Springstarter
- Thread starter Sybarite
- Start date
pvb
Well-Known Member
Do you really think so? Quite apart from the fact that they don't seem to make versions for most small boat engines, it has to be bolted on in place of the starter motor, and in most small boats there wouldn't be enough space to swing the handle to wind up the spring.
john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
Which small engine do you think that they don't make one for? On the list of manufacturers most of the common engines seem to be covered. I have been very tempted by such a device - even if access was limited and it meant me having to remove the starter motor and replace it with the spring one. As I can't start my engine by hand, it seems one possible solution to an otherwise challenging situation.
Even Chance
Well-Known Member
What a great idea!! Full marks to the designer!
earlybird
Well-Known Member
The idea has been around some time, but, IIRC, the price was fairly eye-watering.
But perhaps they're being made in China now!
But perhaps they're being made in China now!
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
I'm very impressed that it will start an engine that doesn't have a fuel tank. What do they mean by that?
pvb
Well-Known Member
Click on a few of the popular leisure engine makes, and see which engines they offer starters for. Look at Yanmar, for example, or Volvo Penta. And as I said, there's not enough room in most small boats to swing the handle, even if you could be bothered to unbolt and remove your starter motor and bolt on the springstarter. Wouldn't it just be much cheaper and easier to have a more robust battery arrangement, or even a spare battery?
pvb
Well-Known Member
earlybird
Well-Known Member
You just put the engine in gear and keep winding the handle.
Tranona
Well-Known Member
Nothing new. Seem to remember them as options on Fordson tractors going back to the 1950s.
Useful for installations such as generators and irrigation pumps etc which are used occasionally and in places where a battery supply would be difficult.
Useful for installations such as generators and irrigation pumps etc which are used occasionally and in places where a battery supply would be difficult.
halcyon
Well-Known Member
Noah fitted one of them to the Ark
there as old as the hills, used a lot on mobile compressors and fork trucks.Brian
stevebrassett
Well-Known Member
Am I being thick here? If you fit one of these do you always have to hand start, or does it work as a conventional stater as well? The website doesn't make it clear.
Or do you leave it in a box, and only swap it when the battery is dead? Not sure I'd fancy doing that at sea.
Or do you leave it in a box, and only swap it when the battery is dead? Not sure I'd fancy doing that at sea.
Graham_Wright
Well-Known Member
Says it works "even without fuel tank". Free motoring?
scottie
Well-Known Member
A lot of engines have /had an option to have 2 starter bell housing which makes this a viable proposition dependent on cost and may even be a requirement if used in a SOLAS installation.
Main memory of seeing one in action is its a hell of bang when it goes off.
Fuel tank ref may be about engines with additional starting fuel
A bit like mechanics tool box always included spark plug cleaning brush
Main memory of seeing one in action is its a hell of bang when it goes off.
Fuel tank ref may be about engines with additional starting fuel
A bit like mechanics tool box always included spark plug cleaning brush
halcyon
Well-Known Member
Spring start was used when the vehicle was in an explosive environment and you could not have electric start. Or some things like tractors and road compressors may be totally mechanical operation and have no battery.
Brian
DanTribe
Well-Known Member
I believe Caterpillar bulldozers also had them in the 50s but it took hours to wind them up enough and once running they were left on for ages.
I borrowed a moped in the 70s which had a similar thing instead of a kick-start, you pumped the pedal a few times then released the spring.
john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
But they have listed Kubota (which is the base engine for several 'popular' marine engines.
If you know your Volvo Penta base engines, many of them are listed as well. They just don't explicitly list all the Volvo Penta variants but lots of the starter motors are interchangeable and the later models are just updated variants using the same starter. There might be a few engines not covered (I haven't checked for Vetus for example) but most of the ones I looked for were there if you dug around a bit. I didn't check for Yanmar but it might be worth asking them as they say 'ask for any other model'. Certainly not such a problem as to dismiss the whole concept.
As it happens we have an entirely separate engine start system which cannot be drained by the domestic services, but which is charged by the wind and mains generator as well as the alternator when the engine is running. I suppose we might have a problem if we had a major electrical fire in the battery compartments (we have two with a bulkhead in between), and its in those sorts of circumstances that I might be wanting a wind up starter to fix in place of the normal starter motor. Of course it helps that I can very easily reach the sides and front of our engine and I carry a very comprehensive tool kit and socket set etc so on our boat I don't ever worry about access etc.
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john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
I like the air start motors on REALLY big diesels. They wind the engine up and suddenly the whole thing bursts into life.
Poignard
Well-Known Member
Why not fix the problem that is causing the flat battery? Might be a cheaper option. 
pvb
Well-Known Member
Why not fix the problem that is causing the flat battery? Might be a cheaper option.
At last! Another practical boat owner.