PTS Flowbench Forum

Hey all, New guy on the block. Thanks for adding me. I'm a middle aged guy that always wanted to learn about ports and air flow. Planning to build a bench in the near future. Main interest is flow on antique tractor engines. Low RPM (under 2500) I have a rear engine dragster with an alcohol BBC engine we also play with. Looking forward to learning from what I have seen so far.

Thanks
Terry

Welcome to the forum. Build a big enough bench and you can flow those bbc heads also. In my humble opinion you have joined the best flow bench forum bar none. When you decide to build you will find Bruce the most helpfull guy there is. His service after the sale is the best in the business and you will find his products are also the best. Again, welcome to the forum. Ron

Thanks Ron. I have to say I have been reading and all the feedback I have seen is great about Bruce.

Hi everyone, just doing a follow up on a problem i had with a flowcom, why it was Rebooting on & off, my bad i punched in a wrong cal, so the fix was hold #4 button down an turn power on, resets the software, the flowcom also asked what bench i had which was a SF300.., SuperFlow had it setup for a SF750. so all is good bench is up an running. im looking to change the bench here in the future an by looking through this forum theres alot of good souls here, Great Site. thx Guys jbcycles.net. VELOCITY TORQUE HORSEPOWER, BEND SOME AIR.
Goodnite . Jim.

So, here I am. Postman brought me a brown envelope, PTS plans! I have tried to study this on my own, but too much info without possibility
to put into practice. I´ve decided to make my own bench and flow my heads by myself.

I appreciate all the advices in advance.

First tihng before ordering anything, how many motors I should use if I use Ametek 116670-50. That´s the 240 volt motor on PTS plans.
I have have + 300CFM on target, should I then use 6 of those motors?

Thanks in advance

Toni

Let the adventure begin. Greetings from sunny Utah!

I'm considering building a modest flow bench for working with small, multi-purpose V-twins. These are four-stroke engines ranging from 670 - 1000cc, sold for OEM and re-power applications in tools such as pressure washers, zero-turn-radius mowers, wood chippers, etc.

I fly experimental gyrocopters for a hobby, and in recent years, conversions of these engines have made enough horsepower to fly small aircraft, offering a reasonable alternative to the more typical Rotax two-strokes. In lawn tractor pulling, these engines are being modified to produce up to 3 HP per cubic inch at 10-12,000 RPM on alcohol, but with an anticipated engine life of 75-90 minutes. I'm hoping for something more like 1.3 HP/CI, at 5,500-6,500 RPM on pump gas, for 500-600 hours.

I don't anticipate doing much porting, although I'd like to learn the basics needed to clean up the inelegant castings. My primary interest is to gather enough data on the stock engines to make accurate use of engine simulation software. I figure I can save money and time by making mistakes in the virtual realm before breaking metal stuff.

I've ordered a set of the plans, and spent a ton of time reading threads here the past few days, enough to convince myself that the cost of building a small flow bench will be justified just for the learning, even if I never wind up flying cross-country with my butt strapped to a Briggs & Stratton. But I have a few questions:

(1) Is there a good rule of thumb for CFM needed per horsepower? I envision getting 25 - 30 HP per cylinder after modification. Would a single vacuum motor capable of 90 CFM at 44 inches (such as the Ametek 119347-01) be enough to flow heads, manifolds, carbs and throttle bodies in this class?

(2) Has anyone used the digital manometer and Flowsoft on a very small bench like this, or on an orifice-in-a-tube style bench? Any issues? (Does it run in Windows 10?)

(3) Has anyone built a small flow bench in modules to allow breaking it down for transport in a pickup truck?

(4) How often do you guys use the exhaust mode on your benches?

Thanks for all the hard work that's gone into the wealth of info available here. I look forward to your input on my very unusual project, and hope to meet the guys using PTS benches near me. Thanks!

Paul in West Valley City, UT

Hi Paul, welcome to the Forum.

(1) You can do a lot better than rule of thumb with "Pipemax" low cost engine development software. It will tell you virtually everything you need to know for engine development, including required airflow, valve sizes and lifts, valve timing, tuned induction and exhaust lengths, and expected Hp and torque for any four stroke gas engine you can possibly imagine of any size.

(2) The digital manometer just measures air pressures, it does not "know" how big the bench is. It can be calibrated for any sized measurement orifice in any sized bench. Bruce can supply anything you may need.

(3) Most people stick pretty closely to the supplied plans, but there is no real reason why you could not build something modular that could be taken apart. One approach might be to fit all your motors into a blower box with an intake side and an exhaust side. That can be reversed for suction testing or blow testing, easy if its on wheels. The measurement part of the bench could be another another box, and the instrumentation in something easy to move around like a suitcase. Its not a popular solution, but I believe it has been done.

I will 2nt the PipeMax software. Grate produce and affordable!!!!!!

Thanks guys! PipeMax has been on my list to consider, but the website I found had very little info on what it can actually do or what inputs are required. I'll look further.

Paul

There are a few very old long time threads about "Pipemax" on the Speed Talk Forum.
It has a very good reputation and is highly regarded by all.