Give me your Mantis Tiller starting hacks

May 16, 2013 3:38 PM

I ( a small 50ish woman, with modest mechanical skills) bought myself a Mantis mini tiller, with the 2 stroke engine. I assembled it last night, using the instructional dvd included, and it all went just fine. I put the proper gas/oil mixture in, and following the instructions, started it up and tilled a bit just to say I could! Tonight, I attempted the same amazing feat, and flooded the engine. This wasn't terribly surprising, in my experience with lawn care equipment, but I was disappointed. Anyone have any cool tricks or suggestions for me to be able to start this beast consistently and easily. I did spring for the fast start model, which makes this even more ironic. I will note that I have NOT gotten it to start YET this evening. I plan to just leave it be until maybe tomorrow, to let the gas evaporate and try it again. (It was too hot to till anyway, damn it.)
posted by LaBellaStella to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Best answer: Flooding on these is inevitably from yanking the starter cable too many times. Prime 6 times. Go closed choke. Yank 3 times. Generally, with closed choke, you're listening for the engine to fire on its own very briefly then die because of the choke. If that happens on pull one or two, stop pulling. Go open choke, give it a yank, and watch the engine come to life.

The trick is really just listening for the engine firing on its own for a quarter second or so, then trying to start with open choke.

I'm assuming here that you have the arm strength for a quick, solid pull. Keep your arm close to the body on the pull, like you're trying to elbow someone behind you really hard.
posted by bfranklin at 3:53 PM on May 16, 2013

Response by poster: If I can see gas in the primer button, should I still pump it? I am guilty as charged as far as yanking the starter cable. I will try hard to restrain myself. I do have the arm strength, and the starter cable is easy to pull-maybe too easy. I just don't seem to get the FEEL of the engine catching..

And will just leaving it sit for the night and trying again tomorrow be ok, or should I be doing something to help the flooding situation resolve? I don't mean to hover here, but I'm learning as I go and was so happy to see a reply!
posted by LaBellaStella at 4:15 PM on May 16, 2013

Try what bfranklin says, but if it still doesn't wanna go, you can also go to a hardware store and pick up an aerosol can of starting fluid. Spray it around the air intake and give it a few pulls. The spray is a extra highly volatile fuel-air mix that will increase the odds of getting the engine to turn over.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:24 PM on May 16, 2013

Best answer: Normally if I flood an engine, I'll give it a half hour then try again. If it's a no go, I'll wait a couple hours.

Re: the primer bulb, I'd still prime even if you see gas in it. The bulb acts as a reservoir for forcing some fuel into the engine for the initial start. FWIW, I'll occasionally not have the engine fire when the choke is closed, but things are usually fine if I just proceed as though it did fire. This should be the case for you -- the times where that hasn't worked, I've had bigger mechanical issues.
posted by bfranklin at 4:27 PM on May 16, 2013

I'd go easy, if at all, with Cool Papa Bell's suggestion of using starting ether with that small 2 stroke motor; starting ether is usually a last ditch starting aid for 4 stroke engines, at low ambient temperatures, where the intake plumbing is blocked during (at least the majority of ) the compression stroke by a physical intake valve. A two stroke engine generally has no "valves" although some have "reeds" in the intake path, to help improve low speed compression. Thus, use of a very volatile agent like starting fluid can easily promote backfires through the carburetor and intake fuel path of small 2 strokes, especially in summer time ambient temperatures.

I would recommend you get a couple of spare spark plugs (and maybe a tube of spark plug anti-seize compound) from your local auto parts or small engine shop. The gas/oil mix you're feeding a 2 stroke can coat the spark plug with enough oil in a relatively short number of full choke, full primed pulls, that it no longer develops a bright strong spark. Even letting it sit, to "dry out" may not remove excess oil from the plug. Your best bet is to start every new start attempt with a known effective spark plug, either the one that was running successfully last time, or a clean, dry one you've just put in, or a new one. Mind how you handle and install plugs, check the gap with a round wire gauge immediately before installing, and never use or try a plug with obviously damaged threads, insulator, or tips.
posted by paulsc at 5:08 PM on May 16, 2013 [1 favorite]

If you do try starting fluid don't spray directly, spray a rag and hold close to the intake, just a little goes a long way and may be a bit less hard on the engine. But really should not be needed for a new engine.
posted by sammyo at 8:36 PM on May 16, 2013

When 2-stroke engines flood, it can be from "crankcase puddling", you can air it out by removing the sparkplug and using the pull rope to lower the piston to the bottom of its stroke.
posted by 445supermag at 9:21 PM on May 16, 2013

Best answer: The trick I know for starting flooded engines of two or four stroke variety is:
*Open the choke fully
*Open the throttle fully (as in, if this were a car fully depress the accelerator). If you need to use a rubber band or similar to do this that's okay.
*Don't prime.
*Now crank the engine, when it catches release the throttle quickly.

I've never been unable to start a flooded engine straight away with this method, from cars to chainsaws.
posted by deadwax at 4:22 AM on May 17, 2013 [1 favorite]

Deadwax has it.


full throttle + choke off = maximum air intake.
posted by greenskpr at 9:46 AM on May 18, 2013

Response by poster: Final follow-up: My eternal gratitude goes to deadwax. This worked, and I am tilling my little garden with nary a problem! My thanks to all who took the time to help me out.
posted by LaBellaStella at 10:53 AM on May 19, 2013