Ran out of gas

[twiztedrevo]

Hello,

I just bought my first nitro truck(revo). I was breaking in the engine and was on my last tank when I ran out of fuel. I know this can cause harm to the motor. Do you think from your experiences this actually did any harm? Or as long as I don't do it again I will be ok.

[Dad-to-a-Marine]

Running them out of fuel can cause the engine to go lean. It shouldn't be any trouble as long as you didn't have it sitting around idleing for very long before it ran out. I always try to refill my tank when it is at 1/4 or so. After you have ran it a few times you'll get to know how long it can go on a tank and when to refill so it doesn't run low.

[dhutch]

No, dont worry, it will be fine, never heard of it doing any harm.
- It does run a little lean towards the end, but it really wont do any harm in the space of time.
- I run my car dry the last run of everyday, as do most people

Nitro engines are fussy things, and you have to take a certain amount of care.
- But at the same time, there fairly tollerant of one-off mistakes.


Daniel

[zakerid]

dont sweat it. also don't rev it when it is running out of fuel.

[BullyDawg]

I always run mine out of gas, no big deal, just don't try anything when it is low on gas

[TB RACING]

Limit the times you run it out of fuel. Like DHUTCH said it leans out, the only problem is over time this causes engine damage!! You should be performing "after-run" maintenance so you will want to keep a little fuel in the system to do it.

[jhunz]

you'll notice higher rev when it start to dry up on fuel... engine run faster coz of leaner mixture and lesser weight but no sweat!!! - let the engine suck it dry up!!! then as TB said, do "after-run" maintenance religiously...

[dhutch]

What do you guys do for after-run maintaince then?
- Depending on where i was driving, how mucky it got, and when im plaining to take it out next, i often do no after-run maintaince at all and it doesnt seam to be suffering, certainly not the engine anyway.


Daniel

[TB RACING]

What do you guys do for after-run maintaince then?
- Depending on where i was driving, how mucky it got, and when im plaining to take it out next, i often do no after-run maintaince at all and it doesnt seam to be suffering, certainly not the engine anyway.


Daniel
If you don’t do the maintenance your engine will rust!!!!!After Run maintenance should be performed when you will not be running the car for the rest of the day (or at least for 1 hour). The first thing I do when performing this is to let the car cool down (about 5 minutes), remove the body, remove the air cleaner. Now get a can of WD-40, start the car and spray a 1 second burst into the intake. Now your car should stall due to the excess fuel you left in the system finally burned out. Remove the glow plug, open to full throttle and spray a 1 second burst into the intake and also a 1 second burst into the top of the engine (where the glow plug goes). Now connect the easy start ant try to start the car for about 5-10 seconds (the car won’t start due to any fuel). Once you have completed this with WD-40 you are good to store your car for the night or a month. The reason you use WD-40 is to lubricate the engine components and WD-40 removes water settlements that Nitro fuel leaves behind. The rest of the maintenance is just clean the car up, the more junk you have sticking to the car the less efficient it will run, a nice can of rubbing alcohol, q-tips and compressed air does a great job.

[BullyDawg]

You got that From the Traxxas movie...Didn't you...LOL

[TB RACING]

You got that From the Traxxas movie...Didn't you...LOL
I got it from my Traxxas manual and from 8 years of experiance and two frozen motors from rust. :D

[dhutch]

If you don’t do the maintenance your engine will rust!!!!!After Run maintenance should be performed when you will not be running the car for the rest of the day (or at least for 1 hour). The first thing I do when performing this is to let the car cool down (about 5 minutes), remove the body, remove the air cleaner. Now get a can of WD-40, start the car and spray a 1 second burst into the intake. Now your car should stall due to the excess fuel you left in the system finally burned out. Remove the glow plug, open to full throttle and spray a 1 second burst into the intake and also a 1 second burst into the top of the engine (where the glow plug goes). Now connect the easy start ant try to start the car for about 5-10 seconds (the car won’t start due to any fuel). Once you have completed this with WD-40 you are good to store your car for the night or a month. The reason you use WD-40 is to lubricate the engine components and WD-40 removes water settlements that Nitro fuel leaves behind. The rest of the maintenance is just clean the car up, the more junk you have sticking to the car the less efficient it will run, a nice can of rubbing alcohol, q-tips and compressed air does a great job.
I run it dry of fuel when ever i leave it
- If im leaving it more that about a week, i do put afterun oil into the carb and the glowplug hole, and turn it over several times, while it still warm.

