[skypupnut]

Low nitro and OS F glow plug work great in my big cats
2 3000 and 2 2000
only had 1 that was new and they do take a long time to settle in,
definite improvement after 2 gallons

[AlexL]

Bought a brand new 3250 at the London swap meet, and the guys with me were trying to discourage me from buying it, telling me that it is a boat anchor; to use their words exactly.

Sure enough, trying to get it run for the first time took me five days and a lot of bruises on the hand by back fire kicks trying to hand start it. Didn't even run.

Did everything right, OS F plug, standard 15% fuel for run-in purpose, and just couldn't get it started. Searched all the webs and realized that people replaced the original carb with an OS 7D. Don't have a 7D but have a 7H and borrowed a friend's shank/adapter to fit the OS carb to the 3250 because its carb has a bigger throat than the one's from 3000, and comes with the adapter.

What a difference, started on the first back-flip, and after adjusting the low end, I could 4-cycle it and ran with the ignitor off.

Put the ST carb back and same thing, it started eventually but no matter what, couldn't get it to run as what the OS carb did, I just junk that lump of matal and couldn't understand why Super Tigre still retain that design, otherwise, the engine is beautiful. It has gone through 3 tanks of fuel through it, and is really developing a lot of power, even though I am still keeping the rpm within 6.7 to 6.9k on a MA 18x8 prop.

Just want to share this with all you Big Cat owners. The final thought is if I see another one, I will buy one again, but definitly chuck the original carb.

[jlecopoy]

we have always mixed our fuel1/2 and 1/2 with methanol, any old 5 % fuel, and methanol from the fuel station. try it, you will never look back,,,,it works on any big tiger, we run 2000 2500 3000, and put many a gallon through

[Kevin McGrath]

So called ST fuel is usually 0% nitro and lower than normal oil and this is what the larger Supertigre,s thrive on.
They also need a long rich break in but once broken in are vg engines.
I wouldnt think of putting one in the air without reliable runs on a test stand which may involve quite a bit of time.
I have heard of the OS carb fix but was always able to get the ST carb to work OK after break in.
BTW my experience was with a .90 and a 3250 both of which I would buy again .There are some real bargains available on ST,s needless to say.

[juice90]

an old friend of mine has run both the 2500 and the 3000 fer a number of years and they seem to only like 0 nitro fuel.. which is great cuz a gallon of methal hydrate and a lil oil and u have cheap fuel. try 0 percent... not sure what oil he used, if it was castor or syntetic, but u can experiment with the 0 percent easily enough. And never had any problems with either engine.

[flysrcs]

My last ditch effort to get this engine to run reliable is to try FAI fuel. This pig seems to have its best runs when I have old fuel.
Dave

[Canhos]

You may want to try to get something with a low oil content too. I seem to remember a buddy was buying nitromethane or whatever it is from a rod shop, and mixing it 50/50 with some 5% airplane fuel. ended up with 2.5% and 12 or so oil. Don't quote me, but it rings a bell. And he mixed up a 5 gallon jug. I think it lasted him years, as it was a seldom used plane he ran it in, With a 3250 or so ST engine. (the old one).

[valhalla]

Originally Posted by flysrcs

My last ditch effort to get this engine to run reliable is to try FAI fuel. This pig seems to have its best runs when I have old fuel.
Dave

I sure wouldn't describe the ST3000's I've owned as pigs. Rather, they have been powerful and essentially cheap to buy and run.

If you plan to fly this engine a lot consider making your own fuel, essentially FAI. I just buy a gallon of Sig castor oil and bulk methanol. Mix your fuel at 88%methanol / 12% castor oil and you are good to go.

You can use Klotz synthetic (for methanol) as well, or a mix of castor/synthetic if you desire.

Check local suppliers in the yellow pages for methanol if various sized drums, you will save a ton of cash that way. Save your old fuel jugs for mixing.

These engines prefer little or no nitro. Give your engine plenty of rich break-in time.

[Peter Gordon]

Doubt it'll help your issue, but I had a 3250 that had running issues. The rings were "stuck" in the groves, not allowing good compression to build. The rings/grooves had built up with castor varnish. cleaned it our with the old antifreeze-in-a-crock-pot trick. Ran beautifully after that.

[d_orgera]

I'm a long-time fan of ST engines. I agree that the ST 3000 is definitely a fussy engine right out of the box and requires a great deal of patience through the long break-in. It has a much higher compression than, say, an OS 160 FX, so initially it will ping and overheat on fuels with nitromethane. You can run FAI fuel, and yes, it is cheap to mix your own no-nitro fuel, but that won't improve its performance. Try adding an extra head gasket to shim up the head and reduce the compression. You should then be able to run as much as 10% nitromethane, which will provide improved throttle response and transition through the midrange. Changing the carb for an OS 7D is a popular, and expensive suggestion, but I wouldn't bother. The ST Carb can be set up perfectly with a bit of patience. Finally, you should be turning no less than an 18x10 or 20X8, or even a 20x10 prop, depending on your application. Your rpm range should be somewhere between 7000 and 8000 on the ground...anything more is just noise. Good luck with it. One thing is for sure...You'll get years more use from that ST engine than from any OS engine. OS may be famous for their right-from-the-box fill-flip-fly engines, but I've found they don't last half as long as ST engines before requiring a major overhaul.