Author Topic: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss  (Read 13315 times)

Offline Admiral_dk

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3752
  • Søften - Denmark
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #75 on: May 27, 2020, 11:22:42 AM »
The flywheels match the rest of the engine very nicely  :praise2:

Offline fumopuc

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3231
  • Munich, Germany, EU
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #76 on: May 27, 2020, 07:52:13 PM »
Hi Craig, the engine looks beautiful.
Kind Regards
Achim

Offline Art K

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1761
  • Madison, Wisconsin USA
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #77 on: May 28, 2020, 02:40:24 AM »
Craig,
The flywheel and everything looks good. Glad to hear the eye is doing well.
Art
"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you" B.B. King

Offline Craig DeShong

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1293
  • Raleigh, NC. USA
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #78 on: June 01, 2020, 10:07:41 PM »
Kirk, Andy, Per, Achim, and Art; thank you for your kind comments.  Thanks also for all of you just stopping by to see the progress.

Other duties called over the last few days, but now I’m back in the shop.  I’ve started building the igniter: more little parts to fabricate.

Below you see the igniter frame in the top center; then a spacer to the left and the igniter drive shaft on the far left.  From top right to bottom are a 2-56 nut to hold the insulator assembly together, a washer, then the insulator top washer followed by the insulator.  At the bottom are the stationary electrode and the moving electrode.  I still need to silver solder the contacts into the electrodes.

Craig
The destination motivates us toward excellence, the journey entertains us, and along the way we meet so many interesting people.

Offline Craig DeShong

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1293
  • Raleigh, NC. USA
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #79 on: June 09, 2020, 07:27:13 PM »
Thanks for stopping by.

Lots of odds and ends have been addresses in the past week and a half.  I’ve built the wooden stand, assembled the igniter, and addressed what seems to be a vast array of odds-and-ends.

I was thinking I might see if I could coax a little life out of the engine today.  I haven’t plumbed up a fuel tank, or finished the needle valve assembly, but I was thinking I might squirt a little gas into the intake and see if the engine would fire once or twice.

This attempt was thwarted by a lack of compression that I tracked down to a leak in the igniter attachment to the cylinder head.  This was a show stopper for today because after i re-seated the igniter with Permatex gasket compound I’ll need to wait a day before the next attempt. 

Anyway… I’ll give you a photo of things as they currently stand. As it’s been said before; a post without pictures is WORTHLESS.  :ThumbsUp:


Craig
The destination motivates us toward excellence, the journey entertains us, and along the way we meet so many interesting people.

Offline awake

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 303
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #80 on: June 09, 2020, 08:32:00 PM »
Oohh, so close! What a bummer to have to wait an extra day for the paint to dry. I mean the sealant. :)
Andy

Offline Admiral_dk

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3752
  • Søften - Denmark
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #81 on: June 09, 2020, 09:38:00 PM »
Strange - I and all I knew in my youth used Permatex gasket compound, both professionally and otherwise and I do not remember anything about having to wait from assembly to starting the engine etc. ...!..   :headscratch:     :old:

Offline Craig DeShong

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1293
  • Raleigh, NC. USA
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #82 on: June 09, 2020, 09:45:43 PM »
Per.  The stuff I'm using flows as a very viscous liquid.  In 24 hours it sets up as a rubber-like substance.  I've used it successfully on nearly all my models.  It's called a high temperature gasket maker and is red in color.
Craig
The destination motivates us toward excellence, the journey entertains us, and along the way we meet so many interesting people.

Offline Admiral_dk

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3752
  • Søften - Denmark
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #83 on: June 09, 2020, 09:49:48 PM »
It was also the red version we used - so it must be "age improved memory"  :facepalm:

Offline Johnmcc69

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 792
  • Erie Pa., USA
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #84 on: June 09, 2020, 10:55:07 PM »
 :ThumbsUp:
 Great looking engine!

 John

Offline Art K

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1761
  • Madison, Wisconsin USA
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #85 on: June 10, 2020, 02:42:49 AM »
Looks good Craig!
Art
"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you" B.B. King

Offline Dave Otto

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4693
  • Boise, Idaho USA
    • Photo Bucket
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #86 on: June 10, 2020, 01:34:57 PM »
Beautiful engine Craig, looking forward to seeing it run.

Dave

Offline Craig DeShong

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1293
  • Raleigh, NC. USA
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #87 on: June 10, 2020, 10:52:52 PM »
Andy, Per, Art, Dave, and John; thanks for your kind comments.  Thanks also for those of you that stop by to follow along.

I stepped out into the shop today with the expectation of making a little sound and smoke; unfortunately, the compression leak was just as bad today as it was yesterday.  :shrug:

Further inspection revealed that the compression leak wasn’t in attaching the igniter to the engine head, but rather in the igniter assembly itself.  With these engine designs and builds of mine there always seems to be a few surprises so having a few problems isn’t anything new.

Here is a photo of the igniter body. 



The problem with this design is that the side of the body where the drive shaft protrudes is very slim and it doesn’t make a good airtight seal.  The leak on the small side of the shaft isn’t appreciable but it is substantial on the large side of the shaft.

I re-designed the igniter body; below is a photo of the re-design.


The extended shaft raceway provides a better airtight seal; after assembly I can’t blow any appreciable through this new assembly as I could with the previous design.

With the re-designed igniter body I’ve re-assembled the igniter to the engine; tomorrow I’ll see if my compression problems are behind me. 
Craig
The destination motivates us toward excellence, the journey entertains us, and along the way we meet so many interesting people.

Offline Craig DeShong

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1293
  • Raleigh, NC. USA
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #88 on: June 14, 2020, 08:06:03 PM »
Thanks for stopping by to see the latest.

 Such a pathetic video, I wasn’t going to include it but… since a post without pictures/video is, well, just not interesting; I’ve included what I’m calling the engine’s first sputter. :)

I don’t have the fuel pump plumbed in yet, so with just a squirt of gas in the intake you can’t expect much.  Still, the engine is showing signs of life.  When it fires it seems to have plenty of pep so when I get the fuel pump and fuel lines plumbed in and have it regulated, I have high hopes for this engine.

At this point all I wanted to verify was that it would fire and should be able to run; I’m feeling pretty confident about that at this point.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWyQKINmcpI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWyQKINmcpI</a>
Craig
The destination motivates us toward excellence, the journey entertains us, and along the way we meet so many interesting people.

Offline Dave Otto

  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4693
  • Boise, Idaho USA
    • Photo Bucket
Re: 15 HP Witte hit-and-miss
« Reply #89 on: June 14, 2020, 08:23:23 PM »
Looks promising Craig!  :ThumbsUp:

Dave 

 

SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal