rearenginekarts.com

Condensers to come off their back plates? If so what can be done other than a few drops of silicone to hold it if it does come loose? How did you fix them?

Did we have silicon in a tube "back in the day"....? I started using it in the 70s to seal rims for tubeless tires.

Virg,

I don't think common would discribe the problem because it didn't happen too often. I do remember it happening on a high RPM engine I had. I just changed it instead of trying to fix it.

Dick Teal

Hi, Rob. If you try to fix it with silicone, you'll probably wind up insulating it from ground. Throw it away. I can't remember ever breaking one. Of course, most of us Florida rednecks used the big Mallory brass case condensers back then. TJ

Rob,

I should have addressed the last response to you instead of Virg; sorry about that.

I leave for Brodhead tomorrow for my first Vintage event; I hope I'm not disappointed. Hopefully I'll be discussing things like condensors and other back in the day things all week end long.

I may have talked Fred Fox into showing up for a few hours to share his memories of the early days; he didn't race much but he knew/knows the ins and outs of the business back then. Maybe he'll decide that this is something he's interested in and then I can get him to TBO.

Dick Teal

I used to build engines for a kart shop back in the 80's but I never ran into this problem. I have to admit if it can be broken I've broken it. Even parts that don't move .

I have this one 91 I put togehter with a chipped crank, a few needle marks in the crank, kinda some porting ideas I had, just a bunch of junk becasue the real reason was to test some new rod bolts I was tryign out. I figured if they broke it would be no great loss. Well somthing works well in the whole setup and I am scared to take it apart. It don't have much compression and never did but man it runs like hell. Well it finally broke the condenser off. Kinda strange as I have never had this happen to me or seen it before.....but then there's a lot of expierence out there and I thought I would tap into it.

Rob-

I've found that the Mallory #400 condensor works really well and comes with a cool clip on mounting plate. You can buy them all day long for under $6 and other than enlarging the mounting hole in the clip on bracket for the mounting screw, it's a drop in deal. For 101s and Super motors you have to shorten the pigtail a little but that's it.

Dean

Could it be harmonics?The condenser could be setting up a sympathetic vibration. If as you say the engine was assembled from less than perfect parts, it could be setting up a slight vibration at a certain rpm that affects the mass of the condenser. Or just a bad joint between cond. and bracket.

Rob,

I have had several of the short green wired condesors to break off the bracket while at speed. I have not had any problems the the long condensor. I now put a bead of silcone on the bracket and condensor where they meet to prevent this from occuring again. I would not try to bond the broken one back to the bracket.

Also make sure the felt behind the condensor is touching the condensor to help absorb vibration. A lot of those felts are worn down and dont do anything except fit in the pocket of the stator cover.

It was the short green wired one that came off. I did use some silicone. No reusing teh old one after the flywheel beat it to an ugly death.