Brodhead PIETENPOL Association Newsletter
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Brodhead PIETENPOL Association Newsletter Issue 16-01 First Quarter, Two Thousand Sixteen Photograph byMike Cuy The Late Dick Navratil’s Rotec Powered Pietenpol What’s Inside... From the Editor - John Hofmann .................................................................................................................................... 2 Understanding Carburetors - The Float System - Bob Kachergius..............................................................................2-4 Pietenpol Forum at “Sun ‘n Fun” .................................................................................................................................... 4 In Memorium - Richard Navratil ..................................................................................................................................5-6 To Brodhead and Back - Greg Cardinal .....................................................................................................................7-10 Centerspread - Dick Navratil’s Rotec Pietenpol ..........................................................................................................8-9 The Rest of the Story - Norm Tesmar ......................................................................................................................10-12 My Restoration of a 1920s Airway Beacon - Harvey Hartman - Part Three ..........................................................12-14 Howard Henderson ...................................................................................................................................................14-15 Classified Ads ............................................................................................................................................................... 15 From the Editor Understanding Carburetors – John Hofmann The Float System By Bob Kachergius I had no idea when I took over from Doc and Dee, it “The STROMBERG SPECIALIST” would take me fully two years to figure out what was Uni-Tech Air Management Systems,Inc. going on and to get fully up to speed. I hope with this “Specialists in the Overhaul of Stromberg issue I am about there. Since I am one year behind in my NA-S3 Aircraft Carburetors” 13221 Windward Trail, Orland Park, Illinois 60462 duties, instead of trying to catch up four issues I will be E-Mail [email protected] giving each of you an extra year at no charge. I want you WebSite: THE STROMBERG SPECIALIST.COM to get what you have paid for. I have already made this 708/267-7111 adjustment in my database and if you have any questions, email me at [email protected]. The mailing label on Editors’s note: Bob does all our carburetor work here at each copy will give you the month and year of your last HXF and has some new needle and seat ideas in the works issue. that may solve a lot of issues. Along with this issue you will find a new BPA website. Carburetors have been around since the invention of the I will cover this more in the Spring 2016 edition but take gasoline engine and come in many shapes and forms. some time to explore the site. It features a forum and Bendix-Stromberg Corp. has been around since the 1920s social networking component. I have some of you loaded and has built carburetors for a multitude of different as members but not the majority. When I received the applications, both civilian and military. initial mailing list from Doc and Dee it did not contain email addresses. I have added those as they come in but I Understanding carburetor systems and their application is find many are missing. If you can’t login to the new site critical if one is to properly service and/or overhaul their (use the forgot password link to see if you are loaded) let components. me know. This is a discussion of the basic “heart” of the carburetor, I hope this new website (http://www.pietenpols.org) will the float system as it is used to the Stromberg NA-S2 and be a new place for Pietenpeople to “hangout” and share NA-S3 aircraft unit. photos, ideas and lies. Along with Facebook and other modern venues, this will help keep the Pietenpol Air The floats are made of several different materials such Camper alive and well into the future. as polymers (plastics), epoxy “foam” and brass. The Stromberg NA-S2 and NA-S3 carburetors use a robust Here’s to a good 2016 to you all. little float made of brass. This carburetor is thought by most people to be “dirt John simple” in design and, therefore, extremely simple to overhaul. Just “wash it, throw in a needle and seat, set the Brodhead Pietenpol Association float level, add a new gasket set” and off we go. It is here the fun begins. It leaks, it drips, it backfires, it hesitates on acceleration, it runs out of fuel on climb out and so on. Not really so simple is it? 2424 American Lane There are many unique situations that apply to the Madison, WI 53704 Stromberg NA-S2 & NA-S3 carburetors that make it Email: [email protected] extremely difficult to get to run properly unless you have http://www.pietenpols.org a full understanding of the assembly and operation. One Web: extremely important area is the brass float. It is very simple in design (supposedly) and acts as the “heart” of the Stromberg carburetor. 