ELECTRIC STARTING

I could use some ideas on how I could rig up some sort of electric/assisted starting using a belt and some sort of starter motor. I have a John Deere Mod E and as much as I try I cannot swing the flywheels over compression as I'm paralised from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair as a result of an accident. I bought a beautiful Ogle open crank engine last year thinking I would be able to start it but I couldn't so I sold it but recently couldn't resist buying this John Deere so I'm determined to start it somehow. My arms are pretty strong but I need lower back muscles which I no longer have to start this engine the normal way. I've thought about adapting one of those paddle mixers builders use to mix plaster etc and maybe I will but in the meantime any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated. By the way, just a thought, I'm not an engineer so please nowt too technical.

if your powering something such as a generator you could get a powerful drill or something similar and put a socket on the end to engage with the nut on the pulley of what ever your powering. i've seen this done before.
if your not powering anything you could some how attach a rubber wheel type thing on a powerful drill and push it against the flywheel to spin the engine over. this might work. remember to turn the engine backwards to compression and start there. that way the drill can pick up speed and the momentum of the flywheel will help to carry it trough compression.
hope this gives you some ideas, keep safe when using power tools for jobs they weren't intended! 
Callum   

you could get a little starter motor and put the belt round one of the flywheels.

Lewis MacRae wrote:you could get a little starter motor and put the belt round  one of the flywheels.

I suppose I could but don't really want to attach anything to the trolley or engine. Would prefer to use something like the engine starters the guys who fly model planes use but on a much bigger scale, something that fits over the end of the shaft around the keyway maybe. I don't have much imagination when it comes to this sort of thing which is part of the problem. If I see something suitable I can copy it. Thanks for the suggestions so far, I appreciate your help.

This is what one of our elderly member's uses Boz, he removes the electric winch from his car (quick fit connectors etc) and hooks it onto the trolley handle. He can then slip a belt over the flywheel/pulley etc and once the engine fires up he removes the winch! May not be suitable for yourself, but it is an idea.

Pete.

Pete, that's the sort of thing I mean, thanks for the picture.

Not sure about the ratio I would need to start the John Deere, do you think 6:1 would do the job ?

I saw an old tractor being started at last years Oswestry rally where they had a little engine on a trolley running a wheel, they forced the wheel against the tractors flywheel to spin it up. Worked well too...
Casp'

Do you guys think that a Wolf 1500 watt hammer drill would start my John Deer model M ? I've seen a new drill which I'm thinking of buying but don't want to waste any more money. What I was thinking of doing was to have a sort of socket made with a notch for the key and a mandrel attached which would go in the chuck. This would slip over the 1" or so of exposed hub and key-way and if well greased should slip off if the engine starts. Can anyone see any potential problems ? If this method works I could of course use it on other engines rather than having something fixed to the trolley.

Boz wrote:Do you guys think that a Wolf 1500 watt hammer drill would start my John Deer model M ?

If I had to guess, I'd say it wasn't powerful enough, can't imagine it has enough torque..
Casp'

I tried the electric drill as a starter but found the inbuilt safety clutch slipped when it came up on compression and this was on a side valve Wisconsin

I was thinking of trying a Hilti or Kango, something like that. Thanks for all the input so far.

I think your best bet would be to look for a dyno start. You don't say what size of John Deere but even a little 1.5hp will have reasonable compression for a drill to overcome. How are you going to power the drill? A Siba dynostart might just do the job. At least then you can charge a battery and power some lights too.

thing is these engines dont actually require cranking over quickly as igniter fired . if you use batt coil with a 12v batt that will be dead easy to start prime the fuel and will start wth a few flicks of the flywheels . just worth a try matt