[SEL] O.T. Test now question about touch paper

[Best, George]

Just curious, how many people on this list actually have or had a Field Marshall?

I've owned a Series II Field Marshall since some time in the mid 90's.

I would agree that "power starting" (using a cartridge) rather than hand cranking would put more strain on the engine.  After all, when hand cranking you've already built up some inertia and have the flywheel turning when it first fires.  Using the starting shell, the engine is setting still with the flywheel in the starting position which is just past TDC.  It has got to be harder on the engine having an explosion in the cylinder while the piston is stopped.

Now does it hurt the engine?  I don't think so.  In all the years I've had mine I've never hand cranked it.  I've always used a starting shell.

As for carbon deposits and strain, I think that can vary on how your starting shells are loaded.  When I got mine, I talked to the collectors in Washington and BC that already had been showing FM tractors for years and got a reloading formula from them.  It has worked well for me all these years and a friend of mine with a Series III FM, just commented this past month to me that it has been working well for him for years.

Here's a bit of FM trivia most of you may not be aware of.

The engine on the FM Series III turns in the opposite direction than the earlier FM tractors.  My engine runs counter clockwise looking at the flywheel, while the Series III runs clockwise.  I read this change was made to help reduce the amount of bounce by having the power stroke on the downside of the crank.

George



-----Original Message-----

Bob W7AVK wrote:
>  This method, however, deposits carbon which often causes 
> jamming of the decompression valve if cartridges are regularly used. It 
> also puts significantly more strain on the moving parts of the engine.


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