Keleo Creations: Exhaust Ring

Easy radial exhaust system

Everyone loves radial engines; they look and sound great. But the one thing that modelers don't like about radials is the routing of their separate exhaust pipes. A single flex pipe is usually needed for each cylinder, and the more cylinders the engine has, the worse the problem.

Keleo Creations has the answer you've been looking for: an exhaust collector ring. With the Keleo exhaust ring, the need for flex pipes-and all the headaches associated with them-is gone forever. Made of aluminum that has been powder-coated for durability, the exhaust rings are very strong and light. The ring that I reviewed was for a Saito FA-170R3D (3-cylinder).

Each header on the ring is flanged to seat in the exhaust port of the engine, and attachment nuts are installed on the headers. Installing the ring is uncomplicated but does require a little patience. As you first install the ring, you'll find that the last header probably won't line up exactly with its exhaust port. This is OK, as the instructions say that the ring does not fit until the header pipes are all the way into the ports and fully tightened.

I found that working one header into an exhaust port and just starting one of the attachment nuts is the way to go. I could then fit the next header and start the attachment nut. When all of the headers have been fitted, one at a time, slowly tighten the attachment nuts. Don't fully seat a single header, as you'll pull the other headers out of alignment. Nor should you overtighten the nuts, as you can distort the flanges and make it very difficult to remove the exhaust ring later.

To test the exhaust ring, I mounted the engine on my Kondor Model Products Sea Fury. It surely did look great! I've flown the engine in another model, so I knew what to expect from it. Much to my surprise, there was virtually no change when compared with the flex pipes that I had used before. The engine's rpm were right where they should be, and the idle was unaffected. The engine still had that cool radial sound.

The Keleo Creations Exhaust Ring is a product that many modelers have been waiting for. It's fairly easy to install and really cleans up a radial engine's installation; the only tool you need is a wrench. Keleo Creations offers many styles of exhaust rings for all the popular radial engines. If you need a custom ring, contact Keleo; the folks there will be more than happy to make exactly what you need. The exhaust ring for the Saito costs $95, and that's quite a bargain for what it does.

Keleo Creations (503) 359-5318; keleo-creations.com.

Copyright Air Age Publishing Aug 2005
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