Hi All,

When I removed the exhaust flange from the head of my Changfa, the gasket came off in two pieces    
It's the type where a metal gasket is sandwiched between two paper (or asbestose) gaskets to make one piece.
There is no way I will be able to find a local replacement.
Part of the paper stuck to the flange and the rest (including the metal inner) stayed on the head.

Do I need a metal core gasket to replace it ? or is there a good non-metallic gasket that can be used for exhaust connections ?

thanks
veggie

Has anyone taken an ST head above it's rating ?

Part 1:
I am wondering if the ST types have a service factor.
Some heads state a "rated" wattage and an intermittent "peak" wattage (eg: 4000/4800)
Does an ST-5 burn up at 5.1 kw's ?

Part2:
Can an ST head operate continuous at it's rating ? (eg: ST-5 running continuous at 5kw)

cheers,
veggie

FIRST SMOKE (again)

Got my little LR1 running today after a long dormancy and a trip from the UK to North America.
Thanks to TimSR2 for the pointers on bleeding the fuel system. 

Runs like a champ !
First run....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmCbNA0oTSc

Second run.... (with the engine repositioned to control the bouncing)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhNS7U3UF8k&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

veggie

Hi All,

For those who have not already seen this.....
The holidays allowed me a bit of free time to finish up my Listeroid powerplant project.
After a year of "on-and-off" attention, this project is finally done.
Rather than explain my setup, I made a "walkaround" video of the unit.
This is a GM90 Listeroid coupled to a Voltmaster 4kw head.
Currently the engine is de-rated from 900 rpm to 650 rpm where it produces 5HP (or 2.5 kw electrical @ full loaded).
I did try to coax 3kw from it but the black smoke told me it was too much.  

Later, I may change the sheaves and run it at 900 rpm to get the full 8HP and 4kws of power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l562wUof59c

cheers,
veggie

***GM90 HEAD GASKETS***

Hi everyone,

I have been working with John to produce a gasket for us GM90 users.
I sent a GM90 head gasket to John at "Gaskets to Go" and a gasket is now available for the 6hp and 8hp GM90 models.

John is making the gasket available via an Ebay page here.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150603027096

I have tried the gasket myself and I am happy with the results,
veggie

As I see it, the reason why we will always see test results that are all over the map is because there is no standard for the fuel.

WMO is a moving target. It's made up of all kinds of oils, additives, solvents and even anti-freeze.
The varying concentrations of these components means that every user will have a different base fuel to compare to others.
What works for one person may fail miserably for another even though the engines are prepared identically. Why, because the fuels are almost guaranteed to be different (even though they are both WMO).

Here's a chunk of text from a post I did last year when investigating the burning of synthetic oils and why some oils burn better than others.

Just for contrast, here are nominal flash points for various fuels and oils..

Diesel #1 ---100f
Diesel #2 ---125f
Kerosene ---150f
Biodiesel ---260f
Motor oil --- 450 f
Petroleum synthetics--- 485f
PAO Synthetics ---525f
Olafin Ester Synthetics ---725f

As you can see, the high end synthetics have a strong resistance to autoignition

One can clearly see the massive difference in "burnability" (if thats a word ?) and how varying concentrations of these oils could drastically effect the combustion process.

One person may report lots of carbon, another may report excessive ash, while another person may have very clean burning.

IMHO...for this reason, it's a waste of time trying to compare one person's experience with WMO to your own.
Chances are, no two fuels will ever be alike.

Let's everyone share your findings with WVO and it's filtration and preparation, but let's also accept that your personal findings may vary greatly from what others post.

veggie