Valve floater

HI
I have a Hobbico starter 180. It was getting weak and would not turn over my Satio 100 anymore. I put a new battery; 12v 1.3mh. Lead acid battery like the one that it replaced. It was better but not much. I am going to return the battery from where i bought it and get a bigger one. what is the largest lead acid battery that the Torque master 180 will use w/o overloading it. I will probably have to mod. the case that is attached to the all in one starter to make a new battery fit. Can i go to a 24v battery? They do make a 12v-12mh they may work. Thanks for help.

Ram Jet

A 24 volt battery will burn out your starter. Your starter might spin like the devil though till it craps out. You can't buy too large a 12 volt battery for your starter. The battery dictates to the starter what voltage it's going to run on, the starter only draws the amperage it needs. Actually, I was told by a guy who rebuilt automotive starters for cars that the higher the amperage rating of the battery the happier the starter will be. If you really want to go crazy, go to Sears and buy their "Gold" motorcycle battery for about $95.00. The one I bought for my 1982 Honda Ascot 500 is a killer and has a five year warranty.

Bill

flaminheli

For a starter battery look into AH instead MAH. A 12 volt battery fully charged will usually show around 14 volts which should be plenty voltage. You could look into an ATV/ Motorcycle battery that has around 100 CCA, and you can find one fairly compact. The higher the battery amperage the better.

dan4466

My Feedback: (68)

Here is what I use for my Torquemaster 180. Its a little expensive once you buy all the batteries for it, but it turns over my Saito 1.50 with no problems. I did have to modify it a bit to fit.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXFT85&P=M

Valve floater

I just went outside and hooked it direct to my truck battery to be sure it was not a brush problem. It had a lot more power. Not enough to twist your hand around but could be stopped with a firm grip. Do these starter loose their power after a while. I have had it for about 4yrs. I fly about once a month. I would think that is not a lot of wear.

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

I use a garden tractor battery. It fits in a small 6 pack sized cooler and powers my sullivan dynatron. Works great on a ryobi gasser. I dont like 24v because it turns the starter too fast. Something around 18v is about perfect in my opinion. My milwakee 18v battery drill will start my G-62 and DL50. You just have to use a grade 8 bolt on the big starter cone.
Edwin

Valve floater

I like to have the all in one with the battery attached. I like the ease of it, and i would worry about tripping on the cord or get it caught in the prop. I will most likely use a larger lead acid battery. I can retrofit the case or something.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

I have a 180 and have used ti with 24 volts with two garden tractor batteries in series. It has never burned it out. I have also used it on my truck battery and it never hurt it.

You might try a little light oil on the bearing. The front bearing is the only one you can get close to without taking the starter apart though

Do not take the starter apart. The spring loaded brushes will will not let you get it back together without a lot of thought.

Valve floater

Thanks for that info. ,I was thinking about cleaning the brushes but if it is that much of a chore it`s not worth it. It should not have that much wear anyway because i don`t use it that much. Will anything over 12v make it spin faster? If that`s the case 24v would be way fast. Maybe a 13 or 14v would be just right. I don`t want faster,i want more grunt.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

24 volts will give it the grunt!! If an engine doesn't start right away just don't keep the starter going too long or they will burn out. You can feel how hot they are getting. I have replaced the brushes on my old one A couple of times until it finally gave up the ghost, that starter was old when I bought it second hand. You can open it up and shoot it with cleaner and that always seems to help restore the life. You can get the electrical cleaner at most auto stores. Brush replacement does take some thought but it really isn't all that hard. I use one of those auto jump starters on mine.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

I've never taken my 180 apart but have had one of my three Sullivan Dynatrons apart to put a new switch and wiring on it.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXFT88&P=7

The secret to reassembling the thing is to have the back plate with the brushes out in the open where you can get to the brushes, Set the armature down into the backplate bearing hole and ease the brushes away from the armature where it can go all the way into the back plate.

The starter is a permanent magnet style motor so there are strong magnets in the field or outer motor case. When you attempt to set the field down over the armature, the magnets will suck the armature up out of the back plate/brushes. Hold everything in a manner to prevent this from happening.

When you get the field down over the armature, the rest is just SOP.

Either the Hobbico/Tower 90 or 180 can be run on 24 volts if you follow the advice of the post up above. The starter spins twice as fast on 24V as 12V.

But as a previous post stated - If you do not have the amperage capacity in your batteries - the starter still will not turn over your engine.

Jetdesign

My Feedback: (8)

I'm thankful for this thread. Just took my Hobbico 180 off my wish list. Everyone around here seems to be using two 7.4 volt RC car packs to power their starters with lots of luck. That little 1.2mah battery just doesn't have the amps - it's what I have on my starter and wasn't working well. Will try more juice before a new starter.

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Here's the starter you need? Mac Hodges Hobbies in Andersonville, Georgia 866-924-9505

Valve floater

I had an old 18v battery that i had on a weedeater hedger that broke. The battery looked like one that fits a drill. I hooked it up to the 180 starter and it would turn the Satio 100 but it looks like it is too fast. I am scared that with the starter turning at that speed something might give. If i slip it may spin out of my hand and break a motor mount or something. I spun the Satio at 2 sec intervals a couple times then i cautioned myself that i had no fuel for lube so i stopped.
Is there any way to get that same power with less speed with the 180 starter by using just battery type setup? The set-up i have read about on here about the 2- 7.2 car pack tied together to make 14.4 would also be fast? I am thinking about just getting one of those car jumper setup contraptions, with the light on it. I don`t like to have a cord but it seems a good way to get strong at 12v torque slower. thanks

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

here are some models made by a prominent company. The prices may not be realistic for you but you can read the specs to get an idea of what you are intrested in.

http://store.schumachermart.com/port...pstarters.html

Valve floater

Thanks w8ye. Looks like cost for a decent one is going to be in the $100 range. What`s good about it, is that i could use it for other things too. I can try to mount a hook on it so i can hang the starter on it.