Hi Stef, Bob, Veg
I'm a fan of "keep it simple", Bob. I'm not an electronics person - I like stuff that I can see the "workings". In fact the small electronics bits of the ST clone head worry me - how will I know if a bit goes bad? And which bit? I'm a bit of a luddite like that. So I'll keep it manual I guess. Because you tend to stand "behind" the engine to operate the starter/fuel lever/decompression - I think I'll just mount a push-button there somewhere in the middle of a wire from 12VDC to the solenoid. it'll be easy to make sure the decompression is engaged & the excess fuel is set, push the button, and drop the decompression once it fires. i don't need anything more complex than that; and it's my habit to engage the decompression on it's last, dying revolution as it stops.
I have a couple of heads - a Markon and a Chinese St clone (with which Bruce has been very helpful, thanks). Currently the Markon is mounted. I also have 2 X 105A Leece-Neville truck alternators - beautiful bits of kit - and will mount one of them shortly as a battery charger
I don't live up there - I'll be retiring there in a year or two, at which point I'll upgrade my solar. I figure a decent LiFePo4 unit, three or four of the 375W units we use for solar pumps here, plus a Victron "Easy-Solar" charger/controller is pretty much what I need. At the moment I have 2 X 120W panels, a bunch of lead-acids & a cheap MPPT charge controller - the whole lot probably owes me $400 - but, more importantly, I'm learning how to manage the solar without destroying expensive batteries while the "learning curve" flattens out. Like you, Stef, I'm a little way away from being there with everything running - but I'm getting there. The solar runs lights & either one of two fridges (one DC, one off the inverter) plus charges the phone etc - that's 90% of what I need right there.
There's an older pic here of a previous CS - turned out to have a bad barrel, so put aside - sitting where the current unit is mounted. What's not obvious - as it's overgrown - is that it's bolted to a big pad. I need to pour some more concrete and build it a shed . . . that's somewhere down the list
At the moment it's out in the weather and I have a persistent issue with water getting "inside" - so there's a head-gasket leak or similar I need to dismantle & find before it can earn its living properly. Plus I need to build a decent fuel tank-and-filter system etc. No real $$ just time. This weekend just gone I drained the cooling tank & left the drain valve open - if there's water in there next time I run it - then it's from the weather. I don't see how rain can get "in" but maybe it is? I'll find out. Either way the head needs to come off. I bought some head-gaskets from the helpful man - John? - in Thailand
Stef, I have a CS with a Listeroid head up there too - it has a COV plug in the hole, but I don't know what the compression is. Starts & runs fine. I have a glow-plug heater I thought I might get round to fitting into it one day - or maybe not. Time & priorities again . . .
I have several Chinese Honda-clone generators from 2.2kW to 6.6kW, and I use them as required - but it'd be nice to have the Lister puttering away quietly for longer runs - I figure the Markon head will be good for that
Cheers