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Support - FAQ
Solutions to common problems and Frequently
Asked Questions:
This page will help you solve common problems sometimes encountered
when using our products. If you don't see a solution to your problem
here. Go to our Support
Forum and see if your problem is mentioned. If not then submit
your concern to us while you are there so that all can benefit.
I have a question about ..
Battery Management Products
(Auto-Trickle Adapter or CHARGEminder),
Simple Smoke Pump,
 
CHARGEminder Adapter
Auto-Trickle Adapter
My chargers no longer come on or blink?
The most common reason is a blown fuse. It is all too easy to accidentally
plug in a drill or electric power tool into a charge strip and overload
the circuit. Just replace the fuse with a common 1 Amp fast blow
1-1/4 inch fuse. (Available at Radio Shack and most hardware stores)
If this does not fix the problem or if the fuse continues to blow
without an overload then return the unit for
service.
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My chargers get warm or their lights stay on, no trickle?
Test the charger with by plugging in a 60 to 100 watt light bulb.
Unplug the unit from the wall for several seconds. It should now
be in the trickle mode and you should observe the bulb blinking
from full brightness to full dark. If you see bright to dim or full
brightness continuously then your unit should be returned for service.
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The Auto-Trickle Adapter has been used over the past few years
with great success with hundreds of chargers used in the Radio-Control
Market. To date we only are aware of problems with old Kraft radio
chargers and a newer HOBICO Multi- Charger draining the pack during
the off portions of trickle. The solution is to insert a commonly
available diode in the plus lead going to each battery pack that
is affected. The diode may be obtained at any electronic supply
outlet such as Radio Shack. {Wire as shown:)
Please note that the diode has a band that denotes a polarity.
The side that the banded end is soldered to must be exactly as shown
and go towards the battery pack. Wrap the diode with electrical
tape when done soldering into the + (Red) wire.
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Simple Smoke Pump 
Troubleshooting overview.
IF YOU ARE HAVING ANY TYPE
OF ERRATIC SMOKE OPERATION PLEASE READ!
All electric pumps are superior for smoke systems because they can
produce very high volume of oil flow and they have predictable flow
rates not dependent on crankcase pressure or anything else. Unfortunately
ALL electric fluid pumps, pump FLUIDS much better than they do AIR.
Therefore, if you suck an air bubble into your pump, and you have
back pressure from a muffler working against the pump, you can have
a heck of a time getting it to re prime IF EVER! (usually flying
around at idle will let it prime after a long wait). Therefore the
single most important thing you can do to insure that you get reliable
operation is to PREVENT THE LOSS OF PRIME.
When troubleshooting erratic operation, the first question you should
ask yourself is, DID I LOSE SMOKE WHILE SMOKE PUMP WAS ON DURING
AEROBATICS OR DID IT FAIL TO COME ON WHEN I TURNED IT ON?
WHY IS THIS QUESTION IMPORTANT? There are only two
nipples on the pump. Either one of these can let air in. Therefore,
there are only TWO WAYS that AIR can get in to make you lose prime.
1. If you lose smoke when turning the pump on after
it has been off for a while, then air is most
likely coming from the muffler, a properly working check valve will
eliminate this from happening. The Perry Varsane check valve and
the TME high volume check valve are the
only check valves that works reliably in this low back pressure
environment. Ball style check valves just don't work! Spring less
ball check valves require a large amount of pressure to hold the
ball shut. There is simply not enough pressure to use a ball style
check valve.
2.If you lose smoke while you are flying around
with smoke, especially during aerobatic maneuvers,
then the air is most likely coming from the tank side or the "INPUT"
nipple. Therefore either the clunk is bouncing around and not following
the fluid (taking in gulps of air) or you have a leak somewhere
down that line. The leak can be as close as the nipple itself.
Sometimes tanks have either too stiff a tubing or something is
making the clunk bounce around and suck air. Change the clunk tubing
to a more flexible tubing. Make the clunk heavier or lighter until
the problem goes away. In extreme cases the only fix is to add a
second hopper tank. Sometimes fuel filler valves such as Dubro and
Sullivan can be a source of air bubbles when the filler valve doesn't
seat properly. The trick is accurately finding the source and figuring
out how to deal with it. We recommend and supply clear yellow gas/oil
compatible tubing in our deluxe kits because you can SEE through
it. This is a great troubleshooting tool while you are on the ground.
If you see bubbles, find out where they are coming from and you
have almost solved your problem.
THAT'S IT!!!! Those are the only possibilities for losing prime
causing erratic operation!.
Procedural issues can cause problems. After you fill up, turn your
radio on and turn on the pump before you crank your engine and shut
it off quickly when you see the first drop come out of the muffler.
Sometimes when you crank up the engine first you cannot get the
pump to prime.
Another common source of system problems is not taking the time
to adjust the oil flow rate on the bench as we have suggested in
our instructions. Too much or too little oil creates less smoke.
Nipples or coils in the muffler all have different amounts of restrictions.
