# Invertor to start blower, what you guys think?



## darcy32171 (Nov 28, 2013)

I had started to clear snow for others. I thought as a plan, I would get an Invertor and wire it up so I can just use my electric start in remote situations. I got this from the Fiance for Christmas. I already had a good gauged power wire in my SUV so I hooked it up. It does not work for starting my blower, not enough juice. How much juice does a snowblower starter take? Its on a 2003 Murray with a 10hp Tecumseh. I know when using household power, it seems to take a quick flick (2 seconds at most) to start the blower, I thought maybe one of these would be great. I guessed wrong.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

i'm not sure how much power is needed to crank the starter but most vehicles don't produce enough voltage at an idle to give much power to the inverter


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## darcy32171 (Nov 28, 2013)

Ahhh I see. I never tested the power to the inverter. The digital display showed 14.5v when I turned it on (SUV at idle). Hey, it was a good plan while it lasted! I was hoping to mount it at the back and flip the gate open while hooked to my trailer then it would be a quick hook up to start. 
OK, come to think of it..I might as well ad: Reason I wanted this then to cold start was because bouncing down the highway or road and the possibility of easily getting flooded....was the reason I wanted this plan to work...then I wouldn`t be stranded at a customer`s place with a flooded/hard to pull start machine.


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## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

The problem with inverters is the reasonably priced ones don't output a pure sine wave, they put out a modified sine wave, which motors don't like much.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

darcy32171 said:


> Ahhh I see. I never tested the power to the inverter. The digital display showed 14.5v when I turned it on (SUV at idle). Hey, it was a good plan while it lasted! I was hoping to mount it at the back and flip the gate open while hooked to my trailer then it would be a quick hook up to start.
> OK, come to think of it..I might as well ad: Reason I wanted this then to cold start was because bouncing down the highway or road and the possibility of easily getting flooded....was the reason I wanted this plan to work...then I wouldn`t be stranded at a customer`s place with a flooded/hard to pull start machine.


Hmm... I've hauled hot tillers around from one job to the next, sometimes driving over rough ground etc. Never had a flooding problem. How fast do you drive over what types of roads??


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## Spectrum (Jan 6, 2013)

darcy32171 said:


> Ahhh IReason I wanted this then to cold start was because bouncing down the highway or road and the possibility of easily getting flooded....was the reason I wanted this plan to work...then I wouldn`t be stranded at a customer`s place with a flooded/hard to pull start machine.


I don't get the point?

Engines should not be that prone to flooding. If so a fuel shut-off could limit any excess delivery.

Starter motors do not like long cranks, they are meant to jolt a machine to life. 

If you really need an electric starter to consistently get your machines going are you and the machines fit for the job?

I don't mean to be rude but this sounds like a solution in search of a problem.

Pete


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

i've bounced my powerlite and 2450 around on theback of my van for years and never had a flooding issue. i just got a hitch rack to carry the 521 so soon it will get bounced around too


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

You would get more power directly from the battery than wiring the inverter to anything else. Remember, the battery has to provide enough juice for 4-8 cylinders depending on your truck. 

Another solution could be when you get your second blower getting one with a blown engine and repowering it with one of the clones with a 12v starter on board. Then you can get a little motorcycle or lawn tractor battery and mount it on the blower.


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## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

Shryp said:


> Another solution could be when you get your second blower getting one with a blown engine and repowering it with one of the clones with a 12v starter on board. Then you can get a little motorcycle or lawn tractor battery and mount it on the blower.


I think this is the idea. I've had this idea for a while, just haven't gotten around to it. A motorcycle battery would do it. I wonder if the starter from a lawn tractor would bolt on.


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## darcy32171 (Nov 28, 2013)

As for the flooding issue, I have not encountered it as of yet. I have owned snowmobiles all my life and can recount numerous times the flooding issues. I`ll see today, we are heading 40 minutes away down a paved road that is a "bad patch job" nightmare. 
A for the e-start and am I "fit" for the job: Hey, it has e-start, I`m going to use it all the time. I tell myself: Quit and start manually starting it and get use to the quirks of manually starting. I guess from pull starting sleds all my life and now owning a machine that is e-start is heaven. Do I ever pull the rope? Never, not yet anyhow lol.


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## scipper77 (Dec 4, 2013)

Not sure if this helps as I don't know the particulars of your inverter but...

Starting draws pretty high amperage when using a DC starting system. I would think you could rig up a deep cycle battery and inverter directly to handle the load. If you want to do a little fabrication you can make a drill starter (Cordless drill turning flywheel directly) but those can be very dangerous if they do not release from the flywheel nut. 

What I personally would look into is replacing the A/C motor on the starter With a D/C motor. Then you only need a battery. I'm on vacation, send me enough info on the current starter and I could probably design you a properly sized and fused system that would work for you. 

As a matter of fact you might even be able to find another application that uses the same motor as your snowblower has but came stock with a 12 volt starting system. I think this is your best option. Lets face it, when Tecumseh was around they were being put in just about everything (the horizontal shaft motors at least).

