Rope start
device used to start an engine
Rope start (also called ripcord , pull start, or rewind start) is a method of starting an internal combustion engine, usually on small machines, such as lawn mowers, chainsaws, grass trimmers, ultralight aircraft, small outboard motors and portable engine-generators. Also used on some small vehicles such as small go-karts, minibikes, and small ATVs.
Recoil start
This starter mechanism comprises a rope, with a grip at the end, moulded rope reels and a spring. The rope is coiled within a reel which is held under spring tension within an outer reel. This reel assembly is in contact with one end of the crankshaft through a ratcheting mechanism (specifically, a freewheel clutch). When the rope's grip is pulled, the rope uncoils, tensions the spring, engages the clutch and turns the crankshaft, spinning it to crank or start the engine before the end of the pull stroke. The running of the engine then disengages the clutch. When the user releases the grip, the spring operated reel retracts the rope, setting it up for the next start operation. This recoiling of the rope (as opposed to the rope detaching) gives the recoil starter its name. (Should the engine fail to start, the stopping of the rope pull also disengages the clutch so the rope can be recoiled).
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This entry incorporates text from “Rope start” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.