factory

Looks very nice Paul, presumably it's the first battery powered Turbair for your collection as well. Strange how the manual states the battery & charger are optional extras. http://www.microngroup.com/files/electrafan_12_manual_-_english_(version_2).pdf http://www.microngroup.com/files/electrafan_12_manual_-_english_(rev__4).pdf David

Well I've found a service bulletin that confirms the correct number of turns for winding the starter spring on the 13B & 20A Series engines is 1 to 1½ turns only. It also gives starter rope length as 33" for these engines. David

Simple answer, a broken con-rod will be guaranteed as below. And as the Petro Drill has an early engine, the plastic bearing cages may suffer too. I've only had one engine where I couldn't free the piston easily, but I determined a previous owner had already broken the con-rod by removing the induction section & reed valve to have a look first. As the cylinder used a 14mm spark-plug I was able to press the piston out without further damage (don't try this with a 10mm spark-plug cylinder, a holey piston will result). Here is the piston & cylinder from that engine, the rings are still frozen on. David

Yes those ball bearings can gum up with the old oil & stick, I did think about buying some new ones from an engineering supplier in the UK till I noticed the pictured items were pre-rusted. They are standard sizes, 1/16" for earlier carbs & 3/32" for later ones, very late ones may have a different diaphragm arm with a rubber seal instead. David

A minor brain fart from me. If I didn't already have these two (link below) I would have bought it when I first saw it, the fact it doesn't turn over didn't bother me either, I just hope whoever bought it manages to free the piston before they undo the cylinder. David

Hopefully the guide will be useful to others too (I need to add guide to the title). I think it's used to prevent the the plastic gasket being moved out of alignment by the starter spring, when the spring housing is rotated, keeping the screw holes in the plastic gasket aligned with the other parts. Probably less of a problem if like mine, the plastic gasket has warped to the shape of the blower housing ribs. David

To flies & insects it probably does look like a weird gun too, right before they perish from the chemical fog. Never really looked at it close. Last weekend was the first time it came out of the box.  Maybe, the differences I can see are an adaptor plate, to convert the between the larger radial mount of the Model 20A and existing mounting bracket (which is part of the frame). Also the handle has a spacer added too, but that may have also been done for the 1HP Model 13B engine (which has the same style of starter mech, it sticks out further). I'm guessing the 1HP turbine was cheaper originally and that maybe why the pallet load of unused ones has turned up, I wonder how many more the seller has. Lots I hope. David

I was indeed a little bit skeptical, but mainly due to using water, I just thought it would quickly rust again. There are plenty more rusty chrome handles on O&R's here that will benefit from the same treatment. I've also found out why the starter mechanism of this trimmer was reluctant to move, turns out some of the spot welds on the starter reel have failed, as soon as I loosened the spring housing screws the cord returned easily. It's been like this for a long time as part of the starter reel edge has become very sharp where it has worn against the starter spring. I'm going to find out if it can be repaired. On the plus side this problem has prevented that crumbly air filter foam from getting into the engine. David

OK seeing as I forgot to put this orange Type 13B starter mechanism back together after repairing both ends of the starter spring, I though it would be a good idea to take some pictures as I reassemble it. All the parts disassembled (apart from rope & pull start). Starter rope length is 33" for the 13B engine. Starter spring fitted in the starter spring housing. The starter reel bearing surface was oiled before fitting, then the starter reel was wound counter-clockwise to wind in the starter rope. The starter rope fully wound in & the starter ring assembly fitted. The (often missing) plastic starter gasket was fitted. Card, paper or plastic spring winding separator in place. The starter spring housing assembly was oiled inside, then carefully aligned & fitted. The starter spring housing assembly was rotated counter-clockwise (between 1 to 1½ or 1½ to 2 turns depending on which page of of the service manual is correct, it should be obvious when it's turned enough), then one screw was fitted to the open hole and the starter rope was pulled to check the operation & return of the rope was smooth. The winding separator was removed & all the remaining screws were fitted. Note: the correct direction for the starter rope. The completed starter/blower housing assembly refitted to the engine (now I could check for a spark, which was good ). A final note: don't clean these plastic coated sticker decals with fuel/gas (they react badly). David

