Cold wx starting quirks

In article ,
G.R. Patterson III wrote:

You're hitting the primer before cranking? That loads the induction system with
raw gas, basically flooding the engine. When you wait a bit, some of that gas
vaporizes and the engine starts more easily.

I noticed that some time after I got my Comanche I had trouble starting
it. I finally realized that I had just gotten too fast at the start
procedure after doing it so many times. In particular the IO-540 seems
to benefit from at least a 2-3 second count with the fuel pump on after
you go to idle cutoff and a few seconds for the fuel to evaporate after
priming. The "symptoms" of doing the procedure too fast were basically
like the original poster described -- nothing doing on the first crank.

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

Us old farts know that the best cold wx start procedure for reluctant
engines is to prime it, verify that the mags are off, verify brakes or
chocks on, verify throttle closed, get out and pull the prop through
the magic number of blades -your choice but 6 blades works for most
folks - pull it through with a snap whipping your hands back and clear
each time as though you were starting it, just in case it fires... By
now the gas is well vaporized and sucked through out the induction
system... Get back in, mags on, half inch of throttle, and crank it...
This procedure will save the battery, save the starter, save the ring
gear, and save on four letter words...
Of course, one can also overhaul the mags with special attention to
bringing the impulse spring up to snuff, new plug harness, new plugs,
an RG battery for brisk cranking and experiment so that you know the
optimum number of primer strokes, and not have to get back out in the
cold (my choice being an old fart)

Cheers ... Denny