EDIT: Well that took 10 seconds https://www.google.com/search?q=tecumseh+12+vold+starter&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS564US564&oq=tecumseh+12+vold+starter&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.16679j0j4&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8#es_sm=93&espv=210&q=tecumseh+12+volt+starter&tbm=shop

EDIT #2: Looks like these starters have two mounting configurations. Without shopping around for a deal it looks like they go for around $50 US. I'm not sure if the A/C andD/C starters bolt up the same but I'd be shocked if they didn't. 

I think this one would work based on the A/C starter I looked at that had the same mounting style and a 16 tooth gear. http://www.ebay.com/itm/STARTER-TECUMSEH-36680-33605-33202-35763-35876-12-VOLT-/330459944668?_trksid=p2054897.l4275
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-12V-STARTER-TECUMSEH-36680-33605-33202-35763-35876-5717340-SM57173-/400261445744?_trksid=p2054897.l4275

Based on this being the correct electric start. http://www.ebay.com/itm/TECUMSEH-37000-33329-33329A-thru-33329F-Starter-High-quality-By-MES-5898N-/171172945586?_trksid=p2054897.l4275

I hope this post helps you out. I personally get excited when I come up with simple projects like this.


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## darcy32171 (Nov 28, 2013)

Thanks Scipper77!! I`ll check into this in the morning. I`m guessing that just below the recoil would likely be the optimum place for mounting a battery.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

That 36680 number is what I found "should" be the units to order when I convert my two craftsman blowers to 12 volt. They are the replacement for the 115 volt ones on my Tecumseh 10 HP horizontal motors.

And yes, the starters should bolt up the same as they wouldn't go through the trouble of mounting them different at the cost of two different short blocks for the same displacement engine or two different drilled patterns on the short blocks.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Opps, on the inverter the earlier guy saying that the output isn't as clean as household current is correct and in some circumstances it makes a huge difference. Some motors and electrical equipment won't work or won't work well on a standard cheap inverter. The 115 volt starter motor is just a basic motor and as long as you are feeding it enough amps, it will spin just fine with a cheap inverter. That said using an inverter would be my very last choice. The 115 volt starter should draw a little over 800 watts and I'd sure add some when it gets cold.

My choice is to go with a 12 volt starter, mount a battery and starting switch and just charge the battery at the end of the day with a small 1 to 2 amp charger.


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

if the snow blower has a lighting circuit you won't need to charge the battery. The light circuit will take care of that for you, just hook the lighting circuit output wire (usually white can comes out from behind the flywheel cover right near the starter.


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## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

That was me earlier. I'm a big inverter lover. I have 3 of them and a full setup with a marine battery for when the power goes out. On a cheap inverter electronics with transformers hum more, a fan motor will make more noise, my neighbor's furnace won't even run, but mine will, although it makes a buzz. In summer at the truck show in Carlisle, PA, my blender runs faster off my little generator than off my 2000W inverter. The modified square wave just lacks curves


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

CarlB said:


> if the snow blower has a lighting circuit you won't need to charge the battery. The light circuit will take care of that for you, just hook the lighting circuit output wire (usually white can comes out from behind the flywheel cover right near the starter.


Yes and no. Mostly NO !! The output is unregulated and it's alternating current. The output is in AC and will only damage a battery. You need a full wave rectifier from Radio Shack or .... for 5 bucks to get DC and than something to regulate the output so you're not boiling the battery once it's properly charged. I'm not that far with my research but maybe using a regulator off a riding tractor will do both. Or using the separate rectifier and then an automotive regulator like an old ford or Chry where they were external of the alternator.

It's not a lot of effort or cost but it's not just a matter of running that lighting wire to a battery and calling it a day 

This will give you an idea of turning the AC to DC as LEDs and batteries have to have Direct Current. http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...rading-your-snowblower-lights-led-lights.html


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Both my 10/32's have lighting outputs so that is what I'm looking to do. Adding a rectifier, regulator, 12 volt starter, battery and then a pair of switches. One switch for the starter and one for light on off. They don't come with an on off switch on the light.


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## darcy32171 (Nov 28, 2013)

OK, I hate to throw a stick into the spokes....but I think it will help. I already changed over to LED`s and have a Bridge Rectifier to swap the AC to DC. The wire going to my LED should be good now to charge a battery...Yes/No????


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

It would be good to charge a battery except you still need to regulate it. You could always put a battery close to it and wire it in and then check the voltage with a meter. I'm guessing you're going to need to regulate the amount of juice going to the battery.

The light has a set resistance and it limits the current through it but the battery can be boiled if it gets too much.

Has anyone added a starter and battery and if so what did you do to regulate the batteries charging ??


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

FWIW, you may want to look for a scrap riding lawnmower with an electric start. The smaller, mid-engined, single bladed models. 

Granted, you may not be able to swap the flywheel, or starter, but the charging system, regulator, key switch, and wiring harness might be worth your troubles. That alone would be worth the $50 scrap price, that you may find.


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