There is no one setting that works with all engine muffler, nipple,
pre heater combinations. Our recommendations bring you into the
ballpark from where you can start experimenting to get optimum rate
for your type oil, flying style and preferences.
A very rare problem is to have the muffler
actually siphon or pull the fluid through the pump when the pump
is not running. It seems you can never shut off the pump. In general
we have found that if the oil tank cannot be lowered then an added
length of tubing between the pump and muffler can be used to form
a big loop around the firewall. Having the loop go above the level
of the pump requires the oil to flow uphill which of course is not
possible therefore the siphoning can't start on its own.
It is important that the tubing go higher than the top of the tank
while the plane is sitting normally on the ground for the loop to
work. Also, if you are using the SmartSmoker, you may be able to
offer a little resistance to the oil by placing a large wheel collar
over the tubing and clamping down slightly such that the pump is
still capable of providing about 10% more oil rate than you calculate
you need.
The loop we suggest may not completely stop the siphoning process
once it is in motion. It will however make it impossible to start
to siphon due o the effects of gravity alone. The back pressure
from the muffler along with the check valve should stop most siphoning
while flying during off portions of smoke. So then the only other
time when siphoning can be problematic is when it is on the ground.
For this reason we suggest using the loop and not priming the pump
un till just before you get ready to start your engine.
In our experience, 99% of the problems are system related, the other
1% of all problems are due to a damaged pump. Two ways your pump
can become damaged are mentioned briefly here.
1. Dirt jamming the vanes in the pump. This is easily prevented
by insuring clean oil is going into the pump. A sure fire way is
to put a filter just before the pump. Another way is to put a filter
in your field smoke oil container. The choice is your! However,
realize that the farther down the line you filter, the greater the
chance of dirt getting into the system.
2. Vibration from big single piston engines is another. It just
breaks the pump apart. Just put it in foam or attach it to your
oil tank and wrap the whole thing in 1/2" latex foam.
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I can't seem to get it to prime,
what am I doing wrong?
- Assuming you have checked for air leaks in the smoke system
hard priming is usually a sequencing problem. Make sure you prime
the pump BEFORE turning on the engine. In this way the unprimed
pump is not working against the muffler back pressure. Once PRIMED
this pump will have NO PROBLEM with any amount of back pressure.
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It smokes on the ground, but
not in the air, what's' happening?
This is usually an indicator that the pump is loosing its prime.
There are only two nipples on the pump. Either one of these can
let air in. You need to determine HOW you are losing prime before
you can solve the problem.
PLEASE READ the TROUBLESHOOTING OVERVIEW
to help you decide how to best solve this problem
Special tips for GIANT SCALE (greater than
4.2 cu in.) engines!
As engines used in GIANT SCALE planes get bigger and bigger we
learn more and more about making these planes smoke their best.
With huge airplanes like 1/3 scale Stearmans and 44% EXTRA 300S's
special precautions need to be taken with the check valve used to
prevent loss of prime of the Simple Smoke Pump..Due to inherent
limitations in the Perry Varsane check valve, high volume applications
require two check valves in parallel. NOTE: The new TME check valve
we produce does not have this limitation.
The reason for this is that the varsane check valve, while being
the well suited to insure a positive shutoff in this application,
was never really designed to handle such a large volume of oil flow.
When forced to pass more than about 6 or 8 oz per minute the check
valve seems to choke and restrict flow almost to the point of shutting
off the flow. In this mode the valve seems to remain stuck until
all pressure is removed (pump turned off).
Using the TME Check valve will eliminate this problem due to it's
capacity for flow up to gallons per minute. If you have an extra
varsane valve and since most large engines tend to be twins your
solution is very simple to implement. Run a "TEE" from
the pump output to go to each muffler or header pipe. Just before
you go into the muffler/pipe put a check valve in the tubing. Don't
forget that the last few inches of tubing should be black neoprene
to withstand the heat. Now each check valve shares half the flow
rate so you can pump up to about 16 oz per minute for those big
8 + cu inch engines. This is the setup used by Mike McConville in
his 42% Giles G-202 and others at the TOC using the Simple Smoke Pump.
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I can't seem to get it to prime,
what am I doing wrong?
Assuming you have checked for air leaks in the smoke system hard
priming is usually a sequencing problem. Make sure you prime the
pump BEFORE turning on the engine. In this way the unprimed pump
is not working against the muffler back pressure. Once PRIMED this
pump will have NO PROBLEM with any amount of back pressure.
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My pump no longer works, it makes
a clicking sound every time I try to turn it on, what's wrong?
Most likely you have dirt jamming your pump. This is why we recommend
running filtered oil in our instructions. Our Simple Smoke Pump
II is very easy to disassemble and repair. Please follow the instructions
supplied with the pump. For the original pump, (white case) you
may try to back flush with denatured alcohol. In addition you may
try running reverse polarity to the pump motor. When you do this
disconnect the Simple Smoke Pump from the receiver. If this does
not help disassembly is the only option. If you want to maintain
your pump serviceable for future warranty work we recommend that
you return the pump to us for service.
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