Another Reason Why I Prefer Fuel Primer over Choke

Recently chasing a "Miss" and "Stumble" above 2/3 Throttle. Thinking it was Electrical, ohmed Components Cold and Hot, swapped Spark Plugs, CDI and Ignition Coil.

Still rode the same, until the Engine died on me in the middle of the Lake. The Engine would start and immediately die. Primed the Engine and traveled 20 feet or so every time. A few more Fuel Squirts with the Primer and I made it to Shore without having to swim it in.

Ohmed all the Electrical Components again while still warm (have Bullet Connectors 'tween Ebox and Stator). All tested okay. o_O

Then I decided to swap the Fuel Filter even though it was new this Season and looking from above, the Filter seemed clean, When I removed the Filter, I noticed a bunch of junk accumulating on the Bottom of the Filter. Dirty gas from the Gas Station Pump! :rolleyes:

Because the Primer Tap was on a separate dead-end Fuel Line (not connected to Carbs), Fuel was flow-primed into the Carbs and supplied enough Fuel for very short runs. With a Choke, this would not have worked as the only Fuel Supply Line to the Carbs was blocked by a clogged Filter. The Primer saved the Day.

Filter Top.jpgFilter Bottom.jpg
 

bored&stroked

Urban redneck
Location
AZ
Bullet connectors between the stator and ebox!?! I thought that was a no-no. Sure makes engine removal easy though!
 

88kawi5fiddy

pew pew lazers!
Location
So Utah
Every time your engine died. It died of a lean condition. On a dry carb. Big no no for 2 cycle engines

Primers are straight up a band aid for poor tuning

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

darn tootin' we have a whole 2022 self-research-scientist in here. Did you even read the guys post?

His filter clogged. It wasn't used as a band aid for poor tuning.
 

Sparkplug

Site Supporter
Location
Red Bluff CA
Lol. A clogged filter is the epitome of poor tuning. Filters don't impede flow till 90 percent plugged. Keep up your maintenance and never an issue. I don