vas
Well-Known Member
interesting but obviously wont work on hydraulic gearboxes that most (all?) modern twin engined craft feature.
V.
Can anyone black start their boat?
- Thread starter burgundyben
- Start date
interesting but obviously wont work on hydraulic gearboxes that most (all?) modern twin engined craft feature.
V.
Assassin
Well-Known Member
They are nothing new and have been used for decades in many industries such as deep coal mines where you couldn't have an electrical starter motor, alternator, or a battery to meet the FLP requirements of such industries due to explosions; many generator systems also have manual engine starting systems, and swinging a V 12 isn't as difficult as many people think on a manual system of starting as they either use the camshaft tail or other reduction gearing systems. Only recently I swung a Gardner over by hand and started it but I wouldn't recommend it as this didn't have reduction gearing for the hand crank and getting it moving is the key, once rotating it is fine.
Modern engines tend not to be used in more critical applications such as hospitals for hand starting and where they have been replaced with newer ECU controlled engines, it is generally where they are auto starting units when there is a mains power loss and they auto start, but even these have been adapted for hand cranking in many cases and they tend to have a control panel into which the control systems are connected and you plug a small (7-10 A/h battery into the control panel before starting them to power there systems before cranking.
Modern engines tend not to be used in more critical applications such as hospitals for hand starting and where they have been replaced with newer ECU controlled engines, it is generally where they are auto starting units when there is a mains power loss and they auto start, but even these have been adapted for hand cranking in many cases and they tend to have a control panel into which the control systems are connected and you plug a small (7-10 A/h battery into the control panel before starting them to power there systems before cranking.
Assassin
Well-Known Member
I used to hand crank the Petter V8 engines when my father worked for them and they were actually easier than the smaller engines to start, but alas they are no longer available, but many are still around.
rotrax
Well-Known Member
I never started one from cold, but watched it done in the early 70's on an unrestored canal working mororboat. It had a Bollinders single cylinder semi diesel with a hit and miss governor.
To start, on a cold day, a paraffin blowlamp was lit-a distinct operation in itself as it was attached to the engine and aimed at the hot bulb. When the blowlamp was roaring away, you adjourned for breakfast in the cabin.
After breakfast, the hot bulb would be transfering its heat into the pre-combustion chamber where the end of the platinum tube would be glowing red hot.
The engine hatch doors would be opened, a rope wound around the massive flywheel on this one-it was pre starting handle-the decompressor lever lifted, and the rope put over a shoulder where a run across the towpath and sometimes into the field with a long rope would spin the engine. The valve lift decompressor would automaticaly close-on this engine anyway-and if all was good it would chuff into life, blowing smoke rings from the vertical exhaust that exited through the engine room roof. Once going, the blowlamp could be stopped as the internal heat kept the platinum tube hot.
It would run all day, never being stopped. It was a two stroke semi diesel and had no gearbox. It would, however, run backwards quite happily.
So, to stop about thirty five tons of boats and coal-it towed a "Butty"-an unpowered narrow boat for extra cargo space-the decompressor was lifted and held open manually. As the engine slowed down, the boats captain and engine operator who knew it inside out, would wait until it had almost stopped. He would then close the decompressor, the engine would not be going fast enough to go over compression and would bounce back in the other direction.
At this critical moment a boot would be applied to the flywheel, helping it along and over compression in the reverse direction.
The engine would start in reverse and the prop would slow the pair of boats which were side by side on a broad canal.
The pair of boats, now in a lock, would be held forward by a bow rope untill the above procedure was done again, but in the ahead direction. The bow would push against the lockgates until they opened, where the crew would board as the pair left the lock.
A lot of faff, I think you will agree.
To start, on a cold day, a paraffin blowlamp was lit-a distinct operation in itself as it was attached to the engine and aimed at the hot bulb. When the blowlamp was roaring away, you adjourned for breakfast in the cabin.
After breakfast, the hot bulb would be transfering its heat into the pre-combustion chamber where the end of the platinum tube would be glowing red hot.
The engine hatch doors would be opened, a rope wound around the massive flywheel on this one-it was pre starting handle-the decompressor lever lifted, and the rope put over a shoulder where a run across the towpath and sometimes into the field with a long rope would spin the engine. The valve lift decompressor would automaticaly close-on this engine anyway-and if all was good it would chuff into life, blowing smoke rings from the vertical exhaust that exited through the engine room roof. Once going, the blowlamp could be stopped as the internal heat kept the platinum tube hot.
It would run all day, never being stopped. It was a two stroke semi diesel and had no gearbox. It would, however, run backwards quite happily.
So, to stop about thirty five tons of boats and coal-it towed a "Butty"-an unpowered narrow boat for extra cargo space-the decompressor was lifted and held open manually. As the engine slowed down, the boats captain and engine operator who knew it inside out, would wait until it had almost stopped. He would then close the decompressor, the engine would not be going fast enough to go over compression and would bounce back in the other direction.
At this critical moment a boot would be applied to the flywheel, helping it along and over compression in the reverse direction.
The engine would start in reverse and the prop would slow the pair of boats which were side by side on a broad canal.
The pair of boats, now in a lock, would be held forward by a bow rope untill the above procedure was done again, but in the ahead direction. The bow would push against the lockgates until they opened, where the crew would board as the pair left the lock.
A lot of faff, I think you will agree.
vas
Well-Known Member
I was exhausted just reading this!
and now we're talking about stiff morse controls and electronic control conversions...
cheers
V.
Kukri
Well-Known Member
I could hand start and bump start the Volvo MD2 in the ex boat. To bump start - get sailing fast on a reach, put in gear, lift decompressors, open throttle, drop one decompressor, then the other.
Firefly625
Well-Known Member
magical in my eyes, thanks for the story.
Ferris
Well-Known Member
Saw this as a kid on a converted Guinness barge on the Irish inland waterways. The owner, a friend of my parents and sadly since passed, loved the Bollinder and used to spend most of the day in the engine room while his guests steered. He could mostly decompress/reverse the engine but would on occasion miss time it and stop the engine - at which point he would jump out of the engineroom, grab the tiller and aim for the softest target he could see.
R.e. the starting procedure, he used to start it by swinging the massive flywheel side to side before getting enough momentum to complete a couple of revolutions before starting so more work than the rope method you describe.
