Wednesday, January 10, 2024

PowerHouse - Page 5 Correction

It has come to my attention that there appears to be a dimensional error on page 5 of the Powerhouse plans. On "Frame Side View" (upper left), the dimension of .281 for the distance from the edge of the frame to the location of the push rod bracket holes, should be ~ .210 to .213 instead.  If .281 is used, then the leftmost pushrod bracket located 2.156" away will be too close to the cam gear.

Many thanks to Jay Bolyard and his son Erik who caught this.  

I'm very surprised that this has not been brought to my (or Dad's) attention until now as the plans have been around since 2001!

Regards,

Allen



Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Kees Bijker's 3-D Printed V4 Update

Hello Allen,

I wish you and all your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This is the last update of 2023 of my 3d printable Howell V four. Nearly done and still so much to do. Got 99% of the parts printed now and just need to figure out some minor improvements for printing and fitting. Then it is back to the printer and printing all the final versions and creating a bom list and build instructions. This will be 2024 I am sure. The camshafts prove difficult and I have printed 4 different iterations without luck so far. This last one has to be the one. Going to print it with a much smaller nozzle and lower speeds for high definition. Should do the trick. Enjoy the festivities and hope to hear from you either this year, if not next.

Kind regards, 
Kees.

Friday, September 8, 2023

Alan Gorlick's BuzzCoil Review and Comments

 Hi

Just a note to let you know the "buzz coil" ignition module kit, spark plug & hall effect sensor are installed and working well on a hit & miss engine that I have just finished, it's based on a David Kerzel design. 

I am using a 2mm x 1mm magnet set in the cam gear at 0.5" radius which works very well at the low speed of this engine. The hall effect sensor is epoxied onto an arm that can pivot around the cam gear shaft as suggested in your notes. That change to Mr Kerzel's design made setting the ignition timing extremely simple and precise. The coil is a universal ATV coil and is the only thing in the ignition system that has caused any problems. The first one had a loose primary terminal.

I did successfully bench test the spark saver circuit with a second hall effect sensor but have only installed the single sensor circuit as battery capacity has not been an issue. I am using a 6V 4.5ah rechargeable lead acid battery (AGM type) which I haven't had to recharge yet and cost very little more than a pack of 4 AA energisers and case.

One low cost change that I suggest you could make to your kit is to use an 8 pin IC socket that is soldered onto the PCB first and the 555 Timer IC just clips into that socket after everything else is installed. It removes any risk of exposing the 555 to the heat of soldering and allows easy replacement of the timer if ever required.

Thanks for the quality product,

Regards
Alan Gorlick
Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia




Monday, April 10, 2023

Mark Journee's Farmboy #995

 Hello Allen 

Thanks again for the drawings i have finished the engine. it was a great project to make here are some pictures of the farmboy #995.


kind regards.

mark journee from the netherlands