How do you start your EI engine?
 

It has taken me a while to figure out the best way to start my carburetored electronic ignition engine.

How are the rest of you starting your engines?

When cold, I start mine using the following technique:
Turn on the master
Turn on the boost pump
Mixture full rich
Pump the throttle once
Pull the mixture to idle cut off
Turn off the boost pump
Turn off the master
Turn the prop by hand through eight compression strokes

Get in and buckle up. (When the engine is warm, I use the following technique.)
P-mags on
Mixture full rich
Throttle closed
Boost pump on
Press the starter
Advance throttle until the engine catches.

PS. No primer is installed

O320, carb, mag, EI, wood prop

Mixture rich
Throttle in 1/4 inch
Master on
Mag on
EI on
Boost on
Primer on for 3 sec (2 times in cold weather, but not needed if engine is warm)
Mash the starter

Works every time! Of course, cold weather in Georgia is about 40 deg!

I never need to pump the throttle while cranking.
I have read about, but never tried, priming the cylinders then waiting a few minutes for the fuel to vaporize before attempting to start. It is supposed to make cold starts easier.

See other thread on pumping the throttle to decide on this.
 

Here is what I do.

1.) Mixture Rich
2.) Throttle to 1/2 inch (equal to 1000rpm setting when you shut down). DO NOT PUMP the throttle in my opinion, it can cause fires and has done so many times.
3.) Boost pump on for 2 seconds, then off.
4.) Pump the primer 4 times (assuming you have a primer line on three cylinders)
2.) Electronic Ignitions On
3.) Master and Alt on
4.)Engage the starter. If it does not fire with 3-5 rotations, then start checking the induction system for leaks.

I have two lightspeed Plasma II's and mine starts first time every time without ever pumping the throttle.

H.

Simple start
 

Master on
emags on
throttle & mixture full in
fuel pump for 10 seconds
throttle out
Pump throttle once (twice if it near freezing)
push the starter

lean once its running


Rarely does the prop make 2 fulls rev before starting

If the motor is warm I skip the prime with the throttle

I would change one thing for sure
 

There is a long and good thread on throttle pumping with carbs and no primer. You can pump while cranking.

Turning the prop by hand? That is not needed in my opinion. Do you have a combo mag/ign/starter key switch or separate starter button. Can you turn the engine with the starter and IGN off? The hand prop deal was with radials that would collect oil in the bottom jugs and could hydraulic the rod, aka bend it.

Also mixture rich is not needed to prime with the throttle I believe. You can pump the throttle either way.

Do you leave the mixture rich and hand turning the prop? :eek: What if one of the ignitions are hot? Just saying. Of course always treat the prop as live and I would not turn the prop with the mixture rich! :eek:

There is nothing wrong with your technique, but it seems busy. Less is more. I guess I would skip the getting out and hand turning the prop over. If you feel you MUST do it, than just do it during preflight, before you get in or pump the throttle (of course checking Ign and mixture are safe first). You are not drawing in the fuel you pumped into the throttle and airbox when you hand turn the prop.

IF ITS COLD, I WOULD WAIT A LITTLE TIME BEFORE (PUMP) PRIME AND CRANK. It give the fuel a little time to vapor off. While you wait you can get you belts on, and also you can give it pump if needed while cranking.

Search for that carb prime pump thread, it's worth a read.

George,

I have checked all the treads and tried a number of different things until I settled on the above.

I would agree with your warning, if I was using traditional magnetos, but I'm not so the risk is minimal. Thus this tread in the EI list.

Regarding propping with the starter, when it is cold, I prefer to turn the engine over by hand. Just a throw back to turning radials over by hand.

There is almost no chance of my P-mags firing in the scenario I described. To feed power to my duel P-mags the Master and the P-mag switches have to be on. Thus double protection, the mag switches and the master. The P-mags will not fire w/o electricity applied and my switch setup removes power and grounds them, another double protection. Then add to that internal P-mag function which keeps them from firing until they see three revelations at a set speed.

All in all, this is about as safe as it can get. Still, I treat the prop like a loaded gun. Every year, a number of people get shot by "unloaded guns" and I don?t want to be one of them.

Oh, and yes, I do pull the mixture back when hand propping.

As always, thanks for the thoughtful and extensive input, I'm still learning how to live with this engine, carb, ignition combination.

Install a primer?????

Almost? ha ha
 

Almost? :rolleyes: (sounds pretty safe as you discribe)
Right on.
I can't think of one AFM that tells you to do that, except the aforementioned radials, but it's cool, does no harm. Really there is no benefit pulling the blades I can think of, except you are doing a poor man's compression test and a mag impulse coupler check (clack). I was asked to ferry a plane. It was "rough". I pulled the prop and on the 4th blade, there was no resistance. Hummm. Honestly I don't think you're helping the engine much, as say pre-heating the oil / engine or a pre-oiler, in my opinion, but if it makes you happy, then DO IT! :D
Is it hard to start? Oh yes you have to hold your mouth just right. :D PS don't listen to Yukon. (I'm kidding). A primer is nice, but if you live in moderate climate, carb priming is doable.

The compression test is exactly why I do it. With the old engine I have, it gives me a warm fuzzy to feel and hear each cylinder do its thing twice. As for the mag impulse, doesn't happen with the P-mags. You know, electronics and all. Come on over to the dark side George, the Kool-aid is really good!

On one cold (below freezing) morning it didn't want to fire, not sure why. Other than that I was giving it too much fuel and it was kicking back. The technique described above eliminates both the kick back issue and the engine's reluctance to start.

As I said, the P-mags don't fire until after three revolutions and then it fires on both the compression and exhaust strokes at the same time, causing some kick back when there is excessive amounts of fuel in intake.

Less pumping of the throttle seems to have solved that for me.

I have no desire to install a primer, now that I have figured out how to start this engine with its unique combination of carburetor and electronic ignition.

So if you had to shut off your master in flight due to panel smoke or other emergency, you would be shutting off part of your ignition?