However, im not sure even that is strickly nessary, most fuels now have very good corrosion preventatives in them, and in about 10 years of this hobbie, and 2years of running nitro, i've never heard, or witnessed any problems with rusting engines.

But, im not trying to say im right. You certainly wont do any harm to you engine doing you WD-40 thing. (as long as you dont go ott and hydro-lock it!)


Daniel

[TB RACING]

I run it dry of fuel when ever i leave it
- If im leaving it more that about a week, i do put afterun oil into the carb and the glowplug hole, and turn it over several times, while it still warm.

However, im not sure even that is strickly nessary, most fuels now have very good corrosion preventatives in them, and in about 10 years of this hobbie, and 2years of running nitro, i've never heard, or witnessed any problems with rusting engines.

But, im not trying to say im right. You certainly wont do any harm to you engine doing you WD-40 thing. (as long as you dont go ott and hydro-lock it!)


Daniel
I agree with you, however the Nitro in the fuel still attracts moisture and that’s the killer. Have you ever left a bottle of fuel outside and noticed the moisture buildup inside? You really don’t need to spend the money on "after run oil" because WD-40 does the same and is cheaper. The 2 motors I had were not taken care of (my early years) that’s why they froze from rust.

[Racing t]

what do I have to do if a have to store my engine for more than a month.

[chrisoneal]

i read somewere u could put after run oil in there and store it in a zip lock bag

[tready]

i`ve been running nitro engines for about 17 years non were looked after properly they all work fine even covered in burnt castor oil not proud of it though always out for as long as poss i just put them away dirty in the end go to clean them the next day and end up fiddling with a loose tie rod or broken body mount

[Dad-to-a-Marine]

“Have you ever left a bottle of fuel outside and noticed the moisture buildup inside?”

I am sorry but I have seen this myth posted just one too many times on this message board. Moisture cannot enter a tightly sealed fuel bottle. What you perceive to be water forming on the plastic is not water; rather they are alcohol droplets.

Warning: The following is scientific and educational. If you have an adverse reaction to such things please do not read on. The following explanation has been known to cause the firing of neurons which encourage receptor reactions that in turn cause the expansion of knowledge.

First we’ll look at the bottle which is made from a polyethylene (not polycarbonate which is used to Lexan) plastic. A molecule of polyethylene is nothing more than a long chain of carbon atoms, with two hydrogen atoms attached to each carbon atom. To draw it out it would look something like this

H H H H H H H H H H H
| | | | | | | | | | |
C C C C C C C C C C C
| | | | | | | | | | |
H H H H H H H H H H H

Water is, as I am sure everyone here knows, H2o which when drawn out looks something like this

H H H H H H H H H H H
| | | | | | | | | | |
o o o o o o o o o o o
| | | | | | | | | | |
H H H H H H H H H H H

Now we must conceder the charge of each atom. In the case of the polyethylene atom we have two positive charged hydrogen atoms holding one negative charged carbon atom. In water we have two positive hydrogen and one negative oxygen. If we think in electrical terms each atom cancels the other out and there is no attraction. In other words polyethylene will not hold (absorb) or attract water, period. Next look at the physical size of a polyethylene molecule when compared to water (because both have two hydrogen atoms we only need to look at the carbon and oxygen atoms). Carbon is about .22 nanometers in diameter (remember that diamonds which are pure carbon is the hardest thing known to man? This is because carbon is the smallest atom and the densest material we know of); oxygen on the other hand is nearly .50 nanometers in diameter. So what does this mean for us? It means that we effectively build up a molecular wall of polyethylene that is so dense that water cannot, ever, pass through it.

