Best way to ship an engine for a CT70

[kirrbby]

Wanted to toss this out there. This seems like a good place.

If you're looking for a good box to store a motor, consider a box that reems of paper come in. If you use ½" foam or cardboard on all sides, top and bottom its a tight fit. The foam strengthens a already pretty tough box too. Might have to finesse the foam just a bit, like dig the shift shaft and cylinder nuts into it a bit. Pretty good and easy to find box to use tho.

I have the motor dimensions figured to be 16½L 10½W with the stator cover, and 8H with it dug slightly into the bottom foam. The only foam I have here is 1" thick, that's what's in the pics.

I'm finding heavyweight boxes available for sale. I'm lookin to buy some, 20x14x12High to use with 2" thick foam on all sides for long term storage or shipping. Just FYI.

 

[Dezdan]

And to add to that, the standard paper box fits perfectly into a milk crate. I store my spares in milk crates, some in paper boxes, some not. All have a piece of plywood cut and installed on the bottom of the crate followed by a piece of cardboard then the engine. Wood is to keep the crates bottom from warping.
Spares:


Only visible spare in a paper box (on the bottom of course):

 

[mtspeeddemon]

I'm sorry but I must be doing something wrong. I put an engine in a cooler, took it to the self-service machine at the post office and it said $111! That was standard post and the cheapest of all the options.

Now I did have an extra head and jug in there but 111! I'm way off of your $60 ish price ranges. It did ask if any side was over 22.5 inches and of course I was over by about an inch so answering yes and my dimensions may have been the difference. I can't imagine the extra weight of the extra head and jug make that much difference but I could be wrong.

I thought about maybe putting the extra parts in a medium flat rate box.

Maybe I'll stop by FedEx and UPS but I'm just trying to get rid of some junk that I'm not really profiting from. I may be better to toss it

 

[MartinM54]

Fedex

Send via CT70 power...

 

[bruces]

Greyhound

 

[Dezdan]

I had one shipped from the mid-west to WA a number of months ago via USPS, and it was only $54 to ship w/tracking. Packed in a paper box with extra cardboard lining on the inside and completely wrapped with tape.

 

[kirrbby]

I'll bet this could be done with a couple cans of spray foam. "Great Stuff Big Gap Filler". I might try it sometime for kicks. Maybe start with a box made of 2" foam...

https://lilhonda.com/index.php?threads/how-to-ship-an-engine.13539/

I did a experiment with some spray foam... Friday night. Didn't work...yet. I'm still monkeying with it, and it seems promising.
I sprayed the foam into plastic garbage bags. Well it didn't cure where it couldn't get air...actually moisture, out of the air. I did a little research AFTER it failed. I think I can make it work...next time.
I'll post what I end up from my first try tho, after I get to my BEST result.

This Great Stuff, IS, great stuff. But there are some tricks to using it.

 

[kirrbby]

I used 3 Force Flex garbage bags, one for the motor, and 2 to hold the foam. I sprayed the foam into each bag, filling from the bottom, up to about 2/3 full. Put the lid on the box, and weighted it down. Late the same day, when I checked it, it was cured, kinda like a very soft boiled egg...runny in the center.
I started researching on YouTube. The foam needs to be able to get moisture to cure...water, from the air, or? One guy said add wet pieces of newspaper. I started wetting newspaper and pushing it into the runny center with a wire. Worked very well, but there were still pockets uncured all around...more wet paper...more wet paper in other spots.

Short story... I got it all cured up after about 3 rounds, chasing pockets of uncured foam. Learned a lot about how to work with spray foam. Next time I think I can do something good.

I'm not sure if it's worth the work I'm putting into it, but it's godd for fun and learning to me. And, it WILL make a awesome package for a engine when I get it right. The foam is pretty tough stuff, and forms nicely around the motor. Combined with Dow foam and a good box...awesome custom fit package.

 

[kirrbby]

Bags removed.

 

[kirrbby]

In these pics, the bags have been removed. This is just the foam blocks.

 

[kirrbby]

x

 

[69ST]

FWIW, I think you're on the right track. It's going to boil down to practicalities of cost & time spent per unit. It's pretty difficult packaging and engine adequately without spending at least $20 on materials, $30 isn't uncommon, and $50 can be spent with shocking ease. Then there's the time element.

The major impact point is the underside, primarily the drain plug, and it's hardest to get insulation thickness there...look at the foam in you pix and you'll see what I mean, if you haven't already that is.

Suggestion(s):

• a double-wall box that allows at least 2" of insulation between the inner & outer boxes (this will require two appropriately-sized boxes) along the bottom & sides (flywheel & clutch).
• Consider extra layers of cardboard at the head & countershaft ends. That will provide a a goodly amount of low-mass, heavy-duty impact protection & structure, on the cheap. ~1.5" of cardboard, layered beneath the motor, with a clearance hole for the drain plug, takes care of the main impact point.
• Add the foam bags last, using them to positively locate the engine inside the inner box. That'll finish the composite packaging structure nicely.

IMO, it'll come down to a choice between bolting the engine to a tightly-fitted piece of plywood, inside the inner box and using "re-purposed", rigid, styrofoam to keep the motor from rattling around... and the expanding foam. You'll probably need a full can of "Great Stuff"...which isn't exactly free and takes time to do properly. By the time you're done comparing various options, you may find the "cheap cooler and pool noodles" setup the most viable, because the cost isn't much different and it's quick...almost effortless.

FYI, expanding foam bags have long been available. They're kinda pricey; worse yet, the price of the heater needed to active the foam will have you clutching your chest.

 

[andrewdell19]

I've shipped a few without issues. First point of emphasis is heavy duty boxes. Don't skimp on the boxes. The first box i use is usually bigger than the motor by a bit. I use heavy duty moving boxes and tape the bottom flaps well. Then I get a piece of sturdy cardboard to cut to the exact measurements of the box to help spread to weight across the bottom a little better. Then one layer of packing strip styrofoam about 2 inches thick which i usually have plenty of from ordering odds and ends around the entire box. I wrap the actual engine in bubble wrap a few times and then line the bottom box #2 with more styrofoam. Place engine inside of box #2 make sure it's padded well. Then place box #2 inside of bigger box #1 and take up any space by using more styrofoam or peanut packing. Then tape the kids hell out of the box.

It's quite a task and suggest you take your time. I also wrap the splines individually in newspaper and then bubble wrap before wrapping the entire engine. Good luck!!

 

[cornishrooster]

This doesn't necessarily apply to just an engine but I shipped a bononza chopper mini bike from east to west coast for $50 via grey hound bus station. It took 3 weeks and a couple years off my life since there's no tracking but it did eventually arrive unscathed.