[Kartbuilding] centrifugal clutch

[Stephen Burke]

Hi,

The engine may not work on its side. There are issues with the oil sump 
and fuel tank and carb.
You could try getting a cheap/free centrifugal clutch from a chaiinsaw and 
try it. You would not loose anything.

In my experience, I have only got drive belts and pulleys to work with 
vertical drive shafts.

Best of luck with it.
-steve


On Mon, 18 May 2009, raph pilon wrote:

>
> Thanks a lot Steve for your response. I really appreciated it.
>
>
>
> I will look for a chain saw centrifugal clutch first because the drive shaft of my engine is vertical. Because of this, I might try to put the engine on the side.
>
>
>
> Thanks again!
>
>
>
> Raphael
>
>> Date: Fri, 15 May 2009 19:45:21 +0100
>> From: sburke
>> To: raph_fire_9
>> Subject: Re: centrifugal clutch
>>
>> Hi Raphael,
>>
>> Sorry for not replying to your earlier email (sent a week ago) sooner.
>> The two stroke lawnmower engine sounds good. Is the drive/output shaft
>> vertical or horizontal? (Is the engine drive shaft coming out the bottom
>> or side?) This will affect your transmission.
>>
>> If the engine drive shaft is coming out the bottom of the engine, then
>> chains and a centrifical clutch may not be the best way to go. If however
>> the engine drive shaft is coming out the side of the engine, then you'll
>> be able to use a centrifical clutch with a small sprocket on the engine, a
>> large sprocket on the rear axle, and to connect them up with a chain.
>>
>> As for whether the centrifical clutch will work with your engine, all you
>> can do is try it and see. Obviously if you could find out how many rpm
>> (revs per minute) your engine is, then you might know more.
>>
>> My advice is to go ahead, try it with a centrifical clutch. If it does not
>> work, then you can easily swap in a better centrifical clutch. There are
>> many different centrifical clutches for different engage speeds and for
>> horsepower (hp) ratings of engines.
>>
>> If your looking to get a new centrifical clutch, then take a read of:
>> http://blog.kartbuilding.net/2007/06/26/using-a-centrifugal-clutch-and-chain-drive/
>> There are links on that blog post to northerntool and cometkartsales where
>> you can look up different types of centrifical clutches.
>>
>> I did however manage to get a centrifical clutch off a chainsaw working on
>> a go-kart! Perhaps you could try this cheap option first. Go to a chainsaw
>> hire or repair shop and ask the person there if they have any old/spare
>> centrifical clutches.
>>
>> Best of luck,
>> -steve
>>
>> On Thu, 14 May 2009, raph pilon wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> HI, my name is Raphael, I'm 16 and I'd like to build a go kart.
>>>
>>> My question is about centrigal cluth. I have an old 2 strokes lawn mower engine, it's not very powerful, maybe 2 or 2.5 hp. It doesn't have really high rpm but I can increase it a little bit by pulling on a spring. Will this type of clutch work on my engine? If you have documentation about this subject, could you send it to me?
>>>
>>> Thanks a lot! Your answer will be very useful.
>>>
>>>
>>> PS: I'm french (canadian) so if there are mistakes, I'm sorry.
>>>
>>>
>>> _________________________________________________________________