Starting fluid Pro’s/Con’s

[Ed Kennell 35,902]

Starter fluid and modern medication.....I use both.         They both have negative  side effects, but keep me and my engines running. 

[Retired Wrencher 4,884]

Mike back when I started being a mechanic on Snow mobiles and others in the late 50`s. The old timers used to say it would eat away at the pistons. But if used sparingly it would not harm engines. I do remember one time I was in VT. by the Canadian border and it very cold and I forgot to put in dry gas in the fuel for the truck .  The only thing that started that engine was starting fluid directly in the air horn, or intake and he was a mechanic from a dealership.  That is my 

Edited November 20, 2019 by Retierd Wrencher

[pfrederi 17,164]

I use carb cleaner as some of my units with under seat tanks sit for weeks and may not have the best battery in the world.  If it is cold out it is a race to see if the battery will conk out before the fuel pump finally gets the carb filled.  That is why i am in process of putting electric pumps on all under seat units.

 

On WD-40 i do not know about using it to start but I did learn many years ago not to use it a an engine pre-lube.  Father and i sprayed some on valve stems ...Engine ran great for a couple minutes then died.  Exhaust valve was stuck,.. the WD-40 left some kind of sticky residue when the valve got hot.

[Ed Kennell 35,902]

5 minutes ago, pfrederi said:

.. the WD-40 left some kind of sticky residue

WD-40 works as a good lubricant and water replacer when it is wet.    When it dries, it becomes a sticky glue.    Never use it as a lubricant in a gun firing mechanism.

Don't ask how I know this.

[The Tuul Crib 7,332]

Works great on stainless to polish it! 

Ive also used it to kill bees!! 

[stevasaurus 22,235]

Starting fluid reminds me of that hairspray that we would use in a potato gun.  I usually just hold my cup in front of the carb and let it suck in what fumes it needs.  Leave the choke open a touch.  

[squonk 38,980]

7 hours ago, jabelman said:

i use starting fluid as bee spray if that helps?

I have a bunch of cans of it that was in both grandparents sheds, they both used it.  I grabbed it all for the bees, personally I use carb and choke cleaner.  

Non flammable brake cleaner is the bomb for bees. You can shoot them down like WWII Zeros. 

[ebinmaine 63,267]

Just now, squonk said:

Non flammable brake cleaner is the bomb for bees. You can shoot them down like WWII Zeros. 

10-4  that one Mike. That's what we use.

 

[squonk 38,980]

1 hour ago, stevasaurus said:

Starting fluid reminds me of that hairspray that we would use in a potato gun.  I usually just hold my cup in front of the carb and let it suck in what fumes it needs.  Leave the choke open a touch.  

We used to use lighter fluid. Our fathers were always wondering why their cans emptied out while they were at work. We launched a tennis ball straight up one day out of our "Miss Budwieser" cannon. The ball came down and landed into the back seat of a passing convertible. 

[Pullstart 59,816]

15 minutes ago, squonk said:

Non flammable brake cleaner is the bomb for bees. You can shoot them down like WWII Zeros. 

 

Why stick to non-flammable?  Flammable brake clean = bee napalm!

[ebinmaine 63,267]

4 minutes ago, pullstart said:

 

Why stick to non-flammable?  Flammable brake clean = bee napalm!

As entertaining as that is, it's important to remember that there may be flammable objects in the spray path.

 

[squonk 38,980]

29 minutes ago, pullstart said:

 

Why stick to non-flammable?  Flammable brake clean = bee napalm!

I only use the non flammable. I almost burn't a car to the ground using the flammable kind on a hot engine part. It also seems to evaporate faster which tends to knock the bees out of the sky with more drama. 

[Stormin 9,975]

  I've primer bulbs  on the C-125 and Black Horse. 3-4 squeezes are all it takes to fire them up if they've been idle. The C-81 has yet to have one fitted. For that it gets a spray or two of petrol into the carb, until the pump starts to pull fuel through.

 

 

[SylvanLakeWH 24,227]

7 minutes ago, Stormin said:

  I've primer bulbs  on the C-125 and Black Horse. 3-4 squeezes are all it takes to fire them up if they've been idle. 

 

 

 

 

I added one to my C105 and boy what a difference! No cranking at all even after sitting for long time...

 

 

[wallfish 15,939]

7 hours ago, Ed Kennell said:

Never use it as a lubricant in a gun firing mechanism.

Don't ask how I know this.

Somehow I got a picture in my head of Ed staring down the barrel say'n "WTF is wrong with this thing now"

I know you're smarter than that so I'm guessing the deer got away that day ??

[clueless 2,898]

Chlorinated carb cleaner, it's like Franks Hot Sauce I use that S..t on everything.  It will make an engine pop if there is power to the plug with out blowing the top end off. It will keep the engine running as long as you keep spraying the carb. It's a great cleaner and it's cheap. It will take care of any of you bee/wasp problems also.

[oldlineman 1,450]

I use WD40 as a great hand cleaner for oil and greasy hands, it cuts that kind of stuff great. Not a great lubricate in my opinion.

[953 nut 51,877]

4 hours ago, squonk said:

We launched a tennis ball straight up one day out of our "Miss Budwieser" cannon. The ball came down and landed into the back seat of a passing convertible.

     So you're the fool who landed the torn-up tennis ball in the back seat of my convertible!         

[ZXT 2,394]

I've used it with 0 negative results, on anything from hit-or-miss engines to modern day cars. The key is to not spray too much of it. It's extremely powerful and too much might damage something. Use it carefully and you'll be fine.

 

A good alternative is gasoline in a small bottle.

[Darb1964 1,014]

I use it sparingly,and when I do I put some Marvell oil in also. I keep some on hand,it has bailed me out,but not for every start. 

[squonk 38,980]

8 hours ago, 953 nut said:

     So you're the fool who landed the torn-up tennis ball in the back seat of my convertible!         

As I remember, you had a 57 Chevy haircut! 

[C-85 653]

I've used starting fluid ever since I was a little kid  and started riding snowmobiles.  We started selling Ski-doo's in the mid '60s and later had Moto Ski's, Ariens Arrow's (we called them Ariens Errors), Fox Trac's, and Snow Pony's.  Because of this we also had many different used machines, so I've ridden on most of the old snowmobiles.  Back then I could barely pull the rope or cable to start them, and almost none of our snowmobiles had electric starts, so it really helped get them going.  I believe  back then it was just straight ether, which was known to cause problems, but the stuff I have now has a lubricant in it, so I think it is a lot safer on engines to use now. 

 

Like others have mentioned, I also use it sometimes for a quick test if an engine won't start to see if it's a fuel problem or something else.

 

C-85

[8ntruck 6,398]

I'll add one more use for WD-40 to the list.  Some have used it for smoke fluid in Lionel toy train locomotives.

[troutbum70 857]

I had an individual tell they cured hemroids with wd-40.

[nyquil junkie 225]

On 11/19/2019 at 7:52 PM, ebinmaine said:

NAILED IT

 

I have NO starting fluid.

 

I have had NO starting fluid in at least 20 years.

 

If I have an engine that needs it .... It doesn't need it. It needs repair.

 

No excuses.

 

And it gets flippin COLD up here so we have some nasty temperamental engines sometimes.

If it don't start with its own fuel system the fuel system gets fixed.

 

 

I've always held the opinion that if it doesn't start on the 1st or 2nd pull, then something is wrong with it.  If its for diagnostics, a squirt of gasoline from an old zippo or ronco fliud can into the carb to see if its getting gas.

 

Because it runs on gas, not ether or carb cleaner. 

Edited November 24, 2019 by nyquil junkie