Zundfix ignitors...

[TimYoung]

My son works for a Denmark based firm, Svitzer towage. His spies have found a source of the Danit starter fireworks but they only seem to do 17mm diameter.

 

To big to fit my Seffle and £4.00 each one.

 

There is a champion glowplug CH9 which looks to be the basis of an alternative method. I'll give it a do.

 

Tim

[Aussiebug]

 

Well mine certainly don't!

 

Ah ok, thanks! Do you have to light them manually or are they supposed to self-ignite?

Mike,

 

My first post here - not a canal guy really, but interested in everything engine - especially VW bug engines - hence the handle. The old SABB engines (not seen here in Australia) have always interested me - simplicity, nothing electrical needed, and absolutely reliable.

 

The Zundfix "cigarette" starters are in fact a concentrated solution of Saltpeter (ammonium nitrate) dissolved in water and then soaked into blotting paper which is then rolled into the cigarette shape and dried. In that form they are quite safe to handle, and if they get damp, a good dry in a gentle oven or out in the sun should fix that.

 

Ammonium nitrate mixed with diesel fuel is the classic fertiliser explosion (used in the mining industry a lot, and unfortunately in a lot of illegal events). You DON'T light them before hand - they are inserted into the combustion chamber via the threaded T plug, where the saltpeter mixes with the diesel when you spin the engine over and the fuel is injected. The heat of compression sets them off, so you get a good "bump start" on the engine for a few revs to create plenty of compression heat to keep the engine running.

 

When you set fire to them in air (your earlier posts in this thread), they just fizzle because the saltpeter is providing extra oxygen to the burning blotting paper.

 

The "cigarettes" have same sort of effect as the cartridge starters used in some WW2 aircraft engines (looked like big shotgun cartridges) and the quick-start (cartridge-start) engines in Canberra Bombers of the 60s, although all those were self contained and did not need the fuel in the engine as part of the process - they all resulted in a big charge of burnt gases spinning the engine hard enough to fire it up cold

 

Rob

[BEngo]

Mike,

 

<Snip>

 

The "cigarettes" have same sort of effect as the cartridge starters used in some WW2 aircraft engines (looked like big shotgun cartridges) and the quick-start (cartridge-start) engines in Canberra Bombers of the 60s, although all those were self contained and did not need the fuel in the engine as part of the process - they all resulted in a big charge of burnt gases spinning the engine hard enough to fire it up cold

 

Rob

Going OT for a bit, you are right that aircraft cartridge starters are self contained, but the big charge of gases from the cartridge does not usually spin the engine by acting directly on the pistons or the turbine blades . The usual methods are:

 

The cartridge drives a threaded piston down a rifled chamber- the piston spins as a result and is mechanically geared to the engine. The engine is turned over and, with the assuitance of an impulse drive on one magneto, hopefully bursts into life. This arrangement is for piston engines, usually.

 

The cartridge exhausts through a small turbine which is mechanically geared to the engine and drives it up to self sustaining speed. The driver then turns the fuel and igniters on at the right time and away you go. Sometimes the cartridge was replaced bya liquid monofuel (no air supply neded) called AVPIN or isopropylnitrate. This was a bit prone to go off too sharply and result in the whole starter emerging sideways.

 

Both require an additional spark or high energy igniter to get the fuel burning.

 

The reason the more complicated route was taken is because the cartridge gases are very corrosive and thoroughly bad for spark plugs and turbines.

 

N

[1-Cylinder Wonder]

Mike,

 

Did you get sorted out? The Zundfix things and the Field Marshall starters will not work on your engine as the compression will be too low. They are designed for full diesel engines not surface ignition engines like yours. My pettrer S used to have fireworks. They are ok but I only ever used them in an emergency. The unburnt cartridge can clog the exhaust ports.

 

I hate to say that the lamp is always the best option and preferably parafin as it is quicker and despite what most say a lot safer than propane.

 

Electric plugs do work and I Know of a reliable source for them but you would probly have to machine an adapter for the fitting in your cylinder head.

 

Hope this might help and message me if you want any more detail.

 

John