electric starters

pros and con.,i have a few one to three flip starters also a few that are a bit fussey so out comes the electric starter, i read in a thread somewere that you should not use one on a fox 35,if so why,i am aware of the possibilty of a hydraulic lock but dont think the starter could cause any damage,your thoughts...thanks jerry

LAST EDITED ON May-10-01 AT 07:16 PM (EST)

LAST EDITED ON May-10-01 AT 07:14 PM (EST)

Real simple reason; it is a plain bearing engine, and they are much more prone to having the crankpin pushed back into and score the heck out of the backplate when you press the starter cone against the spinner (or prop washer), plus putting a side load on the conrod. Guess where the little metal particles go also? Into the main bushing, and up the bypass into your piston/liner...
It is a BAD idea all around to use a starter on a PB motor, and worse still on any diesel. I never use a starter on any motor I have (about 3 plus large drawers full), and have no problem getting them started in a half dozen flips or less. It is all in knowing each individual motor, and having good fuel, plug (if any), and battery/connections (if a glow).
The electric starter is kinda a " Gee, look what I have!" gizmo as far as I am concerned.

Macho types aside, electric starters make lots of sense! Fingers go away when stuck into props, or the prop chips/splinters on a finger and then sheds a splinter into an eye. It's a shame that folks place such high value on their manliness and motors, and so little on human parts. Use a starter if you feel the desire!

See Ya

Macho types aside, electric starters make lots of sense! Fingers go away when stuck into props, or the prop chips/splinters on a finger and then sheds a splinter into an eye. It's a shame that folks place such high value on their manliness and motors, and so little on human parts. Use a starter if you feel the desire!

See Ya

LAST EDITED ON May-10-01 AT 08:57 PM (EST)

?????????
Why are you sticking your fingers into a running motor? And where are the safety glasses you should have on? And what has that, or so called "manliness" to do with a darn thing we are talking about here?
Do you like buying new motors (PBs or diesels)?, I don't, and I don't now, and never have had a problem flipping them by hand. If you are that worried, ever hear of a "chicken stick"? Lots cheaper than an electric starter, and fits right in the pocket too.
It's all called knowledge, common sense, and personal responsibility, I realize those are SCARCE commodities in a great deal of the world today, but that is the bottom line, "macho" hasn't a thing to do with it.
Electric starters are hardly a cure all for a problem that doen't exist to begin with. Ever see someone with oily hands lose their grip on one? or have the drive cone slip off the spinner and the shaft goes into the spinning prop? Or they get themselves and the prop tangled in the starter power cord all at once?

My rule, which I sometimes follow, is that if it doesn't start in four flips, I reach for the starter. Then I flip it one more time and often it starts. With an engine not set up for a starter, you can certainly grind the crank on the backplate, and that is not good. Starters work OK on diesels, if you know what you are doing, it's just that diesels, because of the higher compression, are easier to hydraulic lock. With a starter you can start a diesel at much lower compression than you can with flipping it. Particularly true of larger diesels. My starter is so weak, I don't think I could hurt a hydraulic-locked 049 with it.

Any engine you fly much, you should fiddle with until it is a reliable starter. I always wear a leather glove when starting an unfamiliar engine, or one I have not fiddled with in a long time.

Seems to me that the question is mostly one of personal preference. I like my elecric starter-but then I have used it for years in RC, especially on big 4-strokes and high compression things that are nasty to hand start. Also, I have the starter on a Dave Brown rechargable battery pack and with a glo-driver, I'm wireless and fully portable. However, you can argue that the low compression loop scavenged motors with large stunt props should hand start pretty easily. If you want to use an electric starter on these, use a good aluminum spinnner like a Tru-Turn. Place the starter cone gently on the spinner, then hit the switch, so you don't push the shaft back so hard.

RE: electric starters and 'bushed' engines. Some tolerate starters, and some do not, and some can be made to. Many years ago OS started putting a thin spring steel washer behind the prop driver so that it did not allow the aluminum prop driver to contact the aluminum case, and took up some of the crankshaft free play. I thought the principle in play was that steel/aluminum contact would not gall the aluminum and wear out the front of the case. Seems to work just fine. I know that Fox does not believe is such sissified doings and does not provide such a washer, but you can. Given the right washer, I am guessing that a Fox would tolerate a starter, too, but the person who installs the washer ought to know what he is doing, and not load the case against the prop driver when the engine is warm.