So what are those droplets in the bottle? They are simply the effects of alcohol evaporation. Alcohol has a max density of .7885 and a flashpoint of 13*C. This means that a gallon of alcohol weighs just .7885% of water by volume (if 1 cubic foot of water weighed 10 lbs then one cubic foot of alcohol would weigh 7.885 pounds). The flashpoint is the temperature at which alcohol begins to evaporate (13*C or 57*F). Anytime that you have dissimilar temperatures you’re going to find condensation. Because alcohol has such a low dew point anytime the temperature outside the bottle raises above the temperature inside the bottle (and both temps are above alcohol’s flashpoint) you’re going to find “dew” drops inside the bottle. This effect will become more pronounced as you lower the level of fuel in the bottle. If there is enough alcohol in the bottle you might even notice a pressure buildup within the bottle itself.

[tready]

i'll go and look at my heli fuel it's about 6yrs old now and has been in a sealed container which is outside in the shed but has been stored also in a plastic storage chest before i got the shed i think that after that amount of time the fuels would have seperated somewhat so there would be three layers methanol+nitrous+castor oil i guess but no water

[tready]

too dark i'll do it in the morning when i get up plus it's freezing out there

[RespirologyRC]

Very nice explanation!! Take this for what it's worth: I've been running Nitro long enough--Nuf said. I run my engines dry everytime I race or bash, and never had I had any problems by doing so. Think about this: New engines come out all the time and sooner or later your going to want to buy a newer, faster, better engine. It's part of the hobby--wanting to upgrade your rig. Now I've been running the same Fantom .15 since they first came out 7years ago, and never have I bothered to run after run oil after letting it sit for an hour or for 7 months. This engine starts and idles reliably and runs strong. I have put about 3 gallons on this engine and still have yet to replace any bearings, pistons, or sleeves. I have several other engines and I give them as much maintenance as I do to my Fantom engine. BUT what I do take very good care of are my Carburators; I clean them when they look dirty around the air intake. I also oil it with after run oilt to prevent it from getting sticky due to the oils left over from the fuel. I have had carbs seize on me due to the oils. Because of this thread I decided to take apart my Fantom 15 and see how the insides look, and to my surprise everything looks nice and silver. No rusting or anything close. I have noticed though a decrease in compression but this is to be expected considering that I put 3 gallons through her.

Dad-to-a-marine : you will notice that as your engine goes through more tanks of fuel, your run times should start to increase and your engine temps will drop. This happens because your engine will finally be broken-in; you should lean her out a tad bit more at this point. Lastly whenever your done running your engine or when your just letting it cool down make sure that the piston is at bottom dead center. This will allow the top of the sleeve to shrink back. The brass sleeves in these engines will widen due to heat and will shrink back to their original size as they cool. One way to do this right it to mark your fly wheel. Get a sharpie and place a mark on the 12 O'clock spot to indicate when your piston is down. This will great save wear on your sleeve and assure a long life.

[tready]

i`'ve just stripped my irvine 32 helli engine not been used since i met my wife 6yrs ago now it`s all clean carb's a bit sticky but alittle fuel soon freed it up might have to crank it up later in the week the fuel is totaled just a cloudy mess. My other engines are all stock kyosho's exept for my sandmaster conversion which is an O.S .10 they are good runners despite the lack of TLC

[carpy]

Dad-TO-a-marine: Well done, I was going to reply to the 'water in the fuel', bit with " No it doesn't", but you beat me to it........ and added a lot more words too :D

[dhutch]

“Have you ever left a bottle of fuel outside and noticed the moisture buildup inside?”

