Continental A65 Mixture

[1938BF50]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

Make sure the tester is calibrated....I hear the spring can go weak!

[alwaysoar]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

Yeah, the old age thing. BTW, how did this thread get ambushed by aging moving stars? And old men? Let's get serious here! This isn't supposed to be fun.

[N96337]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

One reason the Stromberg mixture control is so maligned is that the Stromberg hardly needs one. Saying it has little effect is really saying that it was pretty much OK without one. Continental recommends leaving it alone below 5000 ft. Why? Because the carb does fine on its own. Many folk have gone to 10,000 ft and beyond with the mixture wired rich. How? Because the carb works fine on its own. Try that with a Marvel-Schebler wired rich. By 5000' you'll be belching black smoke and running like Carp.

Reason 2 the Stromberg mixture control is so maligned: It does not function as an idle cutoff. It was never intended to, but if the MS carb does it and this one doesn't, the MS must be better.

A properly operating Stromberg mixture control may get you an additional 50 - 100 RPM at 8 - 10,000 ft. More likely it'll just cut a gallon or so off your burn rate. Does this mean it's junk? I don't think so...

Q: Why does my plane perform so much better now that I have this Marvel-Schebler carb?

A: Because your wallet is so much lighter.

TMSAISTI

VERY VERY well said!!!!
JH

[cpirrmann]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

One reason the Stromberg mixture control is so maligned is that the Stromberg hardly needs one. Saying it has little effect is really saying that it was pretty much OK without one. Continental recommends leaving it alone below 5000 ft. Why? Because the carb does fine on its own. Many folk have gone to 10,000 ft and beyond with the mixture wired rich. How? Because the carb works fine on its own. Try that with a Marvel-Schebler wired rich. By 5000' you'll be belching black smoke and running like Carp.

True, I've had mine up to 9700 ft with my Stromberg. I had to turn back because I was getting cold as I was dressed for the July weather at 800'. I don't recall an RPM drop but the airplane was kind of mushing around at @ 50 mph.

[Forrest Barber]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

The Stromberg really changes the air not the fuel..... Sooooo I have mine plated off not wired. BUT I do not go over 5-6000 the Mountain folks can jump in any time... God bless Le Figaro

[Karl Rigdon]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

The Stromberg mixture control is known as a back suction type. The mixture contol is used to reduce the pressure in the float bowl by using the lower pressure in the venturi. This will reduce the pressure across the main jet therefore reducing the fuel flow. It was never ment to be a idle cutoff. Never was real effecive. Do as everone has said,wire it full rich or as Forest said plate it.

[NY86]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

Do as everone has said,wire it full rich or as Forest said plate it.

If you "plate" it, contact me. I'll give you something for the parts you remove!

[larrysmith1016]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

A properly operating Stromberg mixture control may get you an additional 50 - 100 RPM at 8 - 10,000 ft. More likely it'll just cut a gallon or so off your burn rate. Does this mean it's junk? I don't think so...

Q: Why does my plane perform so much better now that I have this Marvel-Schebler carb?

A: Because your wallet is so much lighter.

TMSAISTI[/QUOTE]

I use a mix control on a Stromberg here in WNC. I don't have any fuss with it, and you CAN use it to shut off the engine. Run the engine up to 1500 rpm then pull out the mix control, then firewall the throttle. Your A-65 will shut down. Not recommended, though.

[taylorcraftbc65]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

I have noticed that when I fly at 8 to 10 thousand feet, out here in the desert in the summer, I get about 50 RPM better with the mixture control set leaner. I also have MUCH cleaner plugs, and yes, it stretches out my range too. The only reason that I will probably go to an MS carb at some date is that the only person in the area who knows how to work on the originals is getting very old, and talking about retiring soon. When that happens all of us flying the old stuff will have to choose between letting someone who has never even SEEN one of these carbs learn on ours, or go with something that they are comfortable working on. Brie

[cpirrmann]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

Or some of us better learn how to work on the 'older' stuff. Hey anyone interested in holding workshops?

[VictorBravo]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

I cannot speak for him, and he has more than once told me that he is not very interesteed in rebuilding too many of these old carburetors anymore..... BUT, there is a fellow on this forum who is an expert on Bendix Stromberg carburetors, and he has asked me to help him write up some notes and instructions on them. I will be glad to do so, as soon as he and I can set aside the time to do it.

[NY86]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

I'd like to think I have a few good years left, too...

[larrysmith1016]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

there is a fellow on this forum who is an expert on Bendix Stromberg carburetors, and he has asked me to help him write up some notes and instructions on them. I will be glad to do so, as soon as he and I can set aside the time to do it.[/QUOTE]


By all means you should do so. I have rebuilt several but don't enjoy it. I have 2 more to rebuild and dread it. Some interesting and helpful material on Strombergs may be found on Ron Wanttaja's Fly Baby website. The author's moniker is Cougar, and he's from Sacramento, iirc. Using Cougar's pdf files, I made one of those neat little tools for measuring the fuel level in the float chamber and it works well.

Getting the shims under the seat just right is a trial-and-error operation and a pita.

[NY86]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

The files on the fly baby site are "bootleg copies." The latest versaions are at the Cessna 120/140 site

[larrysmith1016]

Re: Continental A65 Mixture

Yeah, Mr. NY86, that's Neal, a treasure trove of information. Thanks for the link; most readable and helpful!

BTW, I saw an e-mail to Ron W. in which Neal gave Ron permission to use his Stromberg material; he sent the same e-mail to me, for permission to share it with the Taylorcraft group when we were with Topica.