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Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Air Models / June 2004Starters,Sullivan/Hobbico
My Sullivan starter I've had for twelve years finally bit the dust when it fell off the starter table at the field.Messed up something inside. It was a great starter with a lot of torque. You didn't grab the hub when it was running.It'd twist your fingers. Went to the LHS and figured all starters were the same.Bought a Hobbico,the one with the red plastic on it. Took it home and tried it out and you could stop it very easily with two fingers.What the heck!! ZERO torque.It mite start a 15 size engine if you get it spinning and then cram it to the spinner on the prop.That's even doubtful. My old Sullivan could be put to the spinner,then turned on and it'd spin anything.... This is all with a charged battery. What gives???? Is the Hobbico that weak or do I have a bad starter??? Thanx me Hobbico products are probably the lowest of the low end. You probably got one of the real bad ones. They don't even come close to a Sullivan. I never pass one up at a swap meet. You can buy new end moldings for them as well as switches or make one up using a heavy duty push button switch. A Sullivan starter powered by two 7.2 volt 1800 mAh car packs is tough to beat. -- Red S. Red's R/C Battery Clinic http://www.rcbatteryclinic.com Check us out for "revolting" information. <TX_QBALL@webtv.net> wrote in message > What gives???? Is the Hobbico that weak or do I have a bad starter??? > Thanx > me >Is the Hobbico that weak or do I have a bad starter??? I'd guess bad starter or weak battery. My Hobbico (several years old) spins a Zenoah G-23 with ease. I use a 12v, 7aH battery. Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!" Not that I'm suspicious of US Marketing but it has been known that once a product has established a good reputation you can cost reduce it into oblivion before it starts to impact the bottom line. Once it does, you just introduce the old model as "new and improved" and start all over again. :-) Red S. > >Is the Hobbico that weak or do I have a bad starter??? > > I'd guess bad starter or weak battery. My Hobbico (several years old) spins a > Zenoah G-23 with ease. I use a 12v, 7aH battery. > Dr.1 Driver > "There's a Hun in the sun!" In the end though, the consumer always has choices, and must remain on his toes to what is good and bad, and then vote with his wallet. Either that or you turn to more regulation ::shudder::. > Not that I'm suspicious of US Marketing but it has been known that once a > product has established a good reputation you can cost reduce it into [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Dr.1 Driver > > "There's a Hun in the sun!" I've had exactly the same experience with Hobbico's. Very low torque and you can stop them in their tracks by hand with very little effort. Anything larger than a .25 and I have to get it spinning up and slam it up against the spinner. This is hooked up to a car battery! I just thought starters were this way. Maybe I should take a look at a Sullivan. > My Sullivan starter I've had for twelve years finally bit the dust when > it fell off the starter table at the field.Messed up something inside. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Thanx > me You will hear all sorts of stories. Let me add mine. My Hobbico starter is nearing 15 years old now. Except for a broken wire where the wire enters the case, it has not failed. It has started every engine I have with ease. As for power, it even started an engine that most wouldn't even try. I was on a team that built a giant scale Reno racer a few years back. This plane was powered by two Enya VT-240s. These used toothed belts to drive a common prop shaft. A sort of V-4 arrangement. Their Sullivan couldn't cope so I offered my Hobbico. They all sniggered until it actually started the engine. I think you may have a defective one. -- Paul McIntosh http://www.rc-bearings.com > My Sullivan starter I've had for twelve years finally bit the dust when > it fell off the starter table at the field.Messed up something inside. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Thanx > me Hobbico makes 2 models........ the 90 and the 180. Everyone touting a Hobbico needs to say which model. I got a used Sullivan that I thought would be better than my 30 year old Penford Autostart, which was a Ford windshield wiper motor with a plastic cup adapter holding a large chunk of surgical tubing as the drive and a big bell switch pushbutton bolter to the side. WRONG! The Sullivan would NOT turn over a Saito 100, the Penford would. David >My Sullivan starter I've had for twelve years finally bit the dust when >it fell off the starter table at the field.Messed up something inside. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >Thanx >me When I bought mine, Hobbico had only one model. -- Paul McIntosh http://www.rc-bearings.com > Hobbico makes 2 models........ the 90 and the 180. Everyone touting a > Hobbico needs to say which model. [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > >Thanx > >me I got the larger Hobbico a few years ago. It was a dud until I milled a 1/4" X 3" copper flywheel for the shaft. It has so much oomph now that an engine hydro-locked the other day and it turned the table upside down before I could release the switch. : ) Seriously, the flywheel has worked great. I do make sure there is no excess fuel though. It would bend a con-rod in an instant. BTW I dropped mine off the table the other day too. It made a horrible grinding noise when I tested it. I took it apart and found that one of the shaft's end spring washer had broken and the field magnet had sucked the pieces between the armature and the frame. A four cent washer had it back in service. If you still have yours it might be worth a try. Tom The problem with mine is that I took the rubber guard off the two thin plates that cause it to start with touched together. You touch these together and nothing is happening (charged battery). Something is not making contact somewhere..Got any ideas???? Thanx 1. Try jumping the contacts with a piece of heavy wire. If it works you can try cleaning the contacts of the switch with fine emery or 600 grit wet or dry paper. If not look for a broken wire somewhere. Use an Ohm meter to check for continuity. How about the soldered joints? If the wire is not broken at the solder tab, check for frayed ends inside the insulation, a ways back from the solder joint. 2. How do the brushes look, did one dislodge when it was dropped? Are both making contact with the armature? Are they worn down? 3. Graphite from the brushes can build up between the contacts on the armature, and short the current to the windings. How do the grooves looks on the commutator? These motors are pretty simple. If you give it juice it will do one of three things: A. Rotate, B. Nothing, C. Smoke. Nothing indicates an open somewhere. Smoke indicates a short somewhere, or too much current due to over voltage or an impediment to rotation. Tom > The problem with mine is that I took the rubber guard off the two thin > plates that cause it to start with touched together. You touch these > together and nothing is happening (charged battery). Something is not > making contact somewhere..Got any ideas???? > Thanx > I got the larger Hobbico a few years ago. It was a dud until I milled > a 1/4" X 3" copper flywheel for the shaft. It has so much oomph now [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Tom I have a Hobbico "180" which has been reliable and easily starts an OS 1.08 For a Saito 1.50 my Sullivan Dyna-tron is better. Kavan makes a high torque-low rpm which I prefer for my OS 1.20 because it is easier to keep on the spinner--hold it with one hand. Regardless of which model Hobbico starter you have, I think you are describing a bad starter/bad wiring someplace. |
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