2–BPA Newsletter There is only ONE float part number in the overhaul it is to get the proper float level of 13/32” +/- 1/32” at manual (p/n P16156) which covers ALL the different 70 degrees fuel temperature – PLUS – the proper .048” engine applications. So, how can this little float be so hard float drop (gravity) or .021” float drop (fuel pump). Float to work with to properly set and apply the correct float drop is set in a Stromberg in a very unusual manner. level? Unlike most conventional carburetors which are adjusted with a “bendable” tab somewhere on the float arm, the There are THREE different variations of this float for Stromberg uses four different sized fiber washers stacked three different applications. This is not explained in under the brass seat to get the proper float level. They the service manual. The float is manufactured with two come in thicknesses of .015”, .030”, .046” and .060” of brass halves soldered together. A brass arm, pivot pin which ONLY 2 can be used in combination to attain float tube and needle attach shaft are pinned and soldered to level. Now, after you get float level set, you have to get the main float body. With variation one, looking at the the proper float drop of .048”( gravity) –or- .021” (fuel bottom of the round float body, you will find a small ¼” pump). This float drop is often unattainable because the wide x ½” long strip soldered there. Most think this is a float ends up HITTING THE TOP of the main metering weight but this is not the case. It is called a chafe strip jet –instead- of traveling all the way down to the 45 and is designed to contact the small 45 degree flange on degree float stop flange on the lower casting. What causes the lower carb casting next to the main metering jet. If in this? In many cases the Stromberg factory mis-machined proper adjustment and alignment, the float drop of .048” the depth of the main jet well causing it to obstruct float (for gravity systems) will fall right into place. “Float vertical drop/ float travel. The main jet well has to be drop” is the amount of vertical travel the needle in the re-machined to the proper depth to get the jet lower seat moves to attain the necessary fuel flow, especially for and out of the way. This dimension, unfortunately, is full power applications. With lesser float drop, the carb not covered in the service manual and is available only will easily “run out of fuel” at full power, (Anybody out in factory data and blueprinting. A lot of carburetors there ever have this happen?) came out of the factory door that way. WOW. See how “simple” the carb is to work on. The second variation is a brass float without the chafe strip soldered on. This was a factory variant to give If you look at the sides of the brass float, you will often additional needle vertical travel to get the .048” minimum see some float side walls caved in (concave), some flat float drop when the float with the small soldered on chafe and some bulged out (convex). What caused this? Again, strip did not meet the proper dimension. These are fairly it is not “rocket science” to realize that an enclosed rare but show up occasionally. container having lesser air volume than one much fuller with air will float at different levels when placed in a The third variation is a float with a 1” long x ¼” wide liquid. Now, the fun really starts trying to get the proper chafe strip installed of which only ½” was soldered to float level. Here is what happened. When the float with the bottom of the float body. The other ½” NOT soldered the caved in (concave) side was manufactured, it was to the float was a “bendable/adjustable” arm segment done on a very low “barometric pressure day” When designed to be used with a carb that was operating with soldered together, that low barometric pressure remained a 2 to 4 psi fuel pump application. The vertical needle hermetically sealed inside the float body forever (low travel of the “fuel pump” carb was only .021”, thus the internal air volume). When a bulged out (convex) float adjustment tab was bent to restrict needle travel in those occurred, it was soldered together on a “high” barometric applications. Three DIFFERENT applications with the pressure day, sealed for eternity. The “concave float” will same part number ? Wait, it gets worse! sink a lot deeper in a container of avgas than a “convex” float. More problems in trying to get a consistent and The standard weight of the Stromberg float according proper float level. WOW! to factory data is 40.0 grams. I get floats in all the time weighing as much as 46 to 47 grams and as little as 34 to How do we fix that problem? Either try several different 35 grams. Now, it is not rocket science to realize that a floats until you find one that works or fix the defective heavier float will sink in liquid more than a light weight float.