I am sorry but I have seen this myth posted just one too many times on this message board. Moisture cannot enter a tightly sealed fuel bottle. What you perceive to be water forming on the plastic is not water; rather they are alcohol droplets.
Yeah, ive seen it a lot, and tryed to put people right about it too.
- Also heard somone trying to tell somone there gas left though the bottom of the bottle if you left in on a clod floor. "hence the 'gas-spot' when you move the bottle...." :rolleyes:

Methanol (the main body of our fuel) is hydroscopic, and so it does aborb/attact water out of the surounding air, so you do haev to take some care to keep it in an airtight container, prefrable not opening it too often, and preferably expelling some/all of the excess air before hand.
- However, it does not have super-human powers and a wish to destroy itself!

Sign.


Daniel

[leoboy254]

“Have you ever left a bottle of fuel outside and noticed the moisture buildup inside?”

I am sorry but I have seen this myth posted just one too many times on this message board. Moisture cannot enter a tightly sealed fuel bottle. What you perceive to be water forming on the plastic is not water; rather they are alcohol droplets.
insert massive explanation
im in 8th grade right now and i understood all u said about the atoms and the other stuff. i guess all that very detailed atom info i just recently learned in science does help

[DaveG]

Hello,

I just bought my first nitro truck(revo). I was breaking in the engine and was on my last tank when I ran out of fuel. I know this can cause harm to the motor. Do you think from your experiences this actually did any harm? Or as long as I don't do it again I will be ok.


You did absolutely no damage to your engine. Also, you do not have to worry about if you do it again. If you look on the fuel line on your truck you will see a red clamp. That is the engine shut off clamp. It is designed to shut off fuel flow to the engine (run out of gas) and is Traxxas' prefered method to shut off the motor.
For the record, I prefer to block the stinger. It's almost always easier to get to in a hurry.

[dhutch]

My preferd way is the hand over the air filter technique, but that depends on the style of air filter as to how feasable it is.
- I also quite often stop it by placing my thumb on the flywheel.


Daniel

[kawasakirider]

i run my buggy dry every tank , is this harmfull? also i do not do any after run maintinence exceept for clean it for ages until it looks like i pulled it out of the box . Oh and i never put my piston in bottom dead centre , could i wreck my motor? i think i did it when i was running it in but this is what i was doing : i was taking out the glow plug and pulling my pullstart and leaving my piston down the bottom . Is this bottom dead centre?

[kawasakirider]

oh btw i run my buggy for about 2 hours everyday

[ritchies rc10gt]

my cars sit all winter long,about 4 months with fuel in the tanks.i take them out in the spring and they are gummed up.get it running and its fine.never had 1 rust.bought a used buggy the other day that sat for 2 years with fuel in it.gummed up solid but no rust

[kawasakirider]

so ill be ok?

[ritchies rc10gt]

itll be fine.

[kawasakirider]

thank you now when i go to bed ill sleep easy now

[DaveG]

My preferd way is the hand over the air filter technique, but that depends on the style of air filter as to how feasable it is.
- I also quite often stop it by placing my thumb on the flywheel.


Daniel

Be careful of that air filter method. It's possable to knock dirt into the carb like that.
Stopping the flywheel will work but I prefer using a stick instead of my finger on the flywheel.
I like the exhaust method because most nitro vehicles have a stinger/pipe that you can get to w/o any dissassembly or fumbling. The only exception that I'm aware of is nitro outboard marine engines, but the flywheel is always exposed on those so they're not a problem to stop either.
Of course, the down side to that is that the pipe can be very hot.

[dhutch]

Yeah, i am award of that probelm, as i said, i depents on the fliter.
- I use the OS filter, which you can close of easy with a flat palm agaisnt the rubber.

http://www2.gpmd.com/image/o/osmg2383.jpg


Daniel

[mxermadman]

I have gotten 8 gallons through my Revo, almost twice the predicted amount, I only put after run (WD40) through if I don't plan on running within the next few weeks. And like DaveG says, Traxxas recomends running the motor out of fuel to shut it off but this is at an idle. Don't run it out at high speeds or it will run lean.