Hi... Me again.... I've just finished some setting and when trying to break the engine, i've experienced a strange main gear stripping. I was not able also to make the clutch alignment and thought this was due to factory reserve that would disapear with some turns.... Have you ever experienced such problems like this ? I was also not using IDLE when breaking the engine, so may be i did it wrong....
I have read that some people are having a similar problem (runryder threads). Century manufactured a batch of pinion gears incorrectly, they are not straight. You can see this because either the clutch bell will "wobble" when turning or the pinion itself will. Call Century's support and ask them about this, they should replace the bad parts. Look around in the gasser forum on runryder and you can see the conversations about this also. PM me on RR for more help.
Hi there, I'm just setting it up. Do you think that stock muffler from zenoah is a miss or can be used ? I've seen a vid from a guy where the engine were too much sloing down in RPM when adding some lift and wondering to changer it...
@lothar2048 I've never run the stock muffler but I understand it runs just fine. It's loud.
If it slows down just adding collective then you likely need to adjust the throttle curve and/or tune the engine mixture. Check you spark plug to see if it's too rich or too lean. I also use an IR temp gun to get them about 220ºF
Hi John, nice flights. Recently I uploaded a vídeo of my Predator Gasser flying at an altitude of 3850 meters above sea level. It uses a Zenoah 23 cc. Its works fine, no adjustments were made for flying at such an altitude. I am beginning to assemble my second Predator, and I am wishing to buy a Condor with the engine your are using in your Predator (I have to work harder, ha, ha). I decided to use a UBEC and a 5000 mA LipoLy pack instead of a stock battery pack, it works much better.
i had the same problem with my volt watch and it turned out to be that the selector switch was set to 6 volts as opposed to 4.8 on the unit, switched it to 4.8 and it showed good
Hi John. As you suggested I changed my Futaba NiCad 1800mA battery pack for a JR NiMe 4500mA pack for my Predator. However the VoltWatch is still showing green and red lights at the same time, as did when the 1800 mA Futaba pack was installed. I do not know what is happening. I tested two other VoltWatches but is the same thing. It seems that the servos are draining a lot of electricity. Maybe you can give me some advice. Thank you.
I'd take a look at all the electrical connections. Are you using a really heavy duty switch? I've even flown without a switch, just plug the battery directly into the RX when ready to fly. It's a pain but no switch to fail and fewer electrical connections to rob power. Also I wouldn't put 100% reliance on the voltwatch flickering. You may be able to get more help in RR or HF, lots of good folks there able to help with stuff like this.
Hi John. Thank you for your advice, I had a successful flight with my Predator today. I decided to change the battery pack. ¿Did you find excessive vibration in the tail rotor of your Predator? I have observed this but I am trying to determine its cause, I am planning to use carbon tail rotor blades, it seems to me that standard tail rotors are too heavy. Best regards.
check the balance of the tail blades - mine were way off. Check them even if you get another set. Also, did you dial in the clutch? It's really important to get the runout on the clutch as low as possible, under 2 thousandth - clutch off will create lots of vibs.
Also you might need to tun the mixture of the engine a bit make sure it's not getting hot, I use a temp gun for this. Make sure the engine is not getting about 250 degrees or so.
Hey guys, what kind of oil ratio are you running post break in? I inherited a Predator Gas from my father and am not sure what he used. I believe it's a Hanson motor, but not sure, does anybody know how to tell easily?
Mu Hanson engine has a sticker on the pull start saying it's a Hanson.
First two gallons of gas has 4oz of Lawnboy in each gallon. I now am running BelRay H1R at 3.2 OZ/gal. and after that oil is gone I'm going to try the Amsoil Saber Pro at the same mixture.
Thank you John. I saw your video about main shaft Predator´s modification too. I found it very useful. After my first flight I decided to do that modification too. I hope to fly my heli soon. Can you please tell me what battery pack are you using? By now I have a Futaba 1500 mA 4.8v pack. Do you think is it enough for three Futaba S9252 servos? Thank you.
My initial battery was a Fromeco 5200 and an Arizona regulator. I have since installed an on board charging system made by Raja Bort (rbort on RR and other message boards) with a basic A size NiCD. Never have to charge!
If you are running off straight 4 cell battery pack I would strongly recommend a high capacity sub-C size pack with low internal resistance, minimum 3000 ma. Shop around, there are some good NiMH packs that fit the bill without being too expensive. Hate to crash from bad batt
Hello, nice flight. I have a Predator Gasser with a 23 cc Zenoah engine but I just flew it one time (please look for "marconagu" nickname here in You Tube to see this video). What main blades are you using? Thank you.
RotorTech 710-3D SG's - they fly well and are really nice looking, pricey though. I had a set of the RT 720 FAI's but broke 'em when I dumped the heli last month. I also just bought a set of Vblade 710's. Should be in the air soon.
"Smells like yard work" lol
EvlMagus 1 year ago
Hi... Me again.... I've just finished some setting and when trying to break the engine, i've experienced a strange main gear stripping. I was not able also to make the clutch alignment and thought this was due to factory reserve that would disapear with some turns.... Have you ever experienced such problems like this ? I was also not using IDLE when breaking the engine, so may be i did it wrong....
lothar2048 1 year ago
@lothar2048
I have read that some people are having a similar problem (runryder threads). Century manufactured a batch of pinion gears incorrectly, they are not straight. You can see this because either the clutch bell will "wobble" when turning or the pinion itself will. Call Century's support and ask them about this, they should replace the bad parts. Look around in the gasser forum on runryder and you can see the conversations about this also. PM me on RR for more help.
johnschenck 1 year ago
Hi there, I'm just setting it up. Do you think that stock muffler from zenoah is a miss or can be used ? I've seen a vid from a guy where the engine were too much sloing down in RPM when adding some lift and wondering to changer it...
lothar2048 1 year ago
@lothar2048 I've never run the stock muffler but I understand it runs just fine. It's loud.
