Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Gentlemen (and ladies if you're out there),

Last year I purchased A new Ariens 927LE and got quite a bit of use out of it here north of Toronto.
I did everything that was required maintenance-wise and at the end of the season i once again replaced the oil, added Sta-bil to my remaining gas before deciding to run the tank dry, and oiled and greased all appropriate parts in the springtime.
Yesterday I decided to fire it up for the first time this winter, and so put in fresh gas, opened the fuel-flow valve, set the engine to approx 70% RPM, put it on full choke, primed it 4-5 times and hit the electric start. Well the beast came to life right away but after sputtering and farting around for 30 seconds it died. I've since tried and tried to get it going again, but the most I get is about 15-20 seconds before she quits on me.
My question has to do with re-start procedures, and whether or not I'm doing them wrong. Specifically:

1. Should I be priming it after the first attempt? Does this help or am I only going to flood the engine?
2. After it's started once, do I leave it at full choke for subsequent attempts, or am I better opening it a little, or even all the way?
3. Should I set the engine at a higher power level, which is what I was originally doing when I first got my blower, as I thought it helped it "catch" better.
4. Do I risk doing any harm put attempting multiple rapid restarts, especially if I'm pushing on the electric start button for 5 seconds or more? Should I let it sit for a while?

As you can see, I need your finely attuned minds to guide me through this potential mechanical minefield..
all suggestions, observations would be a big help...

Speedbird.

From your description it seems that you may be leaving the choke engaged for too long; you're starving the engine for air.
When my engine is cold I pump the primer 3 to 4 times, open the throttle full open and fully engage the choke. After 3 to 5 seconds back off the choke to half,  wait a few more seconds and then open the choke all the way.
After the engine is warmed up and you have to shut the engine down and then restart, you should not have to use the primer or use the choke to start. When the engine is hot I usually use 3/4 throttle to re-start.

Crack the fuel cap loose when you run it and see if this fixes the problem. The vented caps sometimes have problems (Briggs and Tecumseh).

try "closing" the fuel valve.  more than once i've found that the valve is open when the label should indicate closed and vice-versa.

And i usually turn the choke off after 5 seconds.  my tec has 3 settings - off, halfway, on and i usually have to use the middle one.

Snowmann wrote:
I appreciate the help guys,
I know from past experience that the fuel-flow valve is labelled correctly so I wasn't worried about that. I ended up cracking open the fuel cap and she roared to life on the first pull after...Enlighten me: Was there a vacuum preventing the fuel from flowing normally? I'm not as close to becoming a grease monkey as I would like.
Nevertheless, I appreciate the help and am eagerly awaiting our next dump...
Cheers,
Speedbird

If air cannot get into the fuel tank to displace gasoline being used by the engine, a vacuum will occur which will result in fuel restriction and eventually, no fuel getting to the carb. When you shut off the engine for a while, air will slowly make it's way into the fuel tank to allow the process to repeat itself. Make sure the cap vent isn't blocked with either ice or dirt. I'd give it a wash in some lock de-icer or gas line anti freeze.