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

I have a snow king engine and the starter cord started to fray about an inch or two from the handle, so I simply pulled two inches out and tied a knot below the frayed spot.

Any harm in doing this? It seems to start just fine.

No harm probably for the first ten times you do it. Then the cord starts getting short. When you first begin to see the cord beginning to fray, take a butane torch set on low and cook off the fray and melt it back onto the cord. That will reduce the number of times you have to shorten the cord.

Pull it out all the way and examine the cord condition down to the housing. My Snow King cord frayed and broke a few inches from the pulley. I cut it and reused the same cord and it broke again in a few days.

It wouldn't hurt to have a length of starter cord in the closet, in case it lets go during a major storm. 

   Many recoil holes where the cord comes out have sharp edges.  Depending on where you stand and how you pull the cord out you can force the cord onto the hole edge during the pull especially on the last part of the pull when you swing more out of line with the hole.  With some recoils it only takes several pulls to break a cord.  When replacing a cord it helps to take a small fine file and work the inside hole edge to a round. Always try to pull so the cord comes straight out.