Hey Mr. Rimaarts,
I want to be fairly blunt here as to avoid any confusion.
First let me say I know how your feeling! This feeling is common. I started flying nitro about 12 months ago and was nervous, unsure, searching for information, and all for not. I started with a Os50 which came in a used heli built by a hobby master. The .50 ran great! I will say this and people who disagree will disagree but..... The three needle carb is a pain in the neck to tune if you have no idea. I had so many problems tuning the 3 needle carb I got rid of it. I replaced it with a 60L carbureator off of the Os.50 I had laying around and it has ran better than any nitro I have ever seen, imagined, dreamed, it propbably puts out more power than a whole lot of people thinks there great setup 3, 4, 50 needle carb put out.
The bottom line is KISS! I flew my .55 for 5 months with the 3 needle carb, in that span I blew 3 pistons replaced about 20 plugs replaced the bearing 3 times and dicked with the ridiculous 3 needle carb CONSTANTLY!!!!! Is it smoking enough, let me check the temp, can I touch the backplate for 8 and a half seconds, after pitch pump does it surround itself in smoke? ETC...........
If your a novice like you and I, we will notice that the fun is gone when we live the above paragraph. As far as how many needles the carb has? Hell no. I put the Os .50 60L carb on my Os55hz motor in 2 minutes, no special tools or parts to buy its a direct bolt on. Since I started using the 60L carb on my .55 I have flown 14 gallons and tuned the engine initially (3 tanks) and had about 60 hours of fun flying. That's what its all about isn't it.
PS fortunately Used Os .50 hypers are a dime a dozen. Check out helifreaks and look for a Os 50 hyper with a blown piston, I bet the person selling it will part with the entire engine for the price it costs to ship. And since the carburetor doesn't blow with the engine Baam there it is, order yourself a brand new OS .55 hyper take the new OEM carb off, throw it away and put the used one on. This is a honest and true account of factual real world recent account from a fairly savvy modeler like yourself who is only hoping that he had to go through that so that he could enlighten others and save them a good bit of money and a truckload of frustration and grief.
Jon M
My setup
Os 55hz
Os 50 60L carb
Traxxas onboard Temp gauge. $20
Boca Bearing Ceramic front and rear shielded bearings. $70 dollars on the 14th gallon and smooth
VP Powermaster 30% Helimix $140 for
6 gallons delivered
Boxxer Electric fuel pump. Purchased used for $25 dollars powered by electric drill battery
Dewalt 20volt cordless drill (starting equipment) purchased by my boss for ? doubles as a Cordless drill
Switch GloPro (absolute must have for many reasons!) $70
OS#8 plug $6
