For those who hate electrics

[FridgeFreezer]

You need one of these:

www.springstarter.com

 

[Cynic-al]

Lets hope your car catches quickly, I've had a few where your cranking as long as your driving

[WesBrooks]

Neat idea, possibly good for stop start!

Does remind me about the in line accumulators you can fit to the oil system that charge when the engine is at pressure, store when ignition is cut and release when you start the engine to help the bearing life a little.

[simonr]

I can see the advantage perhaps for starting a diesel generator or a vehicle in the 3rd world - but ultimately you're just swapping one energy storage device for another.  The original one is pretty reliable and gives you several goes at starting the engine.  I like the mechanicalness of it - but that's where it ends.

Si

[Soren Frimodt]

Clever! And then you just tighten the spring with your cordless impact and it all becomes very clever 

[Landrovernuts]

I have seen them and inertia starts (using the flywheel) on lifeboat engines and they worked very well.

[Simon Smith]

Briggs and Stratton used to fit these to some lawnmower engines, they rewind themselves by acting as the engine brake when you stop the machine. They are far more powerful than the electric starter motors and the engines started much easier. Not sure why they discontinued them.

 

[nickwilliams]

Mechanical starters can be used where batteries cannot - for example very cold locations. I have an ex-military 30kVA generator which has a 6.3 litre straight six Ford engine and two massive (120Ah) batteries. It also has a hydraulic accumulator which is pumped up with about 10 minutes cranking on a handle. Once it's charged the hydraulic pressure is used to drive a very clever reciprocating rack arrangement on the end of the crankshaft which can drive the engine for several revolutions. The generator is rated to start down to -10 deg. C on the electric starter and (with the aid of what is effectively a capsule full of Easy Start squirted into the air intake manifold) -40 deg. C on the hydraulic starter. 

[Bowie69]

8 hours ago, Simon Smith said:

Briggs and Stratton used to fit these to some lawnmower engines, they rewind themselves by acting as the engine brake when you stop the machine. They are far more powerful than the electric starter motors and the engines started much easier. Not sure why they discontinued them.

 

I'd imagine down to cost.

Electric motors are very,very cheap to produce.

[Landrovernuts]

Our emergency generators on many ships I have sailed on were started by hydraulics. They were charged by a small electric pump or by hand which took some doing to get them to 3000psi!! The problem with them is when the bladders in the accumulators leak the nitrogen out the hydraulics only turn the engine one turn if you are lucky!!! No you cannot hand start a 1000kw v12 engine!