Manual starters to save on battery size and weight

[ConnClark]

Starting a diesel the old school way!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKACzhlRL6U

[gone-ot]

...similarly, how about the first jet turbine engines that used "cartridges" (like BIG shotgun shells) for field starting?

[Cobb]

My dad had to crank start his first car. Make sure to retard the timing or it will break your arm.

At work he had to work in a hazard environment with a fork lift. They had all diesel powered vehicles with no electric systems. They used penumatic starters and had a tank they filled up twice. Once to start it, then again for use of the horn or a second start before leaving the shop of a day.

[jakobnev]

After seeing this i definitely want my VW XL1 with the deck gun option.

[Ryland]

I remember seeing some old diesel tractors at a tractor show that had a small gas engine on the diesel engine that was used for starting it, no battery needed at all on them.

[user removed]

My old 6 volt VW occasionally got the no start attitude, so I bolted a Tecumseh spool under the generator nut and used a rope to pull start it. Finally found and old tech who told me to wire two solenoids in series to get it to start reliably. I left the spool on and occasionally used the rope. Ignition on, blip the accelerator once for a prime and to set the choke, right foot on the right rear bumper guard and pull the $%^& out of that sucker. Used to set the timing by ear, listen to the points arc while watching the crank pulley move past the mark, with the distributor cap removed as well as the rotor.

regards
Mech