Greetings and a BCS Diesel question

   / Greetings and a BCS Diesel question #1  

louky

New member
Joined
Dec 26, 2012
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8
Location
louisville ky
Tractor
bcs
I'm happy to find this forum. My name is Ray, I live in the Louisville Ky area and have a small piece of land I'm improving in Southern Indiana. Last year I bought a slightly used BCS853 with a some implements. It has the Kohler diesel engine with electric start. I have been very pleased with the engine as far as performance and fuel consumption. Late in the summer as an experiment, I tried starting the engine with the rope pull. I never got it to fire at all, even after it had been warmed up.

Not only did it never pop, but the pull rope seemed very short, around half the length of the Honda BCS motor that I was used to. Does anyone know of any tricks to hand starting this engine? Also, is it normal for the rope be that much shorter than a gas engine? Thanks for the feedback.

Ray
 
   / Greetings and a BCS Diesel question #2  
:welcome:
 
   / Greetings and a BCS Diesel question #3  
Ray,
I've got the same set-up and have successfully pull started my diesel, but not when it was colder than 60 degrees. I am 60 years old and do not have the strength to make it spin fast enough to fire at colder temperatures. My technique is to slowly pull through the entire rope length twice and then to feel where the piston goes into the compression stroke. You can tell where that happens as the force needed to pull through is considerable. I set the throttle to half speed, double check to see that the clutch/safety lever lock is set, let the rope retract fully, brace myself against the tractor, put both hands on the pull handle and suddenly give it all the pull I've got. What I have found is that when starting the pull when not on the compression stroke, the darn thing wants to kick backwards about halfway through the pull and it is not a pleasant feeling when it tries to jerk the rope out of my hands.

They may be keeping the rope short so as to reduce the likelihood of the kick-back described above. I keep the battery in good shape as this beast is a bear to pull start. My 737 with 13hp Honda is non-electric and a sweetheart to pull start. My 830 with 8 hp Kohler is harder to start than the Honda but easier than the Lombardini/Kohler diesel.
Bill in NC
 
   / Greetings and a BCS Diesel question #4  
Hi Lou,

Welcome to the group!

I haven't even bothered to mount a battery to my BCS 850. As Bill in NC says, it's a little more difficult to start in colder weather, but it can be done. I just started mine last week in 30-40 degree weather. It took 15-20 pulls, and those pulls took enough out of me at 32 years old, 6'1" and 240 lbs, that I don't think many would be willing to do it often. I'm operating a farm, so I have a John Deere 317 skid steer with 80 inch bucket to keep snow clear. If I depended on the BCS with blower, I'd sure be mounting a battery.

The newer Lombardini (now Kohler) engines have automatic decompression. The engine goes to full compression at a certain (very low) RPM. It's difficult to find where the compression stroke is with the engine decompressed, but you need to do so. Once you find the compression stroke, roll the engine "just" past it. Let the recoil take the rope back in. Pull the rope back out just until the dogs engage (it gets me to grit my teeth when someone grabs a recoil and yanks before the dogs engage - that's REALLY hard on a recoil. You should always make sure the dogs engage before you pull hard on the rope). Brace yourself and pull for all your worth. It doesn't do to give it less than 100% because you need to get past the next compression stroke. If you don't give it enough, the engine will fail to go over on the compression stroke and kickback, tearing the rope handle out of your hand. With luck and if you have the controls set as Bill in NC mentioned, the engine will be running in one, maybe two, pulls on a warm day.

As far the recoil being short, it shouldn't be. The rope on my Kohler is as long as any other rope on any other engine I own. Pull it slowly out and then pull it a little harder - the rope may be bound up in the spool and needs to be tugged free. That, or the previous owner broke it and shortened it...
 
   / Greetings and a BCS Diesel question #5  
I have a 6 HP Yanmar pull start diesel on a generator so it is not what a 10 HP one would take to start, but it starts very reliably. The cord is a normal length, I would guess yours was broken and retied shorter or something.

On my generator
1. I first switch the lever to run.
2. Then I pull the cord slowly to get compression on the cylinder. I want it on the compression stroke at the start of my pull.
3. Then I push the compression release button.
4. I then place my left foot on the frame to hold the motor down.
5. Then both hands on the pull cord and one firm pull starts it every time.
 
