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Old ED Diesels


Olaf Pedersen
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Sorry you feel that way Olaf but it’s a simple rule in this family friendly forum that you don’t use words which some people find offensive. You (and I) may well use such - and worse - in every day life but it should be a fairly simple matter to phrase your comments within the bounds of language that you’d prefer your young children to hear. 

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Martin, I have to say that I took offence from Olaf's first comment, in the OP, that ED engines were rubbish back in the day.

That is very wrong! I've been an ED engine user for more than 70 years, and I've never had a bad one from the original ED company (i.e. pre-mid-sixties).

Having been horrified by the butchered remains that Olaf purchased (I wouldn't have bothered!), here's a couple of decent examples.

1949 Bee.JPG

ED Comp Special_1b.jpg

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12 hours ago, brokenenglish said:

Martin, I have to say that I took offence from Olaf's first comment, in the OP, that ED engines were rubbish back in the day.

That is very wrong! I've been an ED engine user for more than 70 years, and I've never had a bad one from the original ED company (i.e. pre-mid-sixties).

Having been horrified by the butchered remains that Olaf purchased (I wouldn't have bothered!), here's a couple of decent examples.

 

 

Agree with Martin .The early ED engines were some of the best of their time and used decent materials , allegedly from melted down spitfire or Aero engine pistons( see The ED story) Power output on some models was not as high as some but they worked well giving reliable runs and lasted.as a youngster in the mid to late 50s I ran a mk 2 and a Hunter in boats that gave many hours of running . Considering the school boy abuse they received they lasted well. They also survived many visits to the bottom with no problems once emptied and restarted. ED were I think ths first company to take noise seriously as,  even the sites were being lost because of noise. The produced the  Cadet first diesel with proper silencer ? That was a bit of a failure on the power output. Can't remember what happened  to my first engines but motorbikes took over !

To say they were rubbish is very unfair but we are all entitled to our opinion. Perhaps Olaf had a Friday afternoon job that still crop up even in todays CNC world.

Edited by Engine Doctor
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On 13/09/2021 at 14:30, Olaf Pedersen said:

Got a couple of old diesels on the weekend, don't know why as they were rubbish back in the day and won't have improved over the years...

 

Blasphemy, blasphemy, I tell ye!

I'll have two points, two flats and a packet of gravel.  When's the stoning due to take place? ?

What better way to spend a cold winter's day than covering one's fingers with propeller cuts, then filling them with ether, kerosene and castor oil?


 

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3 hours ago, Robin Colbourne said:

Blasphemy, blasphemy, I tell ye!

I'll have two points, two flats and a packet of gravel.  When's the stoning due to take place? ?

What better way to spend a cold winter's day than covering one's fingers with propeller cuts, then filling them with ether, kerosene and castor oil?


 

Hands were never cracked or chapped though and I can't remember ever getting a prop cut infected. 

Now where are my non rose tinted specs ?.

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My only ED was a 349, that was a lovely brute that was always an easy starter but was never a bit of a slogger.   I must admit that I have vivid (traumatic?) memories of fuel-filled prop cuts, mainly from a Frog 80 and from winter outings with Fok 15 and 25s which didn't like the cold.

"Now where are my non rose tinted specs ?." - and a white stick if you never had chapped, cracked hands or the odd infected prop cut! ?

Edited by Bob Cotsford
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I have had several ED's over the years and most have performed well but I did have one bad experience around 1961. I was building a Mercury Galahad and decided to power it with an ED Racer. I quite fancied the idea of using a glow so I ordered a new Racer diesel plus optional glow head, this was quite an expense for a schoolboy. After a while the model shop phoned to say it had arrived. I collected the box and on opening back home was horrified to see a large flaw in the crankcase casting which actually formed a hole. It was in the rear of the exhaust stack just left of centre so the engine running would not have been affected. Anyway I took it back to the model shop who were horrified on seeing it and sent it back to ED. The replacement engine was fine, as an aside the engine power was excellent as a diesel but gutless when run as a glow (yes I did change to glow fuel!). How it ever got passed ED's inspection (was there any?) I cannot imagine.

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I met a chap in one of our local model shops   now sadly closed who's dad was a bearing salesman back in the 50 /60 s. He visited customers to get his orders as they did back then . While visiting the ED factory he  was talking to a forman or who was in charge of taking orders and noticed a worker hammering in the bearing into the crankcase. He tactfully explained that this could damage the bearings and that putting the crankcase casting in an oven would allow the bearings to simply drop in.

Some time later he visited again and bearings were still being drifted into place. When he enquired he was told that " we tried your method but the bearings were still very tight " . After a bit more discussion he was told " when the cases came out of the oven they were too hot to touch so we waited until they cooled down" !

Whether it was true or not I don't know but judging by some of the "engine people " I've met over the years it could well be.

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