Starting & Running the ED Comp Special model diesel engine

This is a short running session with an early E.D. Comp. Special vintage diesel engine. It's always been one of my favourites.
After the running session, I realised that I'd really been running the engine too lean. Another half a turn open on the fuel needle would have given a smoother note, but that didn't affect the great first flick starting...

[@wonderfulcat]

I love the way you usually give your diesels a nice squirt of fuel before you start them. I have been rather soundly told off for doing this in some of my videos. I managed to fly my Radio Queen and Taplin Twin Green Head at Cocklebarrow farm last July. I'm just about squeezing enough power out of it to take off!

[@briancox3691]

Thanks for your kind comments. Thankfully, nobody tells me off. The only criterion is how well you start and run the engine, not other people's theories. Pretending that great precision is needed makes some people feel expert. My objective is just to show that it's dead easy. There's something amiss with your RQ. A TT should fly it with power to spare... Is it way over weight? Is the engine performing properly?

[@timhooper8617]

I was given one of these too. Added a home made RC carb, and now it sees regular air time in my vintage Zoomerang.

[@robinholt5661]

I’ve just made a carb for one of these as it came without one, do you have details of your homemade rc carb as I’d love to make one!

[@sidneydawe9937]

My early long stroke straight flanked Mills 1.3 is also easy to start. These low revving diesels seem to run forever and are great for free flight turning a large prop.

[@briancox3691]

Yes!

[@daniellyne9420]

Brian ,thanks for the advice on running the E.D. hunter engine! Think I've got the hang of it now! Regards Danny

[@briancox3691]

OK. Thanks for letting me know.

[@misfitsailor]

Lovely! I have one of these also. Great runner!

[@briancox3691]

misfitsailor Thank you Sir. More videos coming very soon...

[@pedrotincani9831]

Alguns motores ultrapassam os limites da engenharia e podem ser classificados como uma pequena obra de arte. Magnifico!

[@briancox3691]

I don't understand, but Thank you!

[@pedrotincani9831]

@@briancox3691 well my enghish it s a litle bit rusted so excuse me my mistakes. Lets try Some engines are result of enginering ptodct , other like this has much more, its a art in high level. Wonderful , beatiful .👏👏👏

[@briancox3691]

@@pedrotincani9831 Thank you!

[@faucheurdemarguerites6639]

Très sympa ce moteur , encore un que j' aimerais posséder !

[@briancox3691]

Merci, En effet, beaucoup de moteurs anciens sont encore très utilisables aujourd'hui, et celui-ci en est un.

[@daniellyne9420]

Hi,that looks great!I have an old ed hunter which runs great but I don't know how to adjust it properly, I see some references to the colour of the oil from the exhaust ! Can you advise?...please! Danny

[@briancox3691]

Hi Danny, Some people think that over-compression makes the exhaust residue turn black. I disagree and I don't believe that at all. Some engines have blacker exhaust residue than others, but it's related to port timing and possibly to the fuel mix as well. Think about it. If you have an engine running with a dark exhaust residue, reducing compression doesn't make the residue become clear! And similarly, if your engine is running with clear exhaust residue, increasing the compression doesn't make the residue change colour! Concerning your ED Hunter, to find the best settings, the best advice I could give you would be to get the engine running, then reduce compression until the engine starts missing (4 stroking), then increase the compression very slightly, so that the engine is just 2 stroking (no longer missing). i.e. you have the minimum compression for consistent running. Then adjust the running using the fuel needle only, like a glow engine. Have a look at this video, and let us know how you get on! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYDTYn1_dqmjgZo Thanks for your interest, BC

[@roberto51it]

Hi Brian, did you make something like this with ED Penny Slot engine? I have one of those and could be nice to know how to operate it...

[@briancox3691]

+roberto51it Hi Roberto, I haven't done a Penny Slot video yet, but I will do one soon. There are so many engines that I want to put on video, but we've had very bad weather (rain and poor light) for the last few months. It will happen soon. Thanks for your interest, Brian

[@doonsidemills6787]

Nice engine brIan

[@briancox3691]

Thank you Sir. I hope to do many more of these videos. I can feel an imminent attack of spark ignition coming on...

[@doonsidemills6787]

Hi there I have just added a ED .MK 3 vintage 1948 engine test.

[@chickenman1801]

I just found one of these in a garage, covered in saw dust and disassembled. I have no idea where to start or even if I have all the pieces. Any Ideas?

[@briancox3691]

Hi, First of all, obviously I have no means of knowing whether you have all the pieces either!!! If the bits that you have really are from an ED Comp Special, then it would be dead easy to assemble the engine, as they're extremely simple! But this is ignoring the fact that it's unlikely that someone disassembled a good running engine for no reason at all... The engine was probably disassembled due to some problem. If you need more specific help, you could send me some photos of all the bits to [e-mail] Regards, BC

[@chickenman1801]

There is tons of sawdust too, how would I clean this engine?

