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Changfa Engines / Changfa Cold Start With Charcloth Start Plug
« on: January 26, 2009, 01:37:26 AM »
Got to thinking about the "starting aid plug" (illus. #34) that fits atop the cylinder head.
It has a small cup design that seemed it could hold a sufficient amount of "charcloth". I was turned onto the subject of charcloth by an outdoorsman I worked with. He liked building things from other simplier eras.
After perusing the internet for charcloth making techniques, I ended up taking some old denim jeans and cut up 2" square patches. Picked up some 1 pt. paint mixing cans and drilled a 1/4" hole in the center of the lid. Fired up the ol' Coleman camp stove and put the sealed can with denim inside atop the burner. You keep the fire on until visible smoke pretty much stops exiting the vent hole in your lid.
When done your cloth should be totally black like charcoal and will be very delicate. This material was used as a fire starter, as a small spark can ignite it easily. Early fabricators made a piston type wooden plunger that fit inside another tubular type round stick that was held in the hand. The operator would place "charcloth" inside the wooden cylinder and insert piston and rap it hard, the "charcloth" will self ignite with the proper compression.
Hmm, is the compression ratio of the Changfa 195 adequate to self-ignite "charcloth" I ask myself?
So, having already made some earlier this summer and stored in tight fitting jar to keep it dry I decided to test out this theory. First, I measured the block temperature (26 degrees F.) Tried cranking engine a couple of times and no result.
Removed the "starting aid plug" and packed even with a small charge of "charcloth, reinstalled starting plug. Used hand crank and spun engine over a few times and released the decompression lever and off she goes!
Haven't tried this at colder temperatures yet but this is a definite improvement. My guess at much lower temps you could pack the "starting aid plug" and light it and screw it back in and the material should continue to glow until you get started.
Try this out yourselves and let me know how it worked for ya's.
Later,
Oilcan
It has a small cup design that seemed it could hold a sufficient amount of "charcloth". I was turned onto the subject of charcloth by an outdoorsman I worked with. He liked building things from other simplier eras.
After perusing the internet for charcloth making techniques, I ended up taking some old denim jeans and cut up 2" square patches. Picked up some 1 pt. paint mixing cans and drilled a 1/4" hole in the center of the lid. Fired up the ol' Coleman camp stove and put the sealed can with denim inside atop the burner. You keep the fire on until visible smoke pretty much stops exiting the vent hole in your lid.
When done your cloth should be totally black like charcoal and will be very delicate. This material was used as a fire starter, as a small spark can ignite it easily. Early fabricators made a piston type wooden plunger that fit inside another tubular type round stick that was held in the hand. The operator would place "charcloth" inside the wooden cylinder and insert piston and rap it hard, the "charcloth" will self ignite with the proper compression.
Hmm, is the compression ratio of the Changfa 195 adequate to self-ignite "charcloth" I ask myself?
So, having already made some earlier this summer and stored in tight fitting jar to keep it dry I decided to test out this theory. First, I measured the block temperature (26 degrees F.) Tried cranking engine a couple of times and no result.
Removed the "starting aid plug" and packed even with a small charge of "charcloth, reinstalled starting plug. Used hand crank and spun engine over a few times and released the decompression lever and off she goes!
Haven't tried this at colder temperatures yet but this is a definite improvement. My guess at much lower temps you could pack the "starting aid plug" and light it and screw it back in and the material should continue to glow until you get started.
Try this out yourselves and let me know how it worked for ya's.
Later,
Oilcan