Engine Starter

[mdarr00 at comcast.net]

Well, I guess I don't have any choice, but to reply to this one.  First of all I would like to thank Anthony for the kind words.  

The starter is your run of the mill Sullivan DynaTron Hi-Tork starter.  I removed the original cord for the starter and replaced it with 00 gauge wire.  O.k. that was only when Anthony and I needed to crank over the 12 cylinder Allison in his 1/4 scale P-51 ARF Mustang.  Anyway, I did replace the cord with a heavier wire, but I am unsure of the gauge.  I did this because I wanted a longer cord, plus you get a lot less current drop to the starter.  Now for power I have 2 12 volt batteries wired in series which puts 24 volts to the starter and makes it turn a whole lot faster while increasing torque.  Now I know I am not the only one that ever did this, but what I did, was I wired it to a two position toggle switch rated at 500 volts and 5 amps.  This switch allows me to switch between 12 and 24 volts.  I do not recommend doing this with a Kavan starter.  The Dynatron is designed to run on 12 or 24 volts.  Now obviously this is way more than we will need to start our pattern engines.  Also if your engine would not turn over because it was flooded, the Dynatron on 24 volts would just break the weakest link in the engine.  This starter gets very little use by me, but it is nice to have when needed.  I start my O.S. 140, and Mintor 170s with a Kavan with a 14.4 volt pack.  I purchased the starter and battery form B&P a little over two years ago.  When I go to contests, the battery makes it all weekend on one charge with no problem, and I am not the only one that uses it.  I love my Kavan, when it wears out I will buy another one, and I will get it form B&P.

If anyone is interested in the schematic to wire up a 12/24 volt system up let me know off list.

Mike Darr
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Anthony Abdullah 
  To: discussion at nsrca.org 
  Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2004 9:14 AM
  Subject: Engine Starter


  I hate to use his name without his permission, but Mike Darr has a starter setup that would easily crank over a flat head V8 engine. I think it is a combination of having any quality starter, and the way he has his batteries wired. I wish I had particulars, but I don't. He is a great guy and I am pretty sure he would be willing to share his secret. He monitors the list so maybe he can chime in. He offered me the schematic once, but I declined as I didn't see the need to crank an Allison aircraft engine at the time.

  Anthony

  T&C Brown <tncbrown at charter.net> wrote:
    Lee,

    I'm running a Kavan with the "short" 14.4 volt pack and it cranks the DZ
    with no problems, ( I assume though the Webra might have more compression
    than a YS)....
    Might give Max a call at B&P and try a different battery pack. He also has
    a Magnum starter....similar to a Kavan, that may have a bit more torque.
    Anyway, I'm sure Max could tell you if it could handle it or not.

    T-Bone





    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: "Lee Davis" 
    To: 
    Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 5:26 PM
    Subject: Engine Starter


    > I've got a Hobbico Torquemaster 180 and a Kavan with the 12 nicads.
    Neither
    > cranks my Webra 1.60 worth a flip (note pun). Any suggestions?
    Preferably
    > an off the shelf solution.
    >
    > Lee Davis
    >
    > =====================================
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    > and follow the instructions.
    >


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