Lean or Rich?

[heli-cuzz]

This is your guide to see what a proper running nitro heli looks like in flite. :D
Notice the nice smoky exhaust. My heli always has a beautiful looking smoke trail.

These pics are from the very first tank here to the last tank before I sent it out to have a warranty issue taken care of. I like this pic here.

[heli-cuzz]

A couple weeks later. :)

[heli-cuzz]

another week gone by :cool:

[heli-cuzz]

another week past this one is at a funfly. Still smoking. :D

[heli-cuzz]

Still smoking, I love tuning my engines rich. :)

[Helifino]

Way cool cuzz! :)

[heli-cuzz]

Getting down there, on the last gallon with my C-5, this is almost 4 months of flying just about everyday.

[heli-cuzz]

Thanks helifino... Practice, practice, practice..... Go home happy :D

[heli-cuzz]

I didn't see any lean running pics and I have hundreds of smoky trail exhaust pics in my folders.

[blax1]

Wonderful shots Cuzz!!!!!!! :cool:

[tdswan]

From the pictures, it looks like you've got some discoloration on your sleeve. Gotta be running lean! ;)

[cbflys]

There's one picture there where I don't see any smoke ... That must be when you sleeve decided to have a little spin :D

[heli-cuzz]

There's one picture there where I don't see any smoke ... That must be when you sleeve decided to have a little spin :D

Yeah, the one where I'm carrying it. :p

:D

[heli-cuzz]

Rich is good :D

[heli-cuzz]

Let em' smoke :cool:

[heli-cuzz]

Hahahahahahaha :p

[heli-cuzz]

Reeeeeooooowwwwwww :D

[heli-cuzz]

Thinking about switching from PowerMaster30% to CY WildCat30%

I like 2nd hand smoke. :D

[heli-cuzz]

My Trex hiding in the shadows and running super lean, this baby doesn't smoke one bit. :D

[heli-cuzz]

Damn, I miss my lean machine. Soon after thanksgiving, I will be in my new home and the rebuilds will commence. Notice rebuilds is with an S at the end.
Helis, planes, and monster truck. I will have my very own building for my wood shop and heli/plane hangar. 3 helis to fix not including my C~5, 4 planes to fix, and the rear-diff in my monster truck.

[heli-cuzz]

Look at it smoke. :p

[heli-cuzz]

I havn't flown in seven days. :eek: Sorry about all the pics, I'm in heli-depression right now and need something positive. In my 18 months of flying, this has been my longest break from flying a real rcheli.

Oh nooooo, Me flying a Raptor50 :D

[heli-cuzz]

Last one for today... G'nite all. :)

[heli-cuzz]

DoubleC~30 :D

[heli-cuzz]

Ooooooh that smell, the smell of glo-fuel is around you. :D

[heli-cuzz]

I just want to fly, fly, fly... :D

[tdswan]

Lean or rich, anyone??? ;) Yes, you can tell if you look!

[blax1]

Well just to have a go!!! I cant see any emissions therefore its lean :)

[tdswan]

It's a gasser, you won't see the emissions unless it's PIG RICH. Look closer! ;)

edit:
Alright, I'll tell ya anyway....If you look VERY closely at the exhaust opening you'll see a small dribble of oil on the bottom. It's actually just a tad rich, but more on the safe side of "just right".

[blax1]

Yes I realize its the Gasser, and BTW she looks great!!! :) first flight back looking good :cool:
But she is still a two stroke, which obviously can run lean or rich, but I cant see any emissions what so ever and there doesn't appear to be any evidence of any actual liquid coming from the exhaust that I can see. So I will stay with my original diagnosis :)

Boy Oh boy, I've heard of synchronized swimming but synchronized posting thats differnet :D

Ok I take your point, I was thinking logically you guys seem to like em rich so I should have gone with that in the first place, but there was no evidence that I could see.
Cheers Ralph

[tdswan]

I didn't expect anyone to know, gassers are a "different animal". It took a lot of reading up on RunRyder to learn how to do it. I still go a tad richer than they recommend to err on the side of safety. I'm running about 50:1 on 100:1 AmsOil synthetic, so it only smokes when it's first started. It was a bit "unnerving" at first to say the least when I'm so used to seeing the smoke trail from my Raptor. For my weed-eaters I always make sure I see smoke, unfortunately on a heli it's a fine line between smoke and power. :)

[heli-cuzz]

Lean or rich, anyone??? ;) Yes, you can tell if you look!

Looks just right to me td. Nice pic brother. :cool:

TD, I have a zenoah G-26 for my ultra stick and was wondering if it could be used as a heli engine?

[tdswan]

I don't think it can, I think it has something to do with the mounts and such, but I'm not sure. I did a search in the gasser forum on Runryder and don't find anything specific except one thread that mentions that only the "H" version will fit in a gasser. That's all I could find and the thread quickly gets hijacked by some idiot opening debate about carbon frames. Gotta love the "last word" attitude on there. :rolleyes: Your G26 probably has a battery operated ignition system. The Heli version has a balanced flywheel and it's own HEI and coil and probably a different block.

[heli-cuzz]

I love my C-5 :D

[heli-cuzz]

Old pics today, new pics tomorrow. :)

[heli-cuzz]

Today, I'm dragging the wife out to take some pics. It's suppose to be a sweet day weatherwise. :cool: This pic is from 11-5-06

[theBZA]

Smoke is not a GENERAL indication of lean or rich. You can't go by your smoke trail alone.
For starters, stick with one brand of fuel. Different makes of fuel simply have different qualities. Therefor, you will have a HUGE variance in smoke trails.
Another factor of your smoke trail is atmospheric conditions. Different air temperatures, humidity all have a factor. If you never adjust your needle, each day may look a bit different.

When I first started, I used to look at pictures and videos of other guys' smoke trails.
I was corected about that, because it is wrong, wrong, wrong.

The thing that I am concerned with is temperature. Invest in a temp gun. Measure the temp of both the back plate, and the head. On my 50 Hyper, my backplate temp is about 110-115 degrees, the head is a hair below 200. I'm using Morgan CP 30%. Read your engine's manual for operating temps. Those are always a good place to start.

Something else you can do is, after you land, simply put your finger on the back plate. Keep it there as long as you can stand it. You should be able to hold it there for about 6-7 seconds. If it is really hot, you probably wont be able to stand it maybe 2-3 seconds.

Really hot means you are running too lean. pretty cool, you are running too rich.
Aim for 6 to 7 seconds.

[heli-cuzz]

I don't just go by smoke, but after the engine is warmed to operating temp, a good smoke trail is a positive indication of running more towards the rich side. Idling qualities through the midrange and all the way up to the top end are more indications of running lean or rich. Amounts of fuel/oil wash from the exhaust is another indicator. My favorite test is to fly a few circuits then hit throttle hold and auto down to landing, if the engine goes to idle with no hesitation or high revs, she's fine. There are many different ways to test your engine for proper mixture settings.

I never go a day without changing my needle settings a click or few.

[theBZA]

heli-cuzz,

I posted the reply because I think too many readers can be easily mislead into the wrong direction.

before I ever knew what I was doing, I went by smoke trail alone. I had plenty of smoke, so I thoughy it was good. well, the end result was a cooked engine,

[heli-cuzz]

heli-cuzz,

I posted the reply because I think too many readers can be easily mislead into the wrong direction.

before I ever knew what I was doing, I went by smoke trail alone. I had plenty of smoke, so I thoughy it was good. well, the end result was a cooked engine,

No prob. I agree with you.

I like engines that cook, not cooked engines. :cool: