Riding Snowzilla
 

Hi Guys,

I didn't feel like waiting till summer. Thought I would try something new using skis instead of wheels.

https://youtu.be/VQWcK4kUWp0

I did have a heck of a time starting the old P200 in the cold. It kept timing out with "Low RPM" when it would normally would go to Idle. Any Tips? it was about 22 Deg F. The start gas was not wanting to flow to well either. finally got it after about 15 starts.

Drive safe
Bob

Pretty cool Bob. Always wanted to put skis in my luge, but we never get enough snow to make it worthwhile.

As you saw, the problem in the cold is generally that the starting gas doesn't pack enough punch to get the turbine started. The starter motor needs help from the gas to get the RPMs up enough to keep the starting sequence going.

Anything you can do to warm the starting gas bottle, and also try and warm the engine itself can help. You might even think of using a heat gun to blow some hot air into the engine to help warm it and get the RPMs up during starting.

Bob

My P70 with Kerostart has no problem starting in the cold. (My avatar is my R54 on skies in the snow)

As mentioned, when cold the starting gas will have a lot less vapor pressure. Anything you can do to add heat will help.

Also cover the inlet in the preheat phase

Thanks for the tips guys. Had to much melt going on today to retry.

To clearify , The turbine would start most of the time, but when going from stabilize to idle is when it got the low rpm. I am sure it is heat related. Next question. Will all these failed starts in the cold hurt the bearings? I can imagine they are not getting oiled properly until engine is properly stabilized at temp and RPM. The reason I say this is because the turbine sounds a bit different now. :(


Heres anther clip from the phone cam https://youtu.be/HVVqFE3Ksko


Cheers