[@briancox3691]

Start by washing all the parts in petrol. Get them as clean as you can, using an old toothbrush and rags, etc. Then, when you've removed all the muck, lightly oil all the parts, to prevent rust. Looking at a few similar engines, you should easily get some idea of how to reassemble. You have, of course, got the engine assembly screws... haven't you?

[@chickenman1801]

What is petrol in Canadian? gasoline? Also I was wrong about it being disassembled, I guess this is all of it. I sent you some photos.

[@briancox3691]

Yeah, pump gas.

[@cdh997]

Très bon coup de patte pour le démarrage

[@shootingsolution0123]

у мотора люфт на каленчатом вале, но мотор раритетный и главное, что рабочий👍

[@user-xm8ud3nn6m]

hola me encanta ese motor sabrias si hay planos o que largo y ancho tiene el piston y en cilindro

[@briancox3691]

Thanks for your interest. Sorry I don't understand, so I tried the Google translation and I don't understand that either! Thanks anyway!

[@user-xm8ud3nn6m]

@@briancox3691 I am writing to you through the translator, what diameter and length is the piston and cylinder?

[@briancox3691]

@@user-xm8ud3nn6m This is a very old English engine, so the original dimensions are in inches! But converted, the bore (diameter) is 12.7 mm and the stroke is 15.875 mm.

[@Zonuna_Chawngthu]

wow just watch your video, I got this engine long time back from my cousin, I tried starting it a few years back but cannot, can you please shed some light on the fuel mixing, and how to tune the compressor plus the needle valve ?? I am an aeromodeller but never tried on diesel engine

[@briancox3691]

Hi, I'd be pleased to help if I can. First of all the fuel. The only essential ingredients are ether and oil, BUT for various practical reasons (cost, oily exhaust, etc.), the general accepted fuel for this type of engine is a "3 equal parts mixture" of ether, oil and paraffin (or similar). For the oil, castor oil is often preferred, but any good automotive oil will be perfectly OK (i.e. you can use what you put in your car engine!). The "paraffin" ingredient can be kerosene, or domestic heating (stove) fuel, or white spirit, or truck diesel fuel that you get from the filling station. OK, so if your engine is in good condition and you just want to run it as simply as possible, it will run perfectly OK on a 50/50 mixture of ether and good automotive oil, but most people prefer the "3 parts" mixture described above. To run the engine, mount it properly. The best propeller is an old technology soft plastic 10x6, if you can find one. If not, it will run OK on a modern 10x6 (or close to that size). Fill the tank with fuel, or connect up a separate tank if you don't have the original. If you're using a separate tank, make sure the fuel level is about level with the carburettor intake. Then close the fuel needle completely (screw it right down), then unscrew it about 4 complete turns (you'll have to fine tune it afterwards). Unscrew the compression screw a lot (almost completely removed), so that the contra piston is free to rise up the bore. Then put in a fairly generous amount of fuel. You can "suck in" fuel by turning the engine over a couple of turns with your finger over the carburettor intake, and/or you can squirt in a prime like you saw on the video. Finally, and this is important, make sure you can turn the engine over gently (i.e. make sure it's not over-compressed). Now flick the propeller, as I did in the video. If you have plenty of fuel in the engine, flicking should knock the contra-piston back up the bore, to an under-compressed setting. When you get to this point, just keep flicking, gradually increasing compression, say 1/10 of a turn at a time, until the engine fires and runs. That's it! If you have any problems or questions, email me on [e-mail]

[@Zonuna_Chawngthu]

@@briancox3691 Thank you very much for all the details, I will surely try again as soon as possible and let you know

[@user-xm8ud3nn6m]

And what size is the exhaust port?

[@briancox3691]

I don't know. Have a look at this: sceptreflight.com/Model%20Engine%20Tests/ED%20Competition%20Special%20%282%29.html

[@user-xm8ud3nn6m]

@@briancox3691 thank you

[@nagendrarvachar1309]

Sir how is work

[@briancox3691]

Hi, I'm not sure what you mean (sorry!). If you mean how does the engine work, there are plenty of explanations on the Web. You need to Google "model compression ignition engines" or "model diesel engines".

[@nickwf70]

Yeah and made out of old rolhs royce merlin pistons probably

[@briancox3691]

I obviously don't know but, in any case, just after the war, a similar comment would have been valid in all model engine manufacturing countries.

[@nickwf70]

@@briancox3691 www.modelenginenews.org/cardfile/ed_story.html The story of how that engine came to be, great to see it running.

[@VintageTechFan]

@@briancox3691 I have a German book about model engines (and tuning them) here, which talks about making aluminium pistons from material cut out of the piston crown of old (diesel) truck engine pistons.

[@briancox3691]

@@VintageTechFan It's common practice. Model engine builders source their metals anywhere they can. Old automotive crankshafts and heads, etc. are a common source. Just after World War 2, the French manufacturer Allouchery actually wrote that he was using old cooking pots (saucepans) melted down for his crankcase castings.