Quote:
Originally Posted by Plumper
First, I have not been able to start my 2QM20 by hand yet. My friend, who has one, can. He says that the trick is for one person to grind as fast as he can and for a second person to flip the decomp lever on one cylinder without telling the grinder when. The grinder still keeps grinding for all that he's worth.
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I had a 2qm20 on my last boat and due to some starter issues (probably my wiring) right before I sold her I pretty much ONLY started her by hand. I'm 5'10" average build. I must admit the first many times I tried it I thought it was impossible but it is definitely do-able. The quote from above is pretty much the meat of it. It really takes 2 people. One cranking like MAD and the other releaseing the levers. I told them when and tried to time it when I was on the part of the stroke where I was pulling towards myself. Doing it by suprise might work also.
I found several technique tweaks before I could reliably start it. First, stack the deck in your favor. Start the engine during the warmest part of the day if possible. Putting towels on the engine and pouring hot/boiling water on them and leaving them for a while helps to heat the engine. You can also crank with levers decompressed while someone holds a blowtorch near the air intake to warm up the calendars. You can also use the torch to heat up the air intake manifold before cranking so that the air passing by it warms.
Remember that on the 2qm20 the handle will not kick back at you so you don't need to hold it in a weird way and be scared of when it starts. It freewheels just like when you stop pedaling a bike. Grasp the handle and get serious! Speed is the key. I would use my entire upper body, not just my arms.
I found that a good stance was really important. I would take out a bilge floorboard and brace my legs between stringers for a solid stance.
WD40 definitely helps and is great for your engine (most of these tricks I got from a cruise ship mechanic that helped me start my engine after I got the starter submerged in salt water
) Don't just do a little squirt either, have the person holding the levers in one hand, wd40 in the other, he waits until you have a few turns, begins spraying and 3-5 more revs later when you've got some speed on he lets go. BTW don't mix the wd40 trick with overly aggressive blowtorch in the air intake. Also take off the air filter for torching or Wd40. Wd40 is also good if you have old
fuel that may not combust as easially. Also place a towel above the starter so that you don't drip Wd40 all over the electrical connections (spark) of the starter.
I've also found that with each successive attempt the engine warms up more and you may be successful on the 4th or 5th serious try. For this reason I will have the weaker person try 2 or 3 times to warm it up if it's cold or I think there might be problems, then I step in and look cool by starting on the 4th or 5th try.
Another trick if your battery is low is to immediately stop cranking. Go attempt to hand crank a few times and you can use what little juice is left in your battery to start her right up after you've warmed her up by hand.
It absolutely can be done reliably by an average person and once you develop a few techniques it becomes a very reliable way to start the engine. I've even gone on trips without an alternator or a starter.
A good time to practice, and get over the jitters some people have from hearing horror stories it so start her up by hand after a day of normal motoring. When warmed she'll start up immediately. Then try it on a warm day (on a cold engine) and then graduate to doing it on a cold morning. Try with and without Wd40
My new boat has a perkins that you can't hand crank. I DO miss the security of that little handle. Let us know how it goes!
MedSailor
PS it was so important to me that I always carried a spare bike chain and link key in a ziplock bag with grease.
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