If it slows down just adding collective then you likely need to adjust the throttle curve and/or tune the engine mixture. Check you spark plug to see if it's too rich or too lean. I also use an IR temp gun to get them about 220ºF
johnschenck 1 year ago
what engine?
rumpilstil 1 year ago
@rumpilstil Hanson modified Zenoah 26PUH with Century V3 muffler
johnschenck 1 year ago
Hi John, nice flights. Recently I uploaded a vídeo of my Predator Gasser flying at an altitude of 3850 meters above sea level. It uses a Zenoah 23 cc. Its works fine, no adjustments were made for flying at such an altitude. I am beginning to assemble my second Predator, and I am wishing to buy a Condor with the engine your are using in your Predator (I have to work harder, ha, ha). I decided to use a UBEC and a 5000 mA LipoLy pack instead of a stock battery pack, it works much better.
Flight1142 2 years ago
i had the same problem with my volt watch and it turned out to be that the selector switch was set to 6 volts as opposed to 4.8 on the unit, switched it to 4.8 and it showed good
bobbyboy1962 3 years ago
Hi John. As you suggested I changed my Futaba NiCad 1800mA battery pack for a JR NiMe 4500mA pack for my Predator. However the VoltWatch is still showing green and red lights at the same time, as did when the 1800 mA Futaba pack was installed. I do not know what is happening. I tested two other VoltWatches but is the same thing. It seems that the servos are draining a lot of electricity. Maybe you can give me some advice. Thank you.
Flight1142 3 years ago
I'd take a look at all the electrical connections. Are you using a really heavy duty switch? I've even flown without a switch, just plug the battery directly into the RX when ready to fly. It's a pain but no switch to fail and fewer electrical connections to rob power. Also I wouldn't put 100% reliance on the voltwatch flickering. You may be able to get more help in RR or HF, lots of good folks there able to help with stuff like this.
johnschenck 3 years ago
I´ll keep all your suggestions in mind for the next flight. ¿Where is the exact point in engine where I have to measure temperature? Thank you John.
Flight1142 3 years ago
Hi John. Thank you for your advice, I had a successful flight with my Predator today. I decided to change the battery pack. ¿Did you find excessive vibration in the tail rotor of your Predator? I have observed this but I am trying to determine its cause, I am planning to use carbon tail rotor blades, it seems to me that standard tail rotors are too heavy. Best regards.
Flight1142 3 years ago
check the balance of the tail blades - mine were way off. Check them even if you get another set. Also, did you dial in the clutch? It's really important to get the runout on the clutch as low as possible, under 2 thousandth - clutch off will create lots of vibs.
Also you might need to tun the mixture of the engine a bit make sure it's not getting hot, I use a temp gun for this. Make sure the engine is not getting about 250 degrees or so.
johnschenck 3 years ago
Hey guys, what kind of oil ratio are you running post break in? I inherited a Predator Gas from my father and am not sure what he used. I believe it's a Hanson motor, but not sure, does anybody know how to tell easily?
exfokkerflyer 3 years ago
Mu Hanson engine has a sticker on the pull start saying it's a Hanson.
First two gallons of gas has 4oz of Lawnboy in each gallon. I now am running BelRay H1R at 3.2 OZ/gal. and after that oil is gone I'm going to try the Amsoil Saber Pro at the same mixture.
johnschenck 3 years ago
Thanks for the info, I'll have a look at it when I get home.
exfokkerflyer 3 years ago
Thank you John. I saw your video about main shaft Predator´s modification too. I found it very useful. After my first flight I decided to do that modification too. I hope to fly my heli soon. Can you please tell me what battery pack are you using? By now I have a Futaba 1500 mA 4.8v pack. Do you think is it enough for three Futaba S9252 servos? Thank you.
Flight1142 3 years ago
My initial battery was a Fromeco 5200 and an Arizona regulator. I have since installed an on board charging system made by Raja Bort (rbort on RR and other message boards) with a basic A size NiCD. Never have to charge!
If you are running off straight 4 cell battery pack I would strongly recommend a high capacity sub-C size pack with low internal resistance, minimum 3000 ma. Shop around, there are some good NiMH packs that fit the bill without being too expensive. Hate to crash from bad batt
johnschenck 3 years ago
Hello, nice flight. I have a Predator Gasser with a 23 cc Zenoah engine but I just flew it one time (please look for "marconagu" nickname here in You Tube to see this video). What main blades are you using? Thank you.
Flight1142 3 years ago
RotorTech 710-3D SG's - they fly well and are really nice looking, pricey though. I had a set of the RT 720 FAI's but broke 'em when I dumped the heli last month. I also just bought a set of Vblade 710's. Should be in the air soon.
johnschenck 3 years ago
Excelent! I have the same predator NX SE Gas ehit Hanson Modif 26, on the Second Gallon of fuel, sunday i hope take some videos and i'll post it.
dopplerjuanc 3 years ago