating the engine to at least 200 degrees (verified with a quality digital thermal temp gun) before attempting to start. Any locally available heat gun or monokote heat gun will work well. This will allow the engine to properly expand to operating temps before starting. This pre-heating process should be repeated on a cold engine until the plug can be removed and the squeak (due to new piston/sleeve fit) goes away at piston top-dead-center. There also needs to be a proper method of adjustable water cooling available to keep the engine around 200 degrees throughout each running period. Many simply use a water source and fuel pump with a variable flow to achieve cooling. Once the engine is running, you must routinely check temps to verify proper 200 degree operation and cooling. It is also very important to run the engine very rich during the break-in, to the point that plenty of smoke is coming from the pipe and the engine is running so rich you will probably need to keep the glow driver attached just to keep it running. Just the flow of fuel in a extremely rich engine will serve to help keep the temperature down as the engine is running. This process can take anywhere from ½-1 gallon of fuel to achieve. Once this important step is completed, you are ready to start making rich laps at the pond. You should still make several tanks of rich runs before you start attempting to properly lean the engine for optimum operation. Important note: Never Never run any rc engine lean to the point of pulling, distorting, or completely destroying the glow plug element. This practice will lead to premature wear and eventual destruction of the engine.
Please note: All Novarossi Engines have the head button-to-top of piston clearance set to run with a nitro content of 25% from the factory (European standard). If your racing organization allows higher content racing fuel, the head clearance should be lowered (raise compression) to allow the engine to burn the additional nitro content and achieve maximum race engine performance. This process should only be performed by a trained rc engine mechanic as improper head button clearance can cause premature engine failure. Novarossi Marine USA also recommends the proper use of an engine depth gauge for this measurement instead of quick check methods such as the use of plastigauge. Novarossi routinely uses dish topped pistons and tapered squish methods on their head buttons that would greatly reduce the accuracy of using any method other than a quality rc engine depth gauge.
I had one of my resellers, RRC, reach out to me for an official Novarossi engine break-in procedure. I have has several boaters, especially new boaters, request this information from me many times. I had a few minutes today and put the following together. This information helps sport boaters but I think will help many racers as well. Some may or may not agree with every word, but this is a general statemwnt to cover the vast majority of customers served by Novarossi Marine USA and its resellers. Please let me know your thoughts before I post this on the website. Your valuable input is appreciated. Thank you.
NOVAROSSI MARINE USA RECOMMENDED NEW ENGINE BREAK-IN PROCEDURE
It is important to break-in any new RC engine properly, as to not not diminish motor life. Attempting to rush this process by means such as lapping the piston to the liner will only serve to greatly reduce the overall life of the engine. The proper method of break-in starts with a total fuel premium synthetic lubrication content of no less than 12%. Also, an additional 4oz of premium engine castor oil such as Benzol Castor oil should also be added to each gallon of racing fuel for additional engine protection. The proper bench ( bench motor mount or while mounted in the rc boat) break in period should always start by preheating the engine to at least 200 degrees (verified with a quality digital thermal temp gun) before attempting to start. Any locally available heat gun or monokote heat gun will work well. This will allow the engine to properly expand to operating temps before starting. This pre-heating process should be repeated on a cold engine until the plug can be removed and the squeak (due to new piston/sleeve fit) goes away at piston top-dead-center. There also needs to be a proper method of adjustable water cooling available to keep the engine around 200 degrees throughout each running period. Many simply use a water source and fuel pump with a variable flow to achieve cooling. Once the engine is running, you must routinely check temps to verify proper 200 degree operation and cooling. It is also very important to run the engine very rich during the break-in, to the point that plenty of smoke is coming from the pipe and the engine is running so rich you will probably need to keep the glow driver attached just to keep it running. Just the flow of fuel in a extremely rich engine will serve to help keep the temperature down as the engine is running. This process can take anywhere from ½-1 gallon of fuel to achieve. Once this important step is completed, you are ready to start making rich laps at the pond. You should still make several tanks of rich runs before you start attempting to properly lean the engine for optimum operation. Important note: Never Never run any rc engine lean to the point of pulling, distorting, or completely destroying the glow plug element. This practice will lead to premature wear and eventual destruction of the engine.
Please note: All Novarossi Engines have the head button-to-top of piston clearance set to run with a nitro content of 25% from the factory (European standard). If your racing organization allows higher content racing fuel, the head clearance should be lowered (raise compression) to allow the engine to burn the additional nitro content and achieve maximum race engine performance. This process should only be performed by a trained rc engine mechanic as improper head button clearance can cause premature engine failure. Novarossi Marine USA also recommends the proper use of an engine depth gauge for this measurement instead of quick check methods such as the use of plastigauge. Novarossi routinely uses dish topped pistons and tapered squish methods on their head buttons that would greatly reduce the accuracy of using any method other than a quality rc engine depth gauge.
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