Using drill instead of rotostart?

[Rory]

Hi Folks,

Ive recently received my HPI rush evo bought from ebay .. looks in pretty good nick overall. Im struggling to get it started so far, it came with a rotostart but no 7.2V battery !

So I've been using a black n decker cordless drill ... am I right in thinking this should spin quick enough to start the car? Ive got the glow starter on charge as we speak so going for another attempt shortly !

[fraggs]

It should spin it fast enough to start it only problem you might have is the torque needed to spin the engine if it is tight as some drills don't have the umph! (torque) to do it , check it is turning the correct way too before you try it

[Rory]

I just looked at the arrows on the end of the rotostart to get the direction, i think its anti clockwise?

[fraggs]

Try turning the engine by hand should only turn one way because of one way bearing, best way to check you have it the right way round

[Revorocks]

It should spin it fast enough to start it only problem you might have is the torque needed to spin the engine if it is tight as some drills don't have the umph! (torque) to do it , check it is turning the correct way too before you try it

If a drill doesn't have enough torque to turn over an engine then that's one pathetic drill

With an OWB you won't be able to turn it over the wrong way, unless you put it on backwards.

If you manage to start it up backwards, your car won't move, and the engine will sound very rough.

[Ian w]

O/K so you will need to have the drill running in reverse, clockwise looking at it from the front, you will need to set the torque setting down so if you flood the engine it will not damage the engine ( roto starts stall if the engine is flooded).

I have found that some engines will not start with a drill they need the speed of the roto start. Hope this helps

[Revorocks]

O/K so you will need to have the drill running in reverse, clockwise looking at it from the front, you will need to set the torque setting down so if you flood the engine it will not damage the engine ( roto starts stall if the engine is flooded).

I have found that some engines will not start with a drill they need the speed of the roto start. Hope this helps

That's a very good point.

The torque setting is very important, if you run it locked, then if you flood it you will severly damage the engine.

[Rory]

Well just tried again and still wouldnt start, getting annoyed with this now. I heated up the engine with a hairdrier, primed it and saw the fuel travel up to the carb and stopped when it got there... put in glow starter, turned over with drill and no fire..

I think it might be too slow, need to try to find a battery for this roto.

[Rory]

Btw been turning the engine over manually with the fly wheel to check for flooding which it isnt.

[fraggs]

If a drill doesn't have enough torque to turn over an engine then that's one pathetic drill

With an OWB you won't be able to turn it over the wrong way, unless you put it on backwards.

If you manage to start it up backwards, your car won't move, and the engine will sound very rough.

Need to check it is spinning the right way as you could cause damage to engine/owb , and yes some drills are pathetic (sold as screw drivers) really low torque you can stop them with your hand or if you blow hard enough in the opposite direction of rotation my force 15 starts in reverse and you only know when car runs backwards sounds quite smooth too but wont rev as high (funny though)

[fraggs]

Well just tried again and still wouldnt start, getting annoyed with this now. I heated up the engine with a hairdrier, primed it and saw the fuel travel up to the carb and stopped when it got there... put in glow starter, turned over with drill and no fire..

I think it might be too slow, need to try to find a battery for this roto.

Have you tried loosening the glow plug a bit to lessen compression, it may turn over faster then

[Ian w]

Right then : 1) glow plug out put it in the glow starter check that it is glowing brightly if not re charge.

2) You`ve got the right idea about blowing in the pressure tube but when you see the fuel reach the carb blow a LITTLE bit longer.

3) Try starting remember to set the torque on the drill VERY IMPORTANT.

[Rory]

It lives! Just bought a battery for the rotostart which turns over a lot faster than my drill can!

It started up very quickly actually and engine sounds smooth and healthy. Revs easily too. It was running too high rpm though even moving the trim on the controller all the way it was still wanting to move forward, so as a newbie to this I need to find out how to adjust the car throttle position lol

On another note, the steering turns more to one way than the other, any reasons for this?

[nosripper]

It lives! Just bought a battery for the rotostart which turns over a lot faster than my drill can!

It started up very quickly actually and engine sounds smooth and healthy. Revs easily too. It was running too high rpm though even moving the trim on the controller all the way it was still wanting to move forward, so as a newbie to this I need to find out how to adjust the car throttle position lol

On another note, the steering turns more to one way than the other, any reasons for this?

Should be a small screw on the carb, depends on motor (check manual) but usally below the highspeed needle. Undo anti clockwise an 1/8 of a turn to lower rpm

Try altering the trim on the transmitter, or if it still dosent run straight take the servo horn off> set the trim to the middle on the transmitter> align the wheels up straight> put horn back on> and finally fine tune with the trim on the transmitter again.

Hope this helps.

Edited March 27, 2010 by nosripper

[Rory]

Cool thanks nosripper

Once Ive lowered the idle and got the steering sorted out a bit, next job will be testing brakes I guess

I bought the rush as a cheap intro to this hobby, if I dont end up tearing my hair out and enjoy it all I will probably upgrade to something better in a while

[nosripper]

Cool thanks nosripper

Once Ive lowered the idle and got the steering sorted out a bit, next job will be testing brakes I guess

I bought the rush as a cheap intro to this hobby, if I dont end up tearing my hair out and enjoy it all I will probably upgrade to something better in a while

Sounds like youve brought a second hand one matey. This will cause you to take a steeper learning curve to say the least, but you will learn alot more about this hobby this way! Besides that these folks on here are A1 and will give you solid and reliable advice.

If nitro was easy all the gimps, nerds, geeks, eggheads and normal people would be doing it, it takes a special sort of person to keep persevering! So dont give up, keep plodding along and when they run right you know it was you that did it.

[Rory]

Sounds like youve brought a second hand one matey. This will cause you to take a steeper learning curve to say the least, but you will learn alot more about this hobby this way! Besides that these folks on here are A1 and will give you solid and reliable advice.

If nitro was easy all the gimps, nerds, geeks, eggheads and normal people would be doing it, it takes a special sort of person to keep persevering! So dont give up, keep plodding along and when they run right you know it was you that did it.

Yeah its 2nd hand and cost me

[nosripper]

Yeah its 2nd hand and cost me