>>I've noted that the primer does not work
The 11.5 OHV has the standard Tecumseh prime and works in cold conditions. Ice on the carb body, choke and throttle control should not have any effect on the primer.
When testing a carb rebuild I leave the carb heater box off and sometimes the carb will ice up. That sometimes affects the controls but never the primer. How would ice affect the prime system?
Older machines with a metal wound sheath and single wire metal internal cable often stick so I level them at ¾ throttle for the next restart. The cable frees up quickly while the enging is warming up. When shutting the machine off leave the throttle at ¾ throttle and the choke on and it will be ready for the next restart. Let it warm up for a while to get rid on any ice but as Borat suggested just idle for a while after using the machine should get rid of any buildup.No throttle control cable on this engine - it has direct linkage on engine just a lever that is lifted and push down to stop. I removed small part of engine cowl that was held on with 2 screws this allows warm
air from engine to blow into carb box area. May not know if it fixes problem as it may only happen in cold weather and fine powder snow. But will try going to choke position before the slush freezes. Thanks for the tips.