i just bought an egt gauge off ebay. it has a single clamp on probe. what it proper placement of probe, what kind of readings should be expected. i have a 94 sportsman 2 stroke that is haveing complete motor job by rick ritter. also what do i do to ensure that i will not have any exhaust leaks when i drill the hole for probe in my pipe. and the guy i bought it from said it came off an airplane. he said it has only 2 wires,and no power source is needed. is this correct. thanks

 

What brand and model number is the EGT?

 

Normally you mount the probe so its 6" from the piston. That should be approx. 4" from where the flange bolts on the cylinder.No there is no power connections unless you have a light in the guage like I do.The probe is what they call a thermocouple which basically transmits the heat along the wires to the guage.You should try to have the wire from the probe at a 90 deg angle to the pipe for the most accurate readings.

 

if RCR is doing your motor then you should put the probe where he says it should go and then follow his recommendations on what it should read.

 

a EGT probe generates a electrical voltage and the gage is a millivolt meter reading in degrees. the better ones have a battery and a recall feature that you can bring back the highest reading after a run so you do not have to try and watch the gage at speed which could be dangerous to you health.

 

From what he has told me in previous conversations with him, Rick doesn't rely on readings from EGT guages.Some people use them and some don't.Mine works well for me. Its a Westech guage and probe.I don't trust it alone though. I also use plug readings to verify the jetting is right. Its nice to be able to look for lean spots with the guage though.It might be jetted fine on a long WOT run on a dirt road, but load the engine hard like in deep snow or slush and watch the temp climb on the EGT.Then I know when to let off before damage is done.

 

thanks for all the info. i do not know what name brand gauge it is. i know it is not one of the upperend ones. i do not ride wot very much. most of my riding is slow in deep mud. thought it would be neat to see what my exhaust temp is running so maybe i could shut it down before something bad happens. i also have a water temp gauge as well. after getting a complete motor job done you dont want to take any chances.

 

Like Sparkys said 6", but that should be from the mating surface on the cylinder. Don't just rely on the gauge, use the plug readings along with the gauge. If you pull up, I think it's cycleworks page, they also have some nice graphics on reading piston wash. 800 degrees 0-1/4 throttle, 1000 @ 1/2, 1250 wide open. Once again, use the gauge as a guide along with the plug readings.

Good Luck,
Ken......if that cycleworks page doesn't have the info, I'll try to find it and e-mail it to you. Start at the lower throttle settings first, and work your way up.