Sullivan Starter

[RcManChild]

Hey Everyone,

I have a sullivan starter and it is wobbly as all hell and will soon destroy the shaft where the starter goes.

the shaft that actually is in the motor slides in and out ever so slightly.. Is this normal?

I cannot for the life of me get this thing to spin straight... any advice?

I am going to call the manufacturer tomorrow to see what they say..

Thanks

[Geena]

The slight movement of the starter`s motor shaft is normal. Mine does it too, and so does the one on my Hobbico starter.

Have you checked to make sure that the starter wand is not bent, or damaged?

I had one that was doing the exact same thing yours is doing, and it turned out to be that the wand shaft was bent. It was not much of a bend, but enough to cause it to have a bad vibration.

I don`t think that the starter`s motor shaft itself could be bent, but it would not hurt to check that too.

[Puttputt maru]

I had use the Sullivan starter for years and put up with it till I discovered, thanks to a friend, the Align starter.

It was night and day, so unbelievably smooth, no wobble and so compact too. If you can get your hands on one to try it, you will swap in an instant like I did.

Align Starter (3 min 49 sec)

[Geena]

I actually have two Align starters. Don`t really care for them though. They were fine for starting my old OS 50 engines, but they struggled with 90+ size engines. At least from my own experience with them.

I much prefer the Sullivan starter with the Makita drill battery, and Sullivan starting wand. It`s heavier than most other starters, but I don`t have to charge it very often and has plenty of power to start my larger engines.

[FrankFuss]

My Align starter turns over my 30cc (1.80 cubic inch) Zenoah gasser with authority.

[BrokeDad]

I just use a variable speed 20V lithium Black and Decker drill with torque sense. I passed it once to a guy with a .90 class heli who's flight box was dead and it didn't flinch. I prefer the pistol grip over a squeeze style starter. Walmart $70.

[Steve Graham]

Strange thread. The dynatron is the gold standard of heli starters. Not sure what to make of the wobbly comments. Perhaps the bearings are bad in the unit. The starter wand by design sits in the rubber starting cone and will wobble if it's not supported at the other end by being inserted into a start coupler.

The Align starter is a complete POS IMO. It is a jackhammer with only two types of people who've used it. Those who've had something on their heli damaged by it and those who will. The latter usually see the light and move on.

[Ace Dude]

I use the Dynatron/Makita combo myself.

Align vs Dynatron Starter (1 min 36 sec)

[Steve Graham]

LMFAO

[Puttputt maru]

Yep strange thread indeed, I am far from a fan boy for Align but when 3 of us each with Dynatron at my field, which has worked fine for years, since we did not know better, I guess, tried the Align:

Is was a lot smoother
It was lighter.

But hey! we are all, more or less, grown man, pick what you want to champion.

[RcManChild]

Returned starter to Dynatron, turns out the bearing housing in the front had been stretched out causing the wand to wobble. Unfortunately the align starter was not an option as there is no one way bearing on the SAB Nitro. You need a wand with a one way bearing.

[adam0702]

I had use the Sullivan starter for years and put up with it till I discovered, thanks to a friend, the Align starter.

It was night and day, so unbelievably smooth, no wobble and so compact too. If you can get your hands on one to try it, you will swap in an instant like I did.

[ChrisGreenwalt]

Perhaps the bearings are bad in the unit. So you should ask someone specialist to check it and find if there is something big problem.

[jbaum81]

Originally Posted by Steve Graham

Strange thread. The dynatron is the gold standard of heli starters. Not sure what to make of the wobbly comments. Perhaps the bearings are bad in the unit. The starter wand by design sits in the rubber starting cone and will wobble if it's not supported at the other end by being inserted into a start coupler.

The Align starter is a complete POS IMO. It is a jackhammer with only two types of people who've used it. Those who've had something on their heli damaged by it and those who will. The latter usually see the light and move on.

I own and use both. Only issue I've ever had with the Align starter is consistently shattering the cup on the N7. The N7's have a thinner cup due to it's larger shaft. The align has hydro lock protection too which is handy if you've ever had a regulator stick open on a 105 and not noticed.

The jackhammer statement is completely unfair and makes it sound as if the align starter operates like an impact, which it does not. The thud or hammering sound your hearing is the compression stroke on the engine itself. The resistance changes drastically as the shaft spins through the strokes. This is dampened by the the magnetic field on the direct drive sullivans. The Align starter is gear driven and as such wont dampen out that sound. Starting with a drill produces a similar effect. I will agree the Sullivan does sound more pleasing and with the ability to run higher voltage packs can make starting a lot faster and nicer.

Originally Posted by Geena

I actually have two Align starters. Don`t really care for them though. They were fine for starting my old OS 50 engines, but they struggled with 90+ size engines. At least from my own experience with them.

I much prefer the Sullivan starter with the Makita drill battery, and Sullivan starting wand. It`s heavier than most other starters, but I don`t have to charge it very often and has plenty of power to start my larger engines.

Never had an issue with the Align starter turning over my 105's, probably just a battery issue for you.

Originally Posted by RcManChild

Returned starter to Dynatron, turns out the bearing housing in the front had been stretched out causing the wand to wobble. Unfortunately the align starter was not an option as there is no one way bearing on the SAB Nitro. You need a wand with a one way bearing.

The align starter has a OWB in it, I start my Black Nitro all the time with it.

[RcManChild]

Sorry guys, sent the whole unit back and the plastic housing had stretcvhed itself...
no idea how

Factory warrantied it.

[KelseyJohnson]

My Align starter turns over my 30cc (1.80 cubic inch) Zenoah gasser with expert.

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[alexparez]

Strange thread. The dynatron is the gold standard of heli starters. Not sure what to make of the wobbly comments. Perhaps the bearings are bad in the unit. The starter wand by design sits in the rubber starting cone and will wobble if it's not supported at the other end by being inserted into a start coupler.

[viveksharma]

Returned starter to Dynatron, turns out the bearing housing in the front had been stretched out causing the wand to wobble. Unfortunately the align starter was not an option as there is no one way bearing on the SAB Nitro.

[thetarpco]

Perhaps the bearings are bad in the unit. So you should ask someone specialist to check it and find out if there is something big problem

tarp

[bjr_93tz]

I have a Magnum geared starter and 5S li-po with a hobbyking silicone cup for starting the YS DZ170 and DZ200 in my F3A planes. When I got my N7 recently (2nd hand, with 105HZR) I bought a long, ball end hex drive and turned up an insert to fit the starter cup.

When starting, I "put the ball in the hole" (said in my best Happy Gilmore voice), preload the one way bearing and starter gearbox by turning the whole thing about 1/8-1/4 turn just before hitting the starter switch. Usually only takes a blip and it's done.

I think the key is for the first start of the day, put a few drops of fuel down the carb, pre-pressurise the tank while filling by putting the vent bung back in before the last turn of the fuel pump handle and make sure the fuel lines up to the carb are bled. Now I've fitted the velocity stack, I'll inject those few drops in through the backplate. (first start of the day only)

If it doesn't start on the first bump, then I've still got the throttle cut set...