JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

These are typical four button chargers there are dozens of brand names and that is changing all the time but all are very similar with a limit of around fourteen cells, most are in the thirty to fifty price range and this works fine for the 18 volt packs but not the 24 volt packs which are twenty cells.

John

ratshooter

Thanks for the picture. I like how you have the power cord ran through the bed of your truck to the battery and then a hot panel for the clips to get the power to the chargers. Neat idea.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks, That has proven very useful not so much at the home field but on those weekend events a race, fly in or something where avalible AC for the entire weekend may be in doubt.

John

superfli

My Feedback: (42)

If you want a good stong starter cut the end off you cheap Hobbico starter and then put it in the drill of you Craftsman Cordless 18v drill. It will even spin gas engines. Very easy fix.

r ward

I have two of the hobbico starters. one brand new and one older, that was given to me about 2 months after I bought the new one. both are about the same as far as power with the same battery. neither is really strong....a lot less strong than I expected them to be. I've tried them on several batteries and not even a big battery out of my F-150 makes a whole lot of difference. I can easily stop them from spinning with my grip,.....they are just strong enough for my magnum .46XLS....I worry about how they will handle my .60 size engines. I find that the trick is to start the starter running and then bump it onto the spinner. I always make sure the prop has some free run before hitting the compression when I bump the spinner,....it helps. once the engine is hot, I can place them on the spinner then hit the switch and they get over the hump good enough to start the engine. I have to admit,.. i'm not all that impressed,.... I thought the starters would be a little on the wild side, but they aren't at all.. I run them on two small 12 volt motorcycle/atv wet cell batteries, hooked in parallel. hooked in series made the starters run allot faster, but didn't really increase their power much. I figure the two smaller batteries will last a day at the field and they are a lot less heavy and take up less room in my box, than a regular car battery. still looking for the right power.....maybe a good riding lawnmower battery ?.

acdii

Doesn't matter how much battery you have, the amp draw is limited to the windings in the motor. Usually increasing voltage can also increase output, but not in all cases, it is what it is. I have melted wires trying to start a large engine with the Hobbico, which tells me it is drawing some amps, but there just arent enough strong windings in the armature to provide the torque.

jester_s1

A standard Hobbico starter should be able to start a .60 size engine with no problem. If it's not new, I'd check the switch for a good connection and then maybe suspect the commutator. As for the best battery, I've been using a 4 cell Lipo on a homemade mount for years. I'll never go back to a lead-acid battery with a cord.

r ward

I've had them both apart checking the switches. not much to them and not much to go wrong beyond some corrosion from arcing current. keeping the switch clean is no problem,....a dab of electrolytic jelly at the contact point is all that they need. still they simply don't have the snort. even the brand new one I have has as much trouble as the older one that was given to me and I have no idea how old it is.
I am disappointed in them,....I always thought they were stronger than they are.
I always wondered why my buddy's dad never used one,..... he was an avid flyer with a lifetime's accumulation of planes of all sizes, but he always used a chicken stic or a gloved hand,.....I now know why he never bothered with a starter.
i'm glad at least one of mine was given to me, .....other wise it would be an expensive way to obtain a cone to put on my battery drill. as it is ,.... it's a shame I had to invest 50 bucks in the two wet-cell ATV batteries to discover that the decision not to use my battery drill was a poor decision.

jester_s1

I have a Sullivan, which starts all my engines up to .90 size just fine. I run it on a 4 cell Lipo. Since your switches are good, you might try putting a meter inline and seeing how much voltage your starter is actually seeing under load. I just can't imagine a Hobbico starter not being able to spin such a small engine if everything else is working right.

r ward

I have yet to do that..... I was surprised they don't have more power than they do, also. as I said earlier,...."I figured they'd be kind of wild as far as electric motors go ". you know,....torquey little buggers that want to jump out of your hand when you hit the switch. but even with a .46, if I bump the prop up against the compression stroke , put the starter on the spinner and then hit the switch, it will barely get through the compression and if the batteries aren't freshly charged, it's hopeless. I have tried this with a larger battery as well, thinking maybe the little cycle batteries just don't have the oomph, but it made no difference. I kind of consider the starter a failure on my part for the decision to buy the one I did. they might work OK on a four stroke, where there is a chance to things spinning before hitting the compression, but on a two stroke, they don't stand a chance and if the engine is new and tight, they are useless. I can't imagine either one of mine bumping over a .90 size two stroke.
I have a small electric motor rebuilder in my town. I was thinking of taking one to them and seeing if they can rewind it for torque, but i'll bet it's most likely the magnets that need to be stronger as much as the armature windings need to have bigger gauge wire.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

jester_s1

If you can't back the engine up to compression, put the starter on, then gun it and get the engine started, something is wrong. These starters were specifically designed for this size of engine and have been sold for decades. If they didn't work, they wouldn't still be on the market.

