[AT] Easier to Start?

[Dean VP]

Tyler,

Yes, JD provided rather unique short stubs that would fit into the center of the flywheel
at one end and then the other end was made to allow the steering wheel to be attached so
one could use the steering wheel off the tractor and the little stub to start an electric
start tractor. In the very early electric start tractors, 6 volt batteries were used which
were under rated to begin with and under any kind of adverse condition they would often
fail to perform their starting duties. Battery technology has come a long ways since the
late 30's and early 40's as well. On our farm and I suspect many others an old steering
wheel was semi-permanently attached to these stubs which were unique for the older letter
series and then changed in the late letter series and early numbered series. The early
numbered series were all 12V start tractors and used two 6V batteries wired in series. The
early letter series 6V electric start was very marginal and next to useless when the temps
dropped below zero.  So hand starting and pulling the tractor with anything else that
would start was usually employed. I don't recall starting problems with the early numbered
series, in the early 50's  as long as the batteries were charged. That excludes the
diesels. Block heaters were required for diesels in NW IA where winter time lows often got
into to the -40 degrees F range in the 1940's and 1950's. Block heaters even helped a lot
for the gas tractors but were not utilized much in the early 40's. Maybe it had to do with
the fact that REA (Rural Electrification Association) was in itself quite unreliable in
the winter again in the late 30's early 40's.  I recall reading many a book by Kerosene
lamp for a few years even after we had REA on the farm. It just wasn't reliable the first
few years. 

Dean VP
Snohomish, WA

"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson


-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com]
On Behalf Of Tyler Juranek
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2012 4:42 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] Easier to Start?

Hi, interesting.
Wasn't there a way to crank the two cylinder Jd's with electric start as well?
If anyone knows how to do so, can you please explain?
Thanks,
Tyler

On 7/19/12, Steve W. <swilliams268 at frontier.com> wrote:
> Mike Sloane wrote:
>> The old Farmall tractors don't care whether you use the crank or the 
>> starter motor. And it doesn't matter whether they have electric 
>> ignition or magneto. One advantage of those old Farmall gas engines 
>> is that they were very, very simple - nothing that you wouldn't 
>> recognize out of VoTech text book describing generic 4 cylinder 
>> in-line engines. There was no vacuum advance, nothing sophisticated 
>> at all. The smaller tractors came with a crank that sat in special 
>> clips in or on the operator platform, while the larger machines had 
>> other arrangements. The Cubs, and A/B/C's were very easy to crank, 
>> but I have never tried to crank an M or H. I think those might be 
>> more work. Incidentally, when I needed to turn the engine over on my 
>> Ford 2N, I discovered that the Farmall Cub hand crank fit perfectly. 
>> The only "trick", as others have mentioned, is that you don't just 
>> spin the handle around. You engage the crank in the "down" position, 
>> keep your thumb close to your index finger, and pull up smartly on 
>> the handle. Of course, it also requires that the gas be open, the 
>> ignition on, the throttle about half way, and maybe the choke closed 
>> (the first time only). 9 out of 10 times, the crank is the only way my '48 Cub will
start.
>>
>
> My F-20 starts pretty well, so does the H. Not hard cranking either one.
>
> --
> Steve W.
> _______________________________________________
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> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>


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