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Old 11-14-2008, 05:31 PM   #7 (permalink)
cfg83
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IndyIan -

Quote:
Originally Posted by IndyIan View Post
Stihl has chainsaws with spring starters, you pull the cord winding up the spring and when its fully coiled it releases turning over the engine. I've played around with one in the showroom and it seemed to work quite well. I don't know if it incorporates an auto decompression system as well.
It doesn't add much weight or bulk either.
Although springs don't store as much energy as batteries they sure can release it quicker! A typical spring on a strut seems to have enough energy to turn over an engine a few revolutions faster than most starters. The trick is harnessing it and reloading it.
Maybe for 1.0L engines all you need is to fit decompression valves to all the cylinders and then use a kick start off a motor bike.
Ian
This makes me think there must be a regenerative braking solution that could be used for harnessing/reloading. You wouldn't use it for the "first start of the day", but you could use it for restarting from a stoplight. No idea how to do it, though.

CarloSW2
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