cleaning cox 049

[thunderstreak.keith]

Hi just a quicky, at the moment due to limited flying field sites (3 small ones) I am building small airplanes capable of 2 ch cox powered.

I put a squirt of "car plan choke and carby cleaner in the port to rid the dreaded oil siezure. loosens it all up lovely ready for next flying session.

my Q is will this stuff damage the glow head (being platinum)?

contents are not listed on the spray can. And if the plane is going to be stored a tiny amount of 3in1 is worked around before a long storage period

cheers keith

[Peter Christy]

Very unlikely to damage the glow-plug! Platinum is a good catalyst, but pretty unreactive in the normal sense.

Give it a good prime and flick it over a couple of times before attaching the glow lead and it will be fine.

The biggest problem I've found with Cox reed valve engines that have been laid up for a while, is freeing up the reed valve. That and the needle valve tend to get gummed up with old oil, and initially they only run on the prime. Persevere, and eventually they will clear themselves.

A good cursing often helps!

(Flying Cox reed valves since 1961!)

--

Pete

[thunderstreak.keith]

cheers pete, this cox came from a 1970s cox fledgling and runs lovely on 5% just making sure i am not going to knacker it. original glow head as well. got 4 other cox(nearly new/barely run before) and i just cant get them to run except in reverse on the same fuel. perseverence i suppose. think i need to buy the 20% to get those to run. 1 is a beatifull texaco which came in the original box all paperwork and spanner, just wondering what to put it in. it was purchased 1974 (sales receipt in box) 0.5 L of 20% fuel is roughly £11.00 do you know any cheaper? cant buy nitro to dose the fuel i have as you need a licence apparently.

cheers for comment keith

[BackinBlack]

Avoid using 3in1 oil, it does more harm than good over time as it has a corrosive effect. Better use a good 2 stroke oil.

Stay Safe

Ian

[Alan Gorham_]

Like Peter said, the cylinder gumming up is not really your major concern with Reed valve Cox engines. It's the fuel passage/needle and the Reed. I always used to inject a ml or so of IPA into the thread where the needle screws in to hopefully wash out any fuel residue before storing the engine.

I'm not sure 3 in 1 oil is very good for model engines.

I think your facts on the Cox Texaco may be wrong. I always thought that came onto the market in the late 1980s to suit a competitive class that was popular in the US then. Also I am fairly certain that the Texaco engine was designed to run on lower nitro fuel than most other Coxes.

You most certainly can buy nitro on it's own in small quantities without I license. Model Technics and Southern Modelcraft both sell it.

Edited By Alan Gorham_ on 18/04/2020 20:11:05

[thunderstreak.keith]

cheers for the info all. yes alan your right, it was march 28 1984 not 74. couldnt read the receipt clearly. as for nitro the sheet states cox super power which is 25% nitro 5% castor. it also states the warrenty will be void if/ castor is not used also run engine till empty and oil with a few drops of SAE10/3-in-one oil or sewing machine oil. but thats by the by anyway lol i think the warrenties up. in those days the warrenty only lasted 90 days so i think its up.

your point on nitro availability, i phoned model tecnics about supplying nitro and it was them who advised me that they cant supply it to joe public without them holding a licence. also a few local garages cant get it for me for the same reason. so it looks like £11 for 0.5L disgusting price i say. I believe this engine was produced for a new class of competition, hence naming it texaco. gonna have to search for some plans of the type of designs they were put in

i just love these little engines simply because when i was a kid in the 60s/70s it was could afford. i think i lost 2 fly aways with all my pocket money on the front. fun days then, being a "FETCHERMITE"

keith

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Posted by Alan Gorham_ on 18/04/2020 20:09:50:

You most certainly can buy nitro on it's own in small quantities without I license. Model Technics and Southern Modelcraft both sell it.

Are you sure, Alan? The last time I checked, the possession of nitromethane or mixed fuel from 30% nitro and above needed you to have purchased a licence at considerable cost.

Edited By Martin Harris on 18/04/2020 23:42:47

[thunderstreak.keith]

yes martin, its classed as an explosive, not sure why. surely our glo fuel is just as explosive? hence my previous comment above after i phoned model technics.

[Alan Gorham_]

Posted by Martin Harris on 18/04/2020 23:41:14:

Posted by Alan Gorham_ on 18/04/2020 20:09:50:

You most certainly can buy nitro on it's own in small quantities without I license. Model Technics and Southern Modelcraft both sell it.

Are you sure, Alan? The last time I checked, the possession of nitromethane or mixed fuel from 30% nitro and above needed you to have purchased a licence at considerable cost.

Edited By Martin Harris on 18/04/2020 23:42:47

You are quite right and I was wrong Martin. However, thinking about the OPs fuel more, I doubt I would buy nitro to add to 5% nitro fuel to try and make a 25% nitro mix. By the time you had bought the nitro and the extra oil it would most certainly be cheaper and simpler to buy a litre of pre mixed 25% nitro fuel. That is definitely still possible without the need to obtain a license and would suit most Cox engines just fine.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Engine Doctor]

Posted by BackinBlack on 18/04/2020 20:08:27:

Avoid using 3in1 oil, it does more harm than good over time as it has a corrosive effect. Better use a good 2 stroke oil.

Stay Safe

Ian

+ 1 for that . 3 in 1 oil is corrosive and will do lasting damage ,it also sets like varnish . Two stroke oil is good . I also use Air tool oil for laying up. It doesn't set or dry out like many other oils.