Oooops !

[jens]

removed

[reno-speedster]

Yikes!  Good luck, I hope it didn't do too much damage. I know this is the least of your worries but, why are you abandoning the air start?  I am thinking of installing one because i have an air compressor in the same building as the gen set (and I don't have the money to buy an electric setup) but now I better start working on an over temp and rev system to.

[SHIPCHIEF]

Jens;
You've no doubt seen the pic of my electric starter setup. It's not original or anything, I copied it from a pic of that guy's turbocharged a single in Canada.
Although I turned my hub on a lathe from scrap round stock, I bet an SK bushing and a piece of scrap flat plate would adapt an automotive flywheel without needing a lathe or mill.
I can't think of a cheaper or more direct way to add electric start than to adapt an automotive electric starter. Plus, you can jump start it from your car 
Smart Chargers are totally worth the extra cost. Battery life extends to 5 years and more. The ones I have paid themselves off in the first or second year (based on previous battery change out history). In my case I'm refering to motorcycle and airplane batteries. I put a smart charger on my Listeroid right from the git-go, so I don't know what the life expactancy would have been without it. 

[Doug]

I have a couple of thoughts.....

A cheap Canadian tire plug in charger should be fine.
Look for a Kubota style electric diafram fuel pump. Its not as a fast an emergency shut down but you can wire up something that shuts down the fuel from a suply side.

[Stan]

Jens, keep up the good work!  We're sure learning a lot from you    At least you haven't broken metal fittings yet like I have. 

Always remember the old engineers rule, "everything that moves, gurgles or spins is one more thing that can fail, and if it can fail, it will". (loose translation)
Stan

[adhall]

I also need to get a decent battery and a smart charger for the electrics. I will abandon the air starter and go with an electric starter as well.
Anybody have a suggestion for a relatively smart charger that is affordable ? This thing will be connected all the time and I don't want it frying the batteries. Given that the electric start will be operated let's say 4 times a day but the charger is on 24/7/365, any thoughts on what capacity the charger should have ?

Jens:

Check this out:

http://www.thebatteryminder.com/12v133abatteryminder-p-29.html

I have been using this model for several years on batteries ranging in size from motorcycle to diesel pickup truck with good results and no problems with overcharging. You should be able to pick one up for less then $40 USD if you shop around. If you need to re-charge faster, the same company makes larger sizes, but bear in mind there is no harm in charging slowly.

Best regards,
Andy Hall

[Stan]

Jens there is a threshold of amperage that if you keep under, constant amperage charging without harming the battery can be attained.  What that is, depends upon the capacity of the battery of course.  I use 1 amp chargers which are simply small wall wart type transformers with a couple of diodes in them to keep on car batteries permanently.  The permit occasional use (discharge but not too deep) and keep the battery up quite well.

Some research on your part might alleviate buying a complex, fragile and expensive charger instead of a simple smaller one.
Stan

[MacGyver]

If your starter draws 200 amps, and it takes 30 seconds of cranking (which is a long time) to get it started, then that's only 1.67 amp hours used.

Times 5 starts a day = 8.333 AH used daily.

Depending on how many hours a day it runs, a 1 Amp charger might be sufficient.

[Stan]

Yes there is the potential for outgassing.  If you charge it too hard, it will "blow it's cork" (tiny vent).  You don't want that as there is no way to replace the outgassed vapour.  If it's a commercial sealed gel cell, it may have charging instructions printed on it.  Two different ones as a matter of fact.  One will be for occasional charging and will list the volts and amps for that scenario.  The other will be for continuous charging and will stipulate a lower voltage and amperage. 

I just grabbed one randomly off the shelf here and its a 12 Volt, 7.2 Ah/20HR constant voltage charge.....Cycle use (meaning occasional charging) 14.5V - 14.9V initial current less than 2.88A...............Standby use (thats hooked up to a charger continuously) 13.6V -13.8V (no amperage specified at this lower voltage).

The resistance in a battery increases as it nears full charge.  If the battery is big enough, or the charger is small enough, the battery's internal resistance at near full charge will be enough to cancel out the chargers amperage without damaging it(the battery).  It all depends on the numbers for your battery!

Stan

[MacGyver]

At the moment it is 1.4A charge at 14.25V.
Would you think that this should be ok to run 24/7 charging in this configuration ? 

NO!
14.25V is to high to leave on a battery continuously.
It's fine for the "bulk charge", but once that battery is filled up and no longer accepting any significant charge, the charging voltage MUST be reduced to the 13.6 -13.8 volt range specified on the battery.

If you leave it with 14+ volts on the terminals 24/7 you'll have a garbage battery in short order.

That's why 2 stage chargers are preferred.   Or at least a regulated charger that limits the terminal voltage to 13.8 volts.

[cschuerm]

Jens,
If you have a big boat store (Bass Pro?) around, they have some nice, low cost battery tenders.  These are two or three mode chargers designed to be left connected indefinitely.  They have all the correct logic to quickly charge a low battery then switch to different modes to maintain charge without damage.  Should be able to get one very inexpensively.

Chris

[Stan]

Yup...Steve is right, 14 + volts is too high for continuous charging.  Also if you don't have any fishing stores in Victoria (duh) you could also try an RV place.  They have the same type of chargers meant to allow RVers to hook up to their batteries for the winter.
STan

[solarphil]

Hi

A simple solar PV series regulator will suffice - something around 4A would do.  They are pretty cheap and reliable.

Phil

[mobile_bob]

on the subject of hubs for a flexplate
they make sprocket hubs that are made so that you can weld the sprocket onto the hub
getting a hub to fit the crankshaft should be no problem, then get a flexplate
and open the hole enough to fit the step on the hub and weld the two together

pretty simple solution in my opinion fwiw

bob g

[Stan]

Jens...Phil's right, cnd tire sells a little yellow one for $29.  You just have to make sure the battery isn't going to pull more than 3 amps by using an inline fuse.
Stan