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Mr. Luddite

On 3/30/2014 1:14 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 30 Mar 2014 12:37:34 -0400, Poquito Loco
wrote:

On Sun, 30 Mar 2014 12:14:20 -0400, wrote:

EFI made the whole archaic carburetor technology obsolete.
The power we are getting out of small blocks puts my old 327s to shame
and reliability is magnitudes better. They are getting much more HP
per Cu/In at the wheel than they used to get at the crank.
I wouldn't be surprised to see EFI weed eaters and lawn mowers in the
next few years. The microprocessor would cost less than a buck. The
enclosure and connectors will be more of the price than the chip.
The only trick I see is how you power the chip and injectors until you
get it going. If this is an electric start lawn tractor, that is not
an issue.

If the manufactures could develop some type of standard, it seems a rechargeable battery, such as a
LiPo, could provide the energy. Or, a plug in to a cigarette lighter, just to get the chain saw,
mower, weed eater, whatever, started.

Actually you could probably do it with a capacitor, like the old
Triumph trick. Then you don't have the battery problem at all.
Yank the cord a few times with the ignition off to charge the cap,
turn it on yank and go.

"Super" and "Ultra" capacitors are becoming more common in many low
current applications and can replace a battery in many cases. I first
learned about them when a company up here in MA started making under
saddle acoustic guitar pickups using a Super Capacitor instead of the
traditional 9 volt battery to power the pickup's pre-amplifier (located
in the guitar). The pickup is supplied with a small AC adaptor that
has a standard, 1/4" guitar plug on it's output. You simply plug the
plug into the guitar's output jack, plug the AC power supply into the
wall, wait for 60 seconds and remove. The Super capacitor typically
powers the preamp for about 40 hours of continuous play. When
discharged, you just repeat the process. I had guitars that I
initially charged and two months later they still played fine without a
recharge.

I think some of the crank type flashlights also use Super Capacitors.
Again, how long it takes before a recharge is required depends on the
current draw.