The starter reel is similar, I think you may be referring to the fact it shows the plastic bushing (20A only) in the pictures on page 2. David

Well today I have just found out they slightly redesigned the 13B starter housing & parts around serial number #3070000 (July 1973), I will need to scan the relevant diagram with the part numbers, maybe I should take some pictures to help identify them too. The spare part (starter reel) I found turned out to for a later starter mech, so it looks like I will need to find someone who can spot weld the original starter reel for that hedge trimmer I bought recently. David

I was a bit concerned it would rust easily as I had used water, so gave it a coat of knock-off WD40 and left it in the sun to dry, David

Thanks John, kitchen foil & water worked a treat, before & after pictures below; David

I can only find the Chug-A-Drill that sold at $149.99 too, I thought it was a very reasonable price too and was surprised it hadn't been found sooner as I saw it in January at $199. There has been one sold for less, an Almico branded version for only $35 in 2015, it was simply titled "gasoline powered drill" I found it by accident searching the web a while back and put a link in one of the Petro drill threads (now has no pictures of course). There are 3½ I know of in the UK, this is the half one which didn't sell at £300; David

Did anyone on here buy it then? I didn't bid as I just wanted to see how much it would make, plus it wasn't NOS any-more as the title wrongly stated. If you could find one cheap enough, would it be possible to convert it back to using the earlier 1HP engine? David

There is no where for that part to attach on your pump as the casting is a little different, I also believe the steel strip should actually be straight like the one fitted to the pump in post #1. Having the pump directly attached to the engine's radial mount is far better than the steel strip, which is attached with just one small screw to the side of the starter/blower housing (those threads on the side are sometimes damaged by previous owners re-attaching the cylinder plates). David

The green seems to be the standard used for Orline tools made in the early 1970's (after yellow for late 1960's, & red for early tools), it was also a popular colour for bathroom suites in over here in the 70's too. I don't drink coke (& will stop drinking Irn-Bru once the last of the original recipe cans I have left is gone), is it the phosphoric acid that removes the rust from chrome & do other cola brands work? I will try the kitchen foil suggestion first. That's OK Paul, you weren't the only other bidder and it still made less than the cost new in 1974 (£73.00+VAT from E.P. Barrus). I need to check the cutter bar length to find out the model number and give the starter a service too. David

Maybe these diagrams from the chainsaw service manual will help, there is no mention of where the wire joins to the points (but it will be the same place as the standard brass strip stop switch would go to). David

This arrived yesterday, a later 'deluxe' version of the Orline hedge trimmer, with the twist throttle control on the handle & the O&R Series 13B engine. It's the first Orline version of the hedge trimmer to join my collection, it looks in very nice condition too, just needs the starter mechanism repairing & a pull handle. And here are some pictures of the twist throttle control on the handle, the grip appeared to look like it might have been damaged & repaired from the sellers pictures, but it turned out it just had a couple of pieces of thick coated steel wire taped to it, possibly to make it easier to grip? David

Both my Orline Mustang & Sears version have two yellow wires joined under a black sleeve, I can't get to either of them at the moment but here are pictures showing this. David

All good suggestions, it might a while before I get round the restoring it, but I'll have a look sometime to see how easy it is to remove. David

Hopefully you can spot the slight differences between the two, here's mine as I got it, complete with free unwanted insect. Not declared on the customs label. David

That selection pack I bought was 6 sheets, the size was approximately the same as standard printer paper, I'm surprised you weren't able to buy a small amount of the equivalent type you found. David

The impeller isn't so cool, but I'm not the only person that's found out they age badly. http://www.akmining.biz/forums/archive/index.php/t-2761765.html?s=d3f0b21da285918b5537d024d8d6b0fe Maybe if it could be 3D scanned some replacements could be 3D printed. David

Hopefully it'll be OK. David