Belt starting an engine

[Eric Drust]

Does anyone know of a good video on how to start a boat with a belt and starter?

It seems obvious enough, but I am having a hard time figuring out how a belt can have enough torque, when half the time I can't even turn my engine over with a pull start.

Also, can a cordless drill be used instead of a dedicated starter, or are drills not enough RPM? For the few times I will ever use my boat, I can't justify buying a starter and then a 12V battery for it, if I can use something I already have around.

What length starting belt is good on a JAE 12 sized boat?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[HOTWATER]

Get in touch with Glenn Quarles (on here)....he has some nice fitting belts (ecspecially for the 12 Nova's thin v-grooved flywheels)...you can also try a sewing machine shop....they should have belts of all different lengths and widths.

You can also loosen the glow plug a bit to get a tight motor to turn over...just remember to tighten it back up when you get it running!

 

[Eric Drust]

Thanks! I will get in touch with Glenn about a belt. Our last sewing machine shop in town went out of business, (my wife informed me of that a few years back), so I won't have any luck heading down that path.

 

[MarkTanski]

I get Bando Rib-Ace belts from a local bearing and drive shop, cheaper than the RC and sewing machine offerings, same thing just no fancy name on the package.

You used to be able to get them from Sears in the sewing dept also some fabric shops sell a few sewing machine parts.

No local hobby shops, we have to be inventive about our suppliers or mail order everything.

 

[moparbarn]

a vacuum clearner or appliance repair shop will have inexpensive belts, also. a local vacuum repair shop saves old belts for me, most still very servicable

 

[Eric Drust]

The belts you guys are referring too, are they a bit wide? It looks like I have only a 1/8in wide slot in my flywheel.

 

[HOTWATER]

See Glenn.....

 

[Ron Olson]

Eric, you asked a question that I've seen asked I don't know how many times. Although it sounds so elementary to most of us, a lot of new boaters don't know how to do this. It would be a very easy video for someone to make and that person might be surprised at how many hits it could get on a site like You Tube! Some are people that want something else as an option besides a pull-starter or want to know how to do it if they are planning on buying a nitro boat.

Electric drills have been used on the bevel-gear starters like the Sullivan Tiger Drives. My son had one on a nitro truck and used my drills with a cut off ball-end Allen wrench to fire it up. Using a pulley on a drill though I don't know if it would work so I'm not saying that it won't but could mostly depending on the drill used.

For a JAE .12 that would also depend on the starter used. Most can get away with one from 12"-15" long.

 

[Ron Olson]

Here's an up close picture of what you're looking for, a Grimracer starting belt in a JAE 12.

 

[Ron Olson]

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g67/floatsfast/100_0456.jpg?t=1315028116

 

[Daniel's Racing]

Does anyone know of a good video on how to start a boat with a belt and starter?

 

[bmazor]

Just from my experiens. I use Sullivan Hi torxh starter with 24 V LIPO battery. I can start gas engines and .91 nitro. Enough torxh and 3000 mAh battery good for 30 starts.

 

[Joal Garner]

get a starter off a motorcycle engine , thats what we use , its awesome , its got so much grunt .

you motor must be tight , loosen the glow plug slightly , that will help also

 

[Eric Drust]

Thanks guys for all the help! The YouTube video is funny, it reminds me of me, other than I was using a pull starter. A week ago I pulled and pulled and pulled, and finally broke the pull starter right out of the engine. It never fired once. I was so frustrated I almost tossed the boat in the campfire, but my wife talked me out of it. The next day when I calmed down I decided I am going to try belt starting instead and see if I have any better luck. I have another engine without a pull starter, and I already Installed it in the boat. I just need to get a belt and starter.

I am a pretty easy going and calm guy, but honestly this R/C boat has hands down been the single most frustrating thing I have ever dealt with in my life. I have never had something so outwardly simple be such a royal pain to deal with.

Do these 12V starters you guys post photos of and like in the video, have a one way bearing? My thought was as soon as I let off the starter it would put drag on the engine and kill it. Hence the reason I was wondering if a cordless drill would even work.

 

[Ron Olson]

There's no one-way bearing in them as we can use them in either direction, i.e., outboard motors where we just reverse the polarity of the wires. Sometimes if we have a tight or balky engine we get the starter going first before fully tightening it against the belt.

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Actually, getting the starter going first works better as you will have full torque hitting the flywheel rather than trying to get the starter going with the drag of the engine. Most drills don't have the speed to start a boat engine without using something like a tigerdrive to spin the engine at the speeds required to start the engine

 

[Robert Elder]

I agree. I usually get the starter moving first and then snug up on the flywheel to start the engine. On larger/tighter engines, loosen the plug first and then get the belt and starter in position. Get the starter going and then snug up on the flywheel. Once then engine is running and you remove the glow driver, tighten up the glow plug and off you go

If I have trouble turning over my .18, that's usually a sign that the engine is flooded and I need to loosen the plug first to let the excess fuel out.

 

[camaroboy383]

belt starting an engine is the way to go,,,, i dont use any other method to start my boat engines.... aquacraft belts are great,,,,, im not sure why people refer to them as expensive,,, that 5.00 belt will last you forever if it isnt used incorrectly as far as keeping it away from the header and flywheel while the engine is running... 5.00 for a belt that last forever,,,hmmmmmmmmmmm kinda sounds like a no brainer....lol......

as far as starters go,,,, you dont need anything more than a 20 some odd dollars tower hobbies starter.... ive started .40 sized engines with mine,,, but nothin larger.... will work fine for the .12-.40 engines...

go on ebay,,,, look up a 7lbs scooter / motorcycle battery,,,,again cheap,,20-40 dollars... easy to carry and will last you the whole boating outing,,simply recharge it before your next outing....

so at the worst it will cost you 70.00 for the whole setup.... and you will never use a pull start again,,,,, plus as far as i am concerned,,, the pullstart adds parasitic drag to the rotating assembly,,, loose it and the engine will come to life much faster than before........

so in a nut shell $70.00 or less will start everything you own from .12-.40...........ive had my tower starter for 5 years now,,, never gave me an issue on any of my engines.......say what you will,,,,but these cheap tower starters get the job done........no need for a 200.00 starter to fire a .21.... to each his own i guess.........

oh ya,,,and always fire the starter first and then draw it up into the belt.... always loosen the plug on any engine before starting it,,, keeps the hydrolock monster away..........

my 2 cents,,,

ac

 

[RodneyPierce]

The tower starters do work fine. I had mine for about 3 years before it took a crap on me. Now, I have a sulivan, and its the last starter I will ever own Im sure. If it goes, another sulivan will be in order. You can pick them up off ebay very very cheap used. I paid 13.00 shipped to my door for mine....

 

[Ron Olson]

Camarodude, I can be a cheap SOB at times as I can't see throwing away crazy money where I don't need to. I've seen where some people adapt 18 volt big name cordless drill batteries along with part of the base to their starters. Just before Father's Day I picked up 2 18-volt cordless drills from Harbor Freight for $12.99 apiece, complete with charger. I get a good chuckle when I see one that's sold elsewhere on forum sites for a lot more money, like you said, upwards of $200.00. I've still got a 12-volt HF drill that's still working great that has to be at least 5 years old. The funny thing is that you can't tell the HF ones from the big name brands as thye probably come out of the same factory.