   / Greetings and a BCS Diesel question
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Wow! Great responses. I too am in my 60's but consider myself in pretty good shape. I had never had trouble starting my gas BCS or other gas engines (even the ones that took multiple pulls due to out of tune conditions). It sounds like I first need to cure the recoil length problem and pay more attention to the compression stroke. It's possible the PO broke the rope as I know they had put a new battery on it due to leaving the key while parked.

I only need the capability to do this in an emergency, and it would generally be warmed up. If I am at my home loading it up to take to my property and it doesn't start, I can deal with the battery there. However, if I'm at the property and lost the starting capability, it would be great to be able to drive it back on the trailer.

I probably won't get into it until the spring, but everyone has given me hope!
 
   / Greetings and a BCS Diesel question #7  
No problem. Is yours a Yanmar? I really like the Yanmar air cooled diesels. My generator runs what seems like forever on a tank of fuel. I am sure other brands are good too. I have an older BCS 8hp gasser. I only dream of the diesel BCS.
 
   / Greetings and a BCS Diesel question #8  
No problem. Is yours a Yanmar? I really like the Yanmar air cooled diesels. My generator runs what seems like forever on a tank of fuel. I am sure other brands are good too. I have an older BCS 8hp gasser. I only dream of the diesel BCS.

Hey Joe,

In the interest of full disclosure, I have not spent much time running a Yanmar-powered BCS. I have only experienced them at a dealership. The info I am giving here is mostly gleaned from Joel's site under the "Gas Vs. Diesel" tab and conversations with him about the machines -

The Yanmar is a good engine, but the Lombardini is a better choice for a two-wheel walk-behind tractor. The Yanmar is a heavier unit that doesn't balance as well with many attachments as the Lombardini does. Some very few attachments benefit from the extra weight, but most do not. The sickle mower is especially bad - you'll need at least three PTO extensions to balance the mower versus the tubby Yanmar. It's easier to add weight to a lighter engine than to add weight or length to an attachment.

Another problem with the Yanmar is the OPC. The OPC on the BCS tractors isn't that great in the first place - they tend to have a high failure rate, especially if left in the sun where the UV rays break down the plastic and cause it to bend, then break. They Yanmar designed safety kill switch requires more force to be exerted on the OPC lever, causing more frequent failures of the lever.

BCS America apparently agrees with Joel as they have once again started offering the Lombardini (Kohler) diesel on their tractors. If I were buying a new diesel walk-behind, I'd choose the Kohler.

Tractor Prices
scroll down past the prices for info on diesel engines.
 
   / Greetings and a BCS Diesel question
  • Thread Starter
#9  
JoeBuyer: My diesel is the Kohler,(I think the most recent?) I bought the unit about a year ago, and the original purchaser had owned it somewhat less than a year.
 
   / Greetings and a BCS Diesel question #10  
farmerboybill said:
Hey Joe,

In the interest of full disclosure, I have not spent much time running a Yanmar-powered BCS. I have only experienced them at a dealership. The info I am giving here is mostly gleaned from Joel's site under the "Gas Vs. Diesel" tab and conversations with him about the machines -

The Yanmar is a good engine, but the Lombardini is a better choice for a two-wheel walk-behind tractor. The Yanmar is a heavier unit that doesn't balance as well with many attachments as the Lombardini does. Some very few attachments benefit from the extra weight, but most do not. The sickle mower is especially bad - you'll need at least three PTO extensions to balance the mower versus the tubby Yanmar. It's easier to add weight to a lighter engine than to add weight or length to an attachment.

Another problem with the Yanmar is the OPC. The OPC on the BCS tractors isn't that great in the first place - they tend to have a high failure rate, especially if left in the sun where the UV rays break down the plastic and cause it to bend, then break. They Yanmar designed safety kill switch requires more force to be exerted on the OPC lever, causing more frequent failures of the lever.

BCS America apparently agrees with Joel as they have once again started offering the Lombardini (Kohler) diesel on their tractors. If I were buying a new diesel walk-behind, I'd choose the Kohler.

Tractor Prices
scroll down past the prices for info on diesel engines.

Interesting. My Yanmar diesel is on the generator under cover so I have not had those problems. It is heavy, that is for sure so I can see balance problems. My BCS has a gas engine.
 
 
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