Hello Bret:
In the past, I have had a HP.40 set up by an “expert” and he made the throat in the Venturi .281”. Another chap assured me FHA’s the proper Venturi size for this engine was indeed .281”. However, I never was satisfied that the engine would only run wide open. I should have caught on that the Venturi was indeed excessive in size!
What size of an opening would you suggest?
.281 is at the extreme limit for venturi size, as previously noted, and note that suggested something smaller about a year ago. *You do not want large venturis*, you want something that is tractable so you can get flights in and not have to screw around with all these problems.
Magic is not real, and a .195 venturi is grossly excessive. I recommend .150 to start with on the straight venturi. As previously suggested, if you are going to run an ST spraybar, something around .260-265 will get you pretty close.
For future reference, *calculate the choke area*, that is, the area of the smallest cross-section. For a starting point on an HP40, the choke area should be in the range of 0.015 to 0.017 square inches. If it is bigger or smaller than that, then, get a different one, until it is in that area. That will ensure that you will have enough stability to actually use it in flight.
It
will not be terribly powerful that way, but it will at least work with a reasonable range of stunt props and suction feed. You aren't trying to compete, so you probably want to err on the side of easier operation, rather than trying to eke the last bit of power out of it.
For reference, if you are using the ST spraybar, that means the venturi to start with is between about .260 (.0149 square inches) and 0.0268 (0.0169 square inches). If you are using a flush inlet, then it should be between .142 (.158 square inches) and .147 (.170 square inches), although you can probably get away with the .150.
Note that a few thousands of an inch makes a huge difference, you can't be changing things from .150 to .195 to .250 and make any sense out of the results. If you had a #26 drill (nominally .147) and just drilled a hole in aluminum with it, you will get about .149-.150 just because it won't be perfectly concentric.
And, *there is still a problem with your spraybar*, almost certainly some sort of debris somewhere, that needs to be fixed as well.
Brett
p.s. note also:
https://stunthanger.com/smf/engine-set-up-tips/engine-will-not-go-rich/msg584225/#msg584225