Whittle V8 WIP-2

[Rob.Barrett]

A pair of carbs - very nearly finished.

Rob

 

[willburrrr2003]

Rob,

A fantastic build thread, and I have to say your engine is stunning!!!

Regards,

Will R. Everett, WA.

 

[xpylonracer]

Hi Rob

Have you test run the engine yet ?
I am still at making crankshaft stage !!!

Rgds, Emgee

 

[Rob.Barrett]

Hi Emgee,

If anyone can show me a video of one of these engines running, besides the original Eric Whittle one on youtube, Id be most grateful 'cus I can't get it to run. I still have a couple of things to try, after that it's going to join all the other stuff collecting dust on the shelf!

Rob

 

[idahoan]

Hi Rob

That is a beautiful little engine; it would be a shame to give up on it after all that work. I'm sure you will get it sorted out. I got it see Eric's engine at the first PRIME show years ago; I have a VHS video of that one but it is the only one I have ever seen.

Dave

 

[Motormagican]

I joined this site to learn from others who like to build engines and other such items. I never thought I would be able to watch all the great projects and the skill level of all you outstanding builders on here. Like all the others, this is a beautiful engine. I am amazed by all I see on here. Very nice work indeed.

Danny

 

[petertha]

.. Id be most grateful 'cus I can't get it to run. I still have a couple of things to try, after that it's going to join all the other stuff collecting dust on the shelf!
Rob

I'm a complete newbie so take this accordingly. When I was scoping out glow engine projects for a radial design (which I'm still drawing up!), there seemed to be some re-occurring themes about driving glow plugs simultaneously with sufficient energy. Some folks built dedicated circuits, others have gone low tech & divided the task but with specific batteries & wiring. I have lots of RC engine experience & I know sometimes glow can be fussy with only ONE cylinder as some parameters inter-relate: (heat rating, nitro content). I could envision more plugs like yours = potentially more issues. This of course assumes all the fundamentals are ok: compression, timing, fuel, carburation etc. You didnt indicate what you thought might be the culprit, so thought I'd just throw this out FWIW.

Beautiful engine. It would be a shame to put it on the shelf, but I can certainly appreciate potential complexity at such a small scale. I'm sure there are lots of qualified people here that can collaboratively help.

Is it popping at all & then not running well? Or not starting?

 

[G91]

my goodness thats NICE!!!....i just happen to have some extra shelf space should you run out of room ;D

 

[jpeter]

You can store it on my shelf.

 

[jpeter]

You can store it on my shelf.

Each glow plug takes about 3 amps @ 1.5 volts. So 8 plugs need 24 amps at 1.5 volts. That's a lot of power supply.

 

[stevehuckss396]

You can store it on my shelf.

Each glow plug takes about 3 amps @ 1.5 volts. So 8 plugs need 24 amps at 1.5 volts. That's a lot of power supply.

I'm thinking the same thing. I have a 9 cylinder Cox based engine that has never ran for the same reason.

Jerry James has a glow driver that can handle 4 cylinders. Maybe 2 of them might be the ticket. They connect to a 12 volt battery and deliver the correct voltage and lots of current to each cylinder. Maybe he can cut you a deal for buying 2 at a time.

http://www.jamesengine.com/index_files/Page435.htm

 

[Speedy]

^^^ Just you wait my friend.
I will build it and it will run. just waiting for school to finnish in December. to start the build

I think they make 8 cylinder glow drivers but they are above 150$
robarts comes to mind but im not sure at the moment

 

[xpylonracer]

Hi Rob

Thanks for posting your work to date, I'm now interested to know more about why the engine fails to run.
This is the second completed engine recently reported that has so far failed the running test, could it be a common fault ?
Are you using an electric starter ?

Rgds, Emgee

 

[Rob.Barrett]

Thanks everyone for your input.
I can assure everyone that after a lot of work and cost I have solved the power supply problem. I have two 2v 25A/hr batteries in parallel. These give 1.5v at each plug - the max the plugs can take.
I'm thinking the issue may be with piston rings or combustion camber design. I'll let you all know how it goes.
I've got distracted with a third scale Austin Seven engine i've started working on, pictures to follow.

Thanks again,
Rob

 

[blighty]

I'm probable wrong about this, but anything is worth a try

going by your pic (nice engine by the way) your prop is saying your engine is turning anti clock wise (looking from the front...conventional model I.C direction). i have been lead to believe that the Whittle V8 turns in the other direction...... i.e you would need a pusher prop.

think i read this on a Yahoo user group, as they was discussing how to adjust the timing so the engine would turn the other way so you could use "normal" props.