jester_s1

I've edited the thread to get rid of the bickering. Of all the forums on RCU, it's the most important that the beginners' forum stay positive and friendly since it's the place where new hobbyists are the most likely to come for help and encouragement. Remember gentlemen, you aren't just being seen and heard by each other. A public forum always has an audience. Please behave accordingly.

jester_s1

And for those who simply must act like jerks, feel free to use the private messaging system that's included with your account. Just don't expect me or any other mod to fight your battles for you if it goes too far.

r ward

are the typical 12 volt Hobbico deluxe starters considered "cheap bargain types "?. these two Hobbico's are the first starters I've ever used, or even handled for that matter.

init4fun

Hi r ward ,

Unfortunately , yes indeed "hobbico" branded starters are the same as my "Thunder Tiger" starter , and if you want a starter that truly performs you must look to a company like Sullivan (maker of the "Dynatron" and "Megatron") . I know both of those are crazy pricey (the Dynatron I own is a $126.49 unit and the Megatron will run $270.24 brand new) but the used market frequently turns them up for bargain basement prices , I got my Dynatron in a package deal of used RC components for $50 which included 3 small OS engines , about 20 Hitec servos , and a huge handful of unused wooden props .

You will not hurt your starter and will see plenty of power with the cheaper starters if you hit them with 24 volts . I know you mentioned a 4 AH battery , if you were to try two 7 AH 12 V gel cell batteries in series for 24 volts applied you'll turn over that Magnum .46 just like my TT starter cranks my 2.70 Saito .

r ward

thank-you for that !. I didn't know they were "cheapos" .....to be honest, I didn't even know there were other brands to be had when I bought the one I did. (and shame on me for not doing any research !)

Hydro Junkie

I have a Sullivan Hi-Tork Deluxe starter that I bought back in the early 80s that I've used to start almost every class of nitro motor out there. I can include in my list the following:
HB .20
OS .25FP
K&B .45
CMB .67
Granted, it struggles a bit with the CMB .67 but it still can do it. Another catch is everything except the OS .25FP are marine motors that require higher nitro than your normal aircraft engines do. The other nice thing about the Sullivan Hi-Tork starters is you can get different sized starter cones for different sized, or for that matter, non-spinner applications. Here's what the Sullivan website says about the Deluxe:

Appowner

I've owned a Kavan starter for 40 years now. Still my #1 go to starter for anything under a 1.20 four stroke. Occasional changing of brushes and internal cleaning is all I've ever had to do to it. Brush kit runs $8. Price is currently $105 and you can get it from Sig. Another 30 gets you the battery pack that attaches to the starter for that compact package.

r ward

seeing that I have two of the hobbicos,....I might take one to an electric shop and see about getting it rewound for more torque. I did that to all of my slot car motors back in the late 60's.....less winds of bigger guage wire was the rule,.....something like that should work , I would think. they are just a big 12 volt permanent magnet DC motor, same as the tiny slot car motors. I can do the work, I just need someone to suggest wire sizes and number of winds. I remember there was a formula for rewinding the slot car motors, but I don't remember it at all.

Tom Nied

I've been following this forum and have re read the opening post. I've never grabbed the cone while turning my starter on and hold it. I will put my finger on it to assure it's turning the right direction, but that's all. I always start my engines with the crankshaft off compression, to allow the starter to spin a little. I wonder if he is just doing it wrong?

r ward

nope,....not doing it wrong. I give the engine the same free play you do. I realize that needs to be done. both will almost come to a complete stop when they get up against the compression with or without the mentioned free play to give them a head start. I fully understand the internal combustion engines. when I was in my teens, I ran a crank shaft grinder in an automotive machine shop and built engines from Briggs racing karts to blown alcohol dragsters to dual fuel engines for fire fighting equipment and everything you can think of in between . this was all done before I reached 30 years of age. there's not much I don't know about when dealing with an internal combustion engine.
what I find most odd is that both starters are essentially the same weak POS even despite their age difference. I bought the new one and didn't try it right away. then shortly after getting it, I was given the older one and figured i'd just use that one and preserve the new one as long as I could. well when I tested the old one and found it had not snort, I pulled the new out figuring it would be better,........I was pretty disgusted when the new had no more snort than the old one. it does surely point to the power source, but I have done all I could to make sure I have sufficient power and good connections. I don't grab the spinning drum and try to stop it.....I grip the drum then hit the switch to see if I can hold it from spinning. as I said in an earlier post,....I figured these starters would be a much more torque than they are. it was/is extremely easy to keep the starter from spinning in my grip !.hardly any squeeze at all keeps the drum from spinning no matter what 12 volt power source I hook it up to. as I've said I tried those ATV batteries in series and in parallel and neither way seemed to make much difference in the felt torque of either starter. I've hooked them up to my 600CCA Jeep battery with the same results,.....
the one thing I would have liked to do is ask the fellow ( he was a commercial pilot for the Washington Admirals Professional Hockey Team) that I got the older one from, what he was using as a battery. but I got the starter with a Kadett trainer from his son because he passed away and his son wasn't interested in the hobby. the engine in the trainer, was a fairly old, well used Super tiger .40,....so it shouldn't have taken much to turn it over. I'm quite sure his dad had that starter for a long time. the plane was pretty rough so I pulled the radio stuff out and trashed it and never tried to start that Super Tiger. I planned on building an airboat for the engine, but haven't yet got around to doing it.
bottom line in my book,....the Hobbico starters are garbage and I wasted 40 bucks buying the one I did.

Tom Nied

Stickslammer

rward, I had one of those Deluxe Hi Tork starters pictured above that I got in a box of misc. stuff at a swap meet. When I hooked it up to try it out, I found that the switch was intermittent, so I chucked it in the trash, not knowing it was a good one. Probably could have just cleaned the switch. But the one I`ve had since the beginning, probably a cheapo, no name on it, has always worked. Many times it has stopped when coming up on compression, but I just back up the prop and that usually does the trick. If not, I just figured the little lead acid battery in my flight box needed charging and got out the Chicken Stick. Sorry you had such bum luck.

Tom Nied

Well, I guess he got two crappy ones. He has the luck of the the guy who lived in Hiroshima and moved to Nagasaki.