Found this on youtube, I have never seen anyone put one on B series.   Pretty neat.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A0CU0I_zJw

Very, very, cool!!!!!

 

I'm thinking that could be "modified" easily for emergency use!!!!  

I would think you could eliminate one battery with this too.  Should last longer than a electric starter.

Edited February 11, 201411 yr by ABennin

We have air starters on some locomotives and they are a pain in the butt. Lots of problems freezing up and if you dont have enough air pressure or another locomotive to get air from you are screwed

Wait until you are in the bunk after running hard all day and the guy next to you hits his air starter!! Them things are LOUD on a big truck!

Those air starters  have  always  been on  my   'cool things  that are different from the crowd'  list.   

 

I  am afraid  that   if  I  ever  am   backed up to the   cattle load out  chute,     the  start-up  might  cause  a   major  stampede....   

 

It'd  be awesome  to  drive  thru  Mickey-D's,    shut  her off  so   the   kid   on the other end of  the intercom  can  hear  over the   5 inch  straight exhaust,  only to be   'DRILLED'   by   the  scream  of  the  starter!       

Edited February 11, 201411 yr by rancherman

I thought it is cool because you don't you see them a lot and it would definitely turn a few heads.  It would be another way to annoy the neighbors.

They are very common on large mining equipment, like stated above there are good and bad things associated with them. The only OTR trucks I have seen them on were older Fords where the engine was mounted in the frame at an angle, laid over on their side a bit.

hey, just for giggles, would a 100 pound propane tank (converted for compressed air) be enough

volume/storage for startup?

A guy with an old Pete demonstrated 4 start ups before he was out of air... LOL< keep an old bicycle pump under the seat for emergency use??

I gotta admit its cool sounding but I'd sure hate to run out of air somewhere. Bicycle pump are you kidding?

I saw some race trucks that had air starters on them. They were also running 2 stroke Detroit model 92's. Pretty neat little trucks. I agree it would be cool to have one but like said, I would not want to rely on just that to get me going somewhere.

I gotta admit its cool sounding but I'd sure hate to run out of air somewhere. Bicycle pump are you kidding?

heck no... the old Golden Rod 'standby' system!

GEEZ!!! (yes, Mike, that was a funny!)

They are very common on large mining equipment, like stated above there are good and bad things associated with them. The only OTR trucks I have seen them on were older Fords where the engine was mounted in the frame at an angle, laid over on their side a bit.

You don't remember the older Consolidated Freight trucks with the huge red air tank standing up behind the cab? They used to be real common years ago.

There's nothing like the tell tale sound of a cummins starter. Even UPS trucks. Don't even see enough Chevy's to know what they sound like.

Not sure why anyone would really want one.  I had never been around one but got a KW to run one day with an air starter.  Needed a new pair of shorts after hitting the starter the first time.  Louder than I care to have by far plus what do you do when you run out of air???  Not like there might be someone to pump it up for ya like with a big rig.

A lot of marine diesels use air start systems. A central air systems is plumbed to each engine and at least 1 air acumulator is isolated from the system as an emergency backup. In some applications batteires are only used on the emergency generators to limit the number of lead acid batteries. It pretty cool when you hear 6-8 engines firing up.

Run out of air?

1. fire up your air compressor that is buried in the back.. and probably out of gas.

2. swipe some air from another truck..

3. call your buddy for his mobile compressor.

4. if your starting air is part of your brake air, you can't pull.. brakes are applied!

5. 'hand pump'. about 3 hours of FURIOUS pumping...

6. walk home.

That is pretty much the coolest thing I have ever heard.  Makes me feel like I am 5 again watching a war movie with planes starting on the deck of a aircraft carrier