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Kero/Diesel Selector
The kero/diesel option which switches between preset routines for each fuel. This saves you the
ordeal of having to make many adjustments to fine tune the starting every time you switch fuels,
now you just press a button to click your fuel, and go. Diesel being heavier and higher flashpoint
fuel than kerosene requires a different start technique to enable it to start quickly and cleanly. We
have spent time optimizing the engine for each fuel and have prepared two start routines. You
choose the fuel option at the beginning of the START Menu and leave the ECU to use its pre-set
start routine. We recommend to increase the idle RPM by 5000 rpm to get better acceleration
when using diesel fuel.
Max thrust pre-set
To pre-set the engine to a reduced maximum rating there is a simple setting in the RUN menu
which shows maximum rpm with a corresponding nominal thrust figure. So it is easy to dial in a
certain thrust without having to know the rpm setting for this. This adjustment is operative be-
tween around half power and maximum. Can be adjusted while the engine is running.
Pump pre-set
A new engine package will have the fuel pump setting already set. In event of the pump needing
replacement for any reason the user can set the new pump to the default setting (100) and see
the heating effect on the engine on a start. If slow to heat up then the value can be raised to the
next level (125) which should be sufficient. If the flow is too high, perhaps the pump is very strong,
it may extinguish the ceramic element and make white smoke instead of proper ignition. In which
case the value can be lowered to 75 and the test repeated. Settings beyond these are not needed.
Once set, this value can be left and does not need adjusting in normal use unless swapping the
engine to a 2
nd
install. In this case it is a good idea to write on each pump the value used for the
best starting and when swapping the engine over to enter this value in the START menu. In prac-
tice we have found no adjustment needed from the default setting. All other start functions are
handled automatically by the ECU. There is no other fiddly tuning unlike in older kerostart systems.
Extended run recording
The heart of the ECU is one of the latest high speed microprocessors which enable it to carry out
millions of instructions per second and do a great many things at the same time without having to
stop and wait. It has its own memory so can hold programme instructions and operating data and
store runtime data from previous engine runs.
Hub
To enable connection of the power supply and signals to and from the outside world to the ECU, a
small connector board which we call the “Hub” is provided. This forms the connecting point for:
The receiver throttle signal (max voltage 10v)
ECU battery (volts 7.4 – 9.9v)
Fuel pump