r ward

nothing is "wrong",....batteries read 13.2 and 13.4 volts when fully charged, I tried them hooked in series and in parallel. both starters (one is brand spanking new) are clean and in good condition with clean unoxidized contact points on the switches. nothing about them is any different than any other starter out there, that I can tell I checked them for bearing alignment and both are as free as they can be, magnets feel strong and about the same, cord and clamps are good and battery terminals are clean....engine (Magnum .46XLS) runs perfect once started is free spinning and broken in properly, so there is no drastic tight spot at TDC. I've put both starters on the battery in my Jeep and as you say, it makes no difference because of the batteries cranking capacity. (still very easily held from spinning with my hand from a dead start or when gripped while spinning) I have even replaced the clamps with terminals and bolted the terminals to the battery lugs.
I've been around the block a few times with all sorts of machinery in my 63 years,....believe me,....there isn't anything you can tell me that I don't know or haven't tried, to make these starters perform the way they should...... evidently,.... both of mine are just garbage..

jester_s1

Well if you get yourself a Sullivan I think you'll be happy. I've never had a minute of trouble out of mine.

r ward

I ight haveto lokk into that. I have never seen one in person and there is no place with about 150 miles of me to go and see one. as I said, I have seen the hobbicos work just fine for so many years. I just took for granted that was whit I should get when I decided to get a starter.....ya' pays yer' money and takes yer' chance.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

r ward

yea, I agree, there should be enough torque there to start the motors I have. nothing special or too big about them,....just average 2 strokes. I"m beginning to wonder if my charger is taking a dump.....I doubt I got two bad batteries at the same time !..... I get good voltage when I test them with a digital meter. usually those small cycle batteries are feisty little buggers, when they're brand new and fully charged.

r ward

to add.....
I read through some of the later posts and I find it odd that I would have one brand new starter and one older, (unknown exact age, but I know it was around 10 + years ago starting a ST.40) , both of which are weak as can be.
I think i'm going to buy some brand new wire and wire the older one directly to my batteries with good post clamps instead of the alligators they come with. the newer one has banana plugs because I was going to build a field box with a power panel, but abandoned the idea after I tested the starter.
i'll keep foolin' around , hopefully i'll find the problem.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

r ward

one of the two starters I have (the newer one) , have the plugs for power panel hook up on it. I have tried them with soldered connections at the female end and the other ends connected to the battery by the typical post bolt that comes with the battery and the resultis the same ,...no torque. as I read some of the posts iam really starting to believe I simply got bad starters. believe me,...I have tried enough variations in power and connections, that if the starters were going to give decent power, I would have found it.
the big problem is that I think I am stuck with the starter I bought new because it was quite a while go since I bought it before I tried it and the shop I bought it from has long since gone out of business, because the owner retired.
oh, well,...money down the drain,...it wouldn't be the first time !.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

r ward

yes I agree that it is odd that I would have two so different in age, that both don't work right. I expected them both to want to torque out of my hand too when I first tried them and was somewhat surprised that they were so mild mannered. I really can't imagine that what little use the older one got, would wear it out. I know that all it ever started was a ST.40 engine in a Kadet trainer. the radio that was in the Kadet was a Futaba ATTAC 4 ch. that has a gold sticker, so I assume the starter was still used sometime after the early 90's..

init4fun

I Think you need more power . Here is my super cheap Thunder Tiger starter starting my Saito 270 (45 cc) engine on 24 volts . I had replaced the crankshaft bearings in the Saito (it has 3 of them) and wanted to run it before installing it in a plane . My Sullivan Dynatron will start it easily on 12 volts but the cheap bargain brand won't crank it over without 24 volts applied .

init4fun

PS , before anyone takes me to task here , there were 3 C clamps holding the 4X4 to the porch/stairs , and not just the single C clamp seen in the pictures . The other two C clamps were along the 8 foot run of the 4X4 , clamped to the porch out of the picture's view ....

Appowner

Awe! And I was gonna ask who made the lone C clamp so I could get one.