Engine starting technical articles

UKEX certification is the Great Britain route to proving equipment is safe for a potentially explosive atmosphere. Here is which marking applies in GB, Northern Ireland and the EU, and what to ask a supplier before you specify.

One weak crank and then nothing almost always means the accumulator has lost its nitrogen pre-charge, and the system gauge will still read full while it happens. How to check pre-charge properly, and diagnose pressure decay, hand pump faults and no crank conditions.

When an air starter will not crank an engine, the fault is far more often in the air supply than in the starter itself. A step by step diagnostic covering no crank, slow crank, failure to engage, overrun and icing, plus how to tell whether to repair or replace.

An air starter holds its energy as compressed air in a receiver, while an electric starter draws it from a battery bank. That difference is what decides which one suits your engine. A practical comparison of cranking torque, repeat starts, cold performance, hazardous area duty and whole life cost.

A hydraulic starter cranks on stored fluid pressure, so it is only as good as its accumulator. Here is how to size a hydraulic starting system, with a worked example.

A spring starter cranks a diesel engine on nothing but a wound-up spring: no battery, no air, no electrics. Here is how mechanical starting works and where it earns its place.

An air starter is only as reliable as the air behind it. Learn the four numbers that size an air starting system: working pressure, air consumption, starts before recharge and receiver volume, with a worked example you can follow.

The choice between an inertia and a pre-engaged starter comes down to how the pinion meets the ring gear. We explain how each works, the spark and safety differences, and which suits ATEX, fire pump and heavy diesel starting.

An air starter cranks a large engine with no electrics at all. We follow the compressed air from the inlet nozzles, across the turbine wheels and through the gearbox, then show where pneumatic starters earn their place in oil, gas and marine.

ATEX and IECEx both certify that a starter is safe in an explosive atmosphere, but they are not the same thing. We explain how the two schemes differ, and how to choose the right certified starter for a hazardous area.