First start and impressions of a 12 cc inline four cylinder engine patterned off of Holt (caterpillar) 75. This is a new mini engine available from stirlingkit.com (no affiliation)
If you put a twist in the belt that drives the water pump like a figure 8 the pump will run the right direction. It won't harm the belt since the engine won't be running for long periods of time. Hope this helps!!
Hi Terry, You're exactly right about the twist in the belt. I did give it a twist after looking at it (second video) and it's been doing great ever since. Thank you for watching and for commenting 👍
I agree with you Austin. I could only imagine how much a guy would strive to make it "perfect"! Trust me, the thought has crossed my mind to take it all the way down. Thank you for your comment and for your interest.
Thank you Steam 212 deg - Your video led me to also pick one up. I agree, the water pump is rotating in the wrong direction, so crossing the pulley belt over was an easy fix. I'm not doing that with the radiator fan as I think it will also work well blowing air out through the radiator.
Congratulations! I hope that you enjoy yours as much as I love the one I have. Thank you for your comment and if there is anything I can help you with please let me know. P.S. If you get in trouble for buying it, please don't blame me 😉
Thanks for sharing your H75 running, Steam 212” Man. -it sounds really good. Sounds so good, now I want one, even more, haha. Bet it will continue to run better and better as you get some time on it. Later man, -Jon Cook
Thank you for your interest. I have added a second video a couple days ago after a couple tweaks. I belted it up to a generator that I built years ago.
Neat ! The fan blowing forward was common on some tractors and pretty much standard on stationary engines and forklifts. Been a few years since I was around any of the real Holt's so don't remember how their fans were set up. Dang I want one !!
Thank you for the comment. Im not sure that it would make that much of a difference at the speed that it is running, but if you've ever looked at and studied the rotation of a desk fan, an airplane prop, or a windmill, but the profile of the blades make it more productive at its designed task (push or pull) (drive or driven) and when a prop (fan) is enclosed (shrouded) the effects of the blade shape are either increased or nullified. Now you've got my brain thinking that we need to test this. GREAT COMMENT! Thank you!
@@steam212 Like I said it has been at least 20+ years since I was up close and personal with either a big Holt or Cat. So which way the fan moved air I just don't remember! But as you said the blade profile is optmized for which way they are designed to move the air. Back in the 60s-70s I sold Cotinatinal industrial engines and parts and we had pusher and puller fans for forklift and enclosed power units.
@@dog8nut I think we need to make a quick video about this (because I want to see and learn too) we'll run the fan in both directions and take a temperature reading. I'm excited to see what the outcome will be.
I can confirm that most earth moving equipment the fan blows from the engine through the radiator, the reason is because on a dozer for example if it sucked in the air from the front the dirt from the job would block the radiator
its a pusher fan. alot of old tractors and stationary engines had that. if theyre just sitting still they would pull heat away from the engine. i always felt like thats just pushing hot air through the radiator but i don't know lol. they had them for 90 years so they must have a purpose lol
Thanks for all your information, I’ve got it running, by the way, in the future I might have to change an o ring, is it possible for you to guide me on changing one?
Thank you very much Steam 212, very useful tips especially about the fuel and oil. These kinds of engines should not run on Zippo fuel! They will jam! I used 2stroke Husqvarna alkylate 2% XP Power 2 fuel. Works fine.
Hi Lars, I agree with you about not running zippo fluid as a fuel for these little engines. It will run them but it doesn't have enough lubricating ability in my opinion.
I mix camp fuel (the naptha variety, cheap by the gallon) with a VERY small amount of Marvel Mystery Oil for cylinder lubrication. There is no benefit to running any form of gasoline as you don't need either the additives it has or the high octane. I have several of Jin's engines I run this way, and I never experienced a jam or even a worn mechanical part, the Viton rings last a long time, and there is very little exhaust smoke.
This is incredible! I love these little model engines. Did you make the wooden platform it sits on or did that come with the kit? edit: I checked the site and I see it comes on the base. Thanks for the great video!
@@naifhubaishi7528 I am randomly selecting 1 subscriber when we grow to 150 subscribers to win the solar model 1 stirling engine featured in a previous video
Now I'm seeing these on ebay "new", selling to highest bidder. Actions closing anywhere from $550-850 shipped. Anyone know about this? Are these factory problem units or returns?
Be careful using a plastic syringe to fuel your engine. Depending on the type of fuel you use and the plastic material the syringe is made of, the fuel can start to dissolve the syringe and end up in your fuel system. It looked like you had to push the plunger fairly hard which is an indication that the plastic is being effected? The fit and finish on these engines is poor at best. They know the areas that need attention and the ones that don't. Most of the loose tolerances have little effect on the running of these engines with the exception of the governor. It defiantly needs some attention. There is certainly no excuse for the water pump turning the wrong direction. Centrifugal pumps are defiantly not reversible. Still a nice runner. Enjoy your engine. Cheers Willy 7/4/2022 Allot of full scale industrial equipment have reverse air flow through the radiator. I think it's to help prevent dust from plugging up the radiator fins and blowing it all over the engine. Not to relevant with a model engine. In regards to the direction of the water pump turning, you could put a twist in the belt. Have you heard if they fixed this yet? How much time do you have on it? Hows it running now with some time on it? Cheers Willy
You're right about certain fuels attacking plastic and rubber, but the fuel I'm using here is ethanol free and I do not store fuel in the syringe. It really does look like I'm struggling to fill the tank but I'm trying to go slow as to not make a mess on it. You may have a point about the tolerance issues but sloppy tolerance in a rocker shaft will have a huge impact on valve clearance. Thank you again for your comment and your interest.
This is the first start of this little model. There is a second video of it running and we belt it up to a generator. Thank you for your question and your interest.
I would recommend using 2 cycle oil. The added protection of the rings, pistons, and cylinder walls is worth the little bit of smoking. This is only my opinion though. I hope this helps. Thank you for your interest and your comment.
@@steam212 Yesterday my machine arrived the 2 cylinder model, I prepared everything. With 2stroke Husqvarna alkylate 2% XP Power 2 fuel, the spark plugs seem to be working. But I can't get the machine to start.
@@steam212 Yes, I tried that with my finger too. It also sucks in the fuel but doesn't ignite it. I also tried the needle on the carburetor in different positions, unscrewed the spark plugs, they work. But the machine doesn't start. Gas comes out of the exhaust
I want to buy this but I don't trust the quality control. I bought a single cylinder M12 from company X and it had a bad plug and a stripped head bolt. Still cant get it to run. Your water pump runs backwards?
Hi Fifi, I understand your skepticism on the quality control. I was for the most part impressed with this model. I corrected the reverse rotating waterpump easily though by putting a half twist in the o ring drive belt. It is working well now. Thank you for your comment
@@fifififo5918 Yes this one also uses some type of rubber or silicone o ring for the piston rings. It was shipped with 4 spares. The bore is 13mm (1/2") with a stroke of 16mm (5/8") so I agree that it would be a fiddly job to take it down and replace the rings.
Hi Ian, I have no intention to reverse the rotation of this engine, which would be quite a task, only the water pump so it works and the fan. Thank you for your interest and commenting.
A great many pump and dredge engines have their flywheel/rotor/impeller mounted as it is on most turning lathes - it is threaded on standard threads. They literally "screw" their propeller on under load. The only exceptions I ever knew of were the Chevrolet Corvair and early Porsche 356 speedsters and they were in rear engined. I have barred over early early Caterpillar gas burning engines and that turned standard direction. Looking now for videos of a Holt 75 being barred over to see which direction the originals turned.
Hi Fifi, I haven't given it any myrun time lately. Do you think we should get it back out and do an update on it? In all honesty, after the tweaking video, It has been waiting and watching just sitting on the shelf.
@@steam212 I always search for new videos on it. Still trying to gain some confidence to go out and get one. You did a nice video on the boxer engine. I want one of those too but I have so many others.
You're 100% right, in the 2nd video of this engine we addressed a few issues, twisting the belt was how we fixed it. Thank you for your interest and commenting.
Steam212° Is there a way to contact you i working on Cole's Holt 75 engine i am struggling with .. I also have a traction engine needs some attention had some holes drilled threw steam chest when they over sized the studs blew threw the castings in many spots on the edges i needs some one who possibly could help me repair it with guidance i grate a repairs im just at a cross road dont know what to do.. Thankyou
I'm sure that it could be used to power an R/C model, but keep in mind that this is not designed to be a high rpm engine. It is patterned after an engine used in crawler tractors 100 years ago.
You're exactly right. If get time to watch the second video, you'll see that and a couple other small quick fixes. Thank you for your interest and comment.
@@fifififo5918 Hi Fifi, I think that it was a simple oversight honestly. The original Holt engines ran counterclockwise. If this model were to be built off of only pictures I could easily understand how the rotation of the waterpump and the fan would be backwards. If they were driven off of the camshaft with a larger pulley the rotation would be correct but that is where they mounted the timing pickup. Perhaps it was done for cost effectiveness and a more scale look?
@@steam212 If you look at Jin’s video (the maker of these engines) you can see that he is using a water pump with the pump outlet on the correct side for rotation 🤷♂️ ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EYxeyfuLW5g.html
I am using 94 octane non ethanol gasoline mixed 40:1 with 2 cycle oil. I hope this answers your question. If you have any other questions please let me know. Thanks for your question and for watching 👍
I have one of these engines. I am having ignition issues with. I have found when it is first tuned on there is no spark. If I let it set for about a minute with switch on not turning it or anything. Then try it, it has spark and will run. Has anyone else had this problem?
Hi Randy, I have not had any issues with the ignition on this one. This is a stupid question (I'm sure you've done it) have you tried replacing the batteries to see if the problem still happens? The next thing I would check would be the switch with an ohmmeter to see if it is closing the circuit completely. If I think of anything else I'll be sure to send you a reply. Thank you for watching and commenting, I hope we'll solve it together 👍
Yes I've tried several different new batteries. Still same issue. After the first time starting it, it's fine. Turn it off and start it right back up. If it sets for 1/2 hour or so something again. I have checked everything, wiring, switch, ground, battery voltage. Everything checks fine. At first I thought it was bad connection. By time get to checking stuff with a meter it would start working. That's when I figured out to turn it on let it set for about 1 minute and it would start.
Hi Waymey, Yes indeed, I am using 40:1 two cycle fuel. These engines use florogel O-rings for piston rings. By using mixed fuel I can assure that there is sufficient lubrication on the cylinder walls. Thank you for commenting and for watching 👍
Lol, the bore is just shy of 1/2" Sometimes it's a challenge when you can't get your fingers to cooperate and resort to forceps instead. Thank you for watching and commenting 👍
Why don't you just flip the pump belt over half way to make the pump go in the right direction? Like on this one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4_udcg7j9Xw.html Also, the radiator doesn't care which way the wind blows through it as long as it moves. Of note, the original Holt caterpillqar engines turned counter clockwise from the flywheel end so the pump is actually a correct design that just needs the rotation reversed or the exit tube moved to work on a clockwise rotating engine. I happen to like the clockwise rotation as it is very easy to start by hand.
Hi reddrryder, Welcome to our shop. You're exactly right, I did put a twist in the belt to allow the pump to rotate in the correct direction. And I understand what you're saying about the fan direction, as long as there is air moving through the radiator it will do it's job. The right hand rotation (flywheel end) does make it much easier to start by hand👍. Thank you for watching, commenting, and subscribing.
I think you're asking how to get one of these engines? If so, they are available at stirlingkit.com. I hope this helps. Thank you for your interest and for commenting.
Hi Gene, I would suggest that you go back and watch the video again before you label me a dumb ass. Nowhere in the video do I call it a steam engine, and furthermore if I were turning it the wrong direction how is it that it started and ran? I guess some people have little more to do than expose their own stupidity by commenting on a video that they know nothing about.
Hi David, I'm not sure I understand what you're referring to? Let me know a little more and we'll go from there. Thank you for your interest and commenting.
@@steam212 if I'm not mistaken, I noticed you spinning the engine clockwise from the flywheel and it should spin counter clockwise... The notion is due in part to the direction of the blades and the water pump is in the right direction that way...
@@davidhilton7780 You're correct, I am turning it clockwise. This is the correct direction of rotation when viewed from the flywheel. If we were to try to run it the other direction we would need to change the camshaft and the firing order. It is kind of funny but that's the way it's made. If you'd like, we can make another video and now that I'm a bit more comfortable we'll go over it a bit closer. Just let me know. Thanks again for your interest and your comment
@@steam212 no need to change the order, just rotation. The timing following will be in order, it will work fine. Thanks for the share, it's a neat looking model engine!
Hi John-boy, you're right, these little engines aren't exactly cheap to buy. But I doubt my wife would be too happy about a used car sitting in the living room for a couple of weeks until I got the shop done. 😂
@@john-boywalton2954 PROST! 🍺 I completely understand, I wouldn't be making videos if my AMAZING wife didn't encourage me to "get out there"! I love all things mechanical and with her nudging me, here we are. Thank you so much for commenting and I hope that you enjoy the videos. Welcome to the 212° steam team!
If that were made in the US, it would cost 3 to 4 times as much & you'd complain about that. Just like the tablet or keypad you're using,from the same sources. Can't have it both ways.
Why does everybody mess around with the throttle lever, but NOBODY seems to ever give the flywheel a bit of resistance to see if the governor picks up???????
I guess it's because it's a fun challenge to see how slow it will run. I will have to get it back off the shelf and put it under a load to see how it responds with the governor.
@@steam212 I would really appreciate if you would make that effort and post it on your channel. Because I intend to run engines like this "for real", and in all fairness and no offense towards anyone that thinks this engine runs great... I have different views on "running great". If it can't pull a load, it does not run great no matter how nice the sound or the visuals. If it wears excessively, ditto. I understand you cannot do wear tests or endurance tests, but it would be really awesome to get an impression of how the engine holds up under load. I really wonder how the O-rings on the pistons fare. I can see that the designer has taken that into account by placing the rings really low on the piston, and the wet liners are a great idea too, but still.
