REFLECTOR: Lycoming starters

[Pat Shea]

Kurt,

I agree with you in that with the battery in the front
and the starter in the rear, we're pretty much dealing
with the worst case scenario. After verifying the
connections were all good and that wire sizing was
sufficient, I moved on to the battery based on prior
experience with planes, boats, and cars. I ended up
with a 1000 cranking amp sealed lead acid battery
(Optima red top) recommended by Sky-Tec. Only when
that didn't work did I switch out the starter.
Although Sky-Tec said the Flyweight shouldn't have a
problem turning my engine over with my configuration,
I was out of options. Also, I little poking around
revealed that others have had issues with the
Flyweight in certain applications. Don't get me wrong,
I've installed the Flyweight in two other planes (both
4 cylinders) and it worked just great. Sky-Tec's High
Torque solved this problem. I'm just throwing it out
there for consideration in case anyone is having a
similar problem or hasn't purchased a starter yet. 

Pat   

--- NMFlyer1 at aol.com wrote:

> I was talking with B&C a couple weeks ago about the
> final wiring for my 
> battery and starter circuts. I was asked if I had a
> Permanent Magnet Motor, or a 
> field wound. At the time I didn't know and had to
> look up the Chevy Part and 
> found out. Most Starters are permanent magnet motors
> and they are less efficient 
> for high torque applications. 
> 
> As it turns out, I have a PMGR starter (permanent
> Magnet, Gear reduction) in 
> the Chevy V-6 in my Velocity.  The Voltage rating is
> what they expect/need at 
> the starter motor, usually after a few seonds of
> cranking. There is a pretty 
> good explination of this in AeroElectric papers. 
> 
> In a canard-pusher, the starter situation is about
> as bad as it can get. 
> Battery in the nose, starter in the back, long
> wires, etc. They say to optimize 
> this, use good FAT wires, Good grounds, and an RG
> (or starved electrolyte, Glass 
> mat, or many other terms) battery. This will make
> sure that the starter gets 
> as much power as possible considering the situation.
> 
> 
> My old Cherokee 235 has the battery behind the
> baggage bulkhead, not great 
> cables, and the old inefficient starter. Needless to
> say, when it is cold (or 
> very hot) it shows up trying to start the O-540. I
> didnt want to spend 
> mega-bucks to buy a new starter, or change out the
> cables if I didnt have to. So, I 
> replaced the old style flooded cell battery with a
> new RG battery. The starter 
> now spins much better and longer, and I have no
> starting problems at all. The 
> lower internal resistance in the battery, and high
> cranking amps work wonders! 
> They are also less prone to self discharging and
> cold weather problems. 
> Yesterday I fired up the Cherokee after not flying
> it for 2 weeks. It was 27 degrees 
> outside. No preblem. 
> 
> So, My advice would be to START with an RG battery.
> It is the easiest and by 
> far least expensive starting point. It just may cure
> the problems (providing 
> you dont have some defect in the system). If you
> still have problems, at least 
> you know it is not the battery and you will be
> pleased with its performance 
> anyway. 
> 
> Hope it helps. 
> 
> Kurt 



		
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