Starters for petrol cutters: device and installation features

The recoil starter for a petrol cutter or petrol trimmer is a mechanical unit that includes a pulley fitted to a ratchet. A rope is wound on the pulley in the initial position. At the start, it is pulled outward. The pulley is spring loaded - as soon as you let go of the end of the rope, it will reel back. A flat tape rolled into a ring is used as a spring. It resembles a spring in a large mechanical watch that is wound once a day. The starter itself is located more often at the rear than closer to the front end of the mower or trimmer. In order to correctly perform all the manipulations with the starter for petrol cutters, you need to know the features of the device and installation.

The starter is a generally single and universal mechanism for petrol cutters, trim tabs, gasoline and diesel generator sets. It is not a problem to equip them even a car, motorcycle or scooter, if your vehicle has free space for its installation. It was not for nothing that many Soviet cars and trucks were equipped with a starter tool that vaguely resembles a crowbar bent twice.

The starter assembly has the following parts:

• hook ignition spring;
• cord wound on a reel;
• return spring;
• ratchet drive and main spring;
• mechanism housing protecting the ratchet;
• locking bolt.

There are times when the starter is still operational, but a worn out cord can break, for example. The ratchet has not yet had time to work when the engine is started, and the remnants of the cord are immediately wound around the reel, the return spring loses its hooks, the grooves in the starter housing break. The result is the replacement of both the springs and the housing.

If everything is in order with the rope on the starter, suspicion falls on the reel itself. It is driven by a ribbon spring, coiled into a roll. Certain steps must be taken to change the spring.

1. Remove the starter from the brushcutter.
2. Remove the starter coil.
3. Unscrew the main bolt holding the pulley to the housing.
4. Pull out the gripping tendrils and spring, the ribbon spring is almost fully extended or coiled into larger rings.
5. Hold it in advance.
6. Check if the spring is intact (there may be rusty streaks, fractures, etc.). If the hooks at its ends are broken, it will not be possible to bend new ones - high-carbon steel breaks when you try to bend it. Loose hooks are suitable for slight bending.
7. Make sure the auxiliary (regular) spring and washers are in place. These parts protect the coil body from being punctured by the ends of the main spring. If the washers and the spring are broken, and there are no new ones available, do not tighten the coil bolt tightly, but watch it - it can unscrew and get lost.
8. If the main (flat) spring is damaged, insert the same new one.Place the hook on the end of the spring in place and bend it, inserting coil by coil into the space it should be.

The rewinding of the spring takes a minute. Dexterity in this action is acquired quickly.

How to replace or replace the starter spring, see the next video.

It is possible to give the spring the necessary potential force necessary for a clear and fast winding of the cord, by determining the length of the cord in turns. To prevent the cord handle from drooping, add 1-2 more turns to the number of turns. So, if the cord has a length of 5 turns of the coil, then when charging the spring, turn the coil 6-7 full turns.

When servicing and repairing the starter, it is important to assemble it correctly - as if the assembly was carried out by the manufacturer. Any part that is incorrectly installed will prevent you from fully using your trimmer or brushcutter.

1. After winding the spring, turn the coil over and place it so that the second spring hook falls back into place. To control the correct installation of the spring, there are technological windows on the coil itself.
2. Install the starter pulley and make sure that one of the spring hooks fits into the groove located on the starter cover.
3. Insert the spring and washers on the sides to prevent the spring from rubbing off the plastic compartment in which it is located. If the spring is broken, and the other is not the same, an additional washer is placed in its place.
4. Insert the antennae cup into the grooves on the spool.
5. Install the coil in its place, tighten the bolt as far as it will go, but without fanaticism.

If you do not protect the compartment with washers from the main spring, where it moves when winding and unwinding the starter cord, the coil often jams when you try to start the petrol trimmer or brushcutter. Loosening the coil bolt will result in its loss.

How to assemble a brushcutter trimmer starter, watch the video.

For starter assembly do the following manipulations.

1. Pass one end of the cord through the opening at the beginning of the spool and tie it in a knot. The knot must not pass through the hole. Otherwise, you will disassemble the starter again.
2. Wind the cord around the spool itself.
3. Install the spring into the starter housing, hook one end of it in the groove and wind it. For convenient winding, twist the body counterclockwise.
4. Place the ratchet on the spring.
5. Hook the return spring onto the ratchet itself, secure it to the spool.
6. Install the main spring and housing with the assembled ratchet, connect the starter parts together and tighten with the main bolt.

After assembling the starter, pass the free end of the cord through the hole in the housing for the reel. Re-pass the same end through the hole in the handle that the cord is pulling on. Tie a strong knot on the handle. Check the operation of the starter handbrake.

It happens that it is not the spring that is to blame for the inability to start the starter, but the cord itself. It can seize or even break. Disassembling a petrol cutter or trimmer starter is universal in its steps.

1. Remove the starter block from the trimmer or brushcutter.
2. Remove the main bolt holding the handbrake.
3. Pull out the spool and rewind the remnants of the worn out cord from it.
4. Untie the knot on the cord handle and pull the end of the cord out of the knot.
5. Untie the knot at the other end (at the beginning of the spool) and remove the old cord. Knots that have become tight are untied with pliers or pliers.
6. Tie a knot at one end of the new cord, pass it through the hole at the beginning of the spool (closer to its axis).
7. Wind a few turns of the new cord onto the spool. If it is long, cut off the excess.
8. Load and charge the spring-loaded cord tensioner (if removed) and spring-loaded elements in the correct sequence.
9. Replace the spool and thread the free end of the cord through the starter outlet and handle.
10. Reinstall the starter block.

Twist the starter by the cord, start the engine of petrol cutters or trimmers. The larger and more powerful the engine, the more jerks of the cord will be required at startup, the norm is no more than 7 times. The result is a quick and smooth start of the motor, the readiness of the unit for operation.

See below for more details.