carlf Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I know there's been several postings about Parajet and their customer service in the past - just wanted to add my experience. Long story but in short:- a) Parajet are fantastic and their customer service is truly exceptional! b) I'll be using high-octane fuel from now on! here's the details:- My volution refused to start a few months ago - tried various things but couldn't get it going. Spoke to Parajet and took it down to Parajet HQ and they sorted it. The reed valve had broken, which was replaced and all was well. The motor was back running beautifully. Got a few flights in then the same thing happened - the engine would prime, but whenever I tried to start it, it refused. Initially thought I may have flooded the engine (but couldn't see how), so went through all the steps for a flooded engine and still nothing. Then took the air filter and carb off and could see that the reed valve had blown again. Spoke to Parajet who said to bring it in. They'd said they'd try and turn it round the same day to save travel/courier costs, so I headed off to Shaftesbury and Compton Abbas Airfield for a couple of hours. Kester @ Parajet tried various things with it and discovered the engine was backfiring when the kill switch was pressed. This was causing the reed valve to blow. He put a new reed valve, magneto, carb, and several other techy things to try to resolve the problem but no joy. All the time he kept me updated with progress. I decided to leave the motor with them, as none of these fixed the problem, and Kes had been working on it for hours without a break. The next day, he did loads more to it, including de-coking the exhaust & piston, and overhauling the electrics. This improved the situation but didn't resolve it completely. All the time, the engine was running brilliantly, but still backfired once the kill switch was pressed. As another test, they changed from the standard fuel mix i'd been using to high octane fuel. Hey presto! No more backfiring! So, a simple solution in the end and i'm very much the wiser. I'll certainly be using high octane fuel from now on! The fuel I was using was pretty new and mixed in the right ratio, but was just standard unleaded. Have never had a problem before, but will switch to the higher octane stuff from now on. I had recently been going to a different petrol station, so wonder if their 'standard' fuel is a bit dodgy? I've now got a volution heading back to me that's had:- Many new parts including magneto and reed valve overhaul of the electrics a decoked cylinder head and piston a decoked exhaust nearly 2 days labour spent on it ... and a bill for just £100 I think the volution is a fantastic machine and the backup service from ParaJet amazing. They've always been really helpful as and when any issues have arisen (which fortunately has been very rare). Can't recommend them highly enough Bests Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzo200500 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 That's the sort of service you would expect from a great company! When you say 'high octane' fuel, do you just mean the super unleaded or avgas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 An interesting one this.... I use to have a RAD and used to add Pro Boost (since I had about 50 bottles left from my drag racing days.... It ran soooooooo well compared to without. ( way more of a noticeable difference than with a car or motorbike ) SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlf Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Was a new one for the guys at Parajet too - I'm going to use Superplus unleaded from now on. They've changed the reed valve from plastic to a metal one and in all the testing they did, it didn't blow, so I'll listen out for backfires when I kill the engine in the future. Haven't noticed any backfires in the past, other than for the odd scary landing but the noise then didn't come from the engine Dunno if it's just some duff fuel from our local petrol station - there was a time a while ago when both our cars felt sluggish for no reason. I've filled up cars + paramotor several times since with no issues, but will definitely be more aware of it. Speaking to Kester at Parajet, he uses hi octane and says Deano always does too bests Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 That's really interesting that Kester and Deano use it. I assume this means the 98 RON over 95 RON. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortoise332 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 hi i always run all my engines on shell v power eg strimmers ,race bikes,lawn mower, paramotor its higher octane burns cleaner starting is always first time every time cheers gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzo200500 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Is it worth using 100LL from the local airport? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortoise332 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 i would not use anything more than you can buy over the pumps any thing else in an engine i would say your askin for trouble you can buy all sorts of rocket fuel but if not dynoed properly or set up right it will sieze up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Agreed, Although Pro Boost actually makes the engine run cooler. If you are going to play with it... Do not OD. Or it will melt into a blob and then go cold. LOL SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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