I recently bought a Kolb Firestar with a Rotax 377. Currently it is setup for mixed gas but I have the parts to convert it to oil injection. Who has converted to oil injection and what are your thoughts? Some benefits I can see are not having to mix the gas and using less oil.
Oil injection has pro's and Con's.
When using oil injection your engine will run cleaner and not build as much carbon. You can adjust the amount of oil per throttle setting then mix can. With Mix you have what you have. The amount of oil your engine gets is set by how you have your carb setup. Set it up wrong and you can do bad things to your engine from either to much oil, running to rich, or to little oil, running lean.
With oil injection the amount of oil introduced into the engine is depended on throttle setting not carb setting. Because of this is a more precise mixture. Less carbon build up is the result along with better oil delivery through out the RPM range.
The draw back if something goes wrong in the injection system somewhere you just seized your engine.
I will not make a comment on one verses the other. Call Rainbow aviation and they will tell you the only way to go is oil injection, but then call someone else and they will say no oil mix is the way to go. Personal choice IMHO.
Anyone can run a engine without special training. Just don't climb into a alcohol fueled, nitro, blown Big Block and expect to run it like your engine setting in the garage. Same here, if you know oil injection you love it, if you have nothing but armchair stories about it you do not like it.
Tony
From Ed Heinemann's office wall, "simplicate and add lightness." Premix through "mr funnel" is lighter and simpler mechanically and dead bang reliable. your kolb won't be at idle nor at trolling speed very much of its duty cycle so you won't gain the big advantage of oil injection.
Yes, i have about 600 hrs in 2stroke aircraft. Your mileage may vary.
Last edited by Mike M; 04-12-2014 at 05:37 AM.
Like I said you will have those who operate a two stroke but have never operated a two stroke with oil injection to know what it does and how it goes about doing it. Its not just about injectors and a pump. It goes a lot deeper then this. But one must understand the system.
Tony
Falcon 21, let's ignore the contemptuous impertinent equss asinus tone so poorly hidden in the above. No, I have not converted an engine for aircraft use to oil injection, so perhaps should have offered no opinion; for that I apologize. I have operated recreational boats, snowmobiles, motorcycles, and ATVs with oil injection and without. In my opinion, when operating at varying power settings in those environments and for those purposes, oil injection is right up there with sliced bread. But if not installed, it weighs nothing, costs nothing, and can't fail. So my advice pretty much bottom-lined with resident expert Tony's:Originally Posted by 1600vw
"The draw back if something goes wrong in the injection system somewhere you just seized your engine."
Talk with those who use oil injection in aviation and have for over 500 hrs and see what they have to say about what they found at de-carbon time or at OH time or TBO time whatever your flavor.
Tony
Like I said I am not getting into a pi##ing match over one or the other. You can compare the two all day long and weigh this and that. More then one way to skin a cat. Its whatever flavor you like. Those using Injection love how their engines produce hardly no carbon. How they really do nothing to their engine at de-carbon time.
The EAA has webinar's about this. Watch them and you will see what these people have to say about this subject.
Tony
If you are running a two stroke this is a real good listen.
http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=626943072001
Tony
Then don't make denigrating comments about other people especially when you have posted facts that support their opinion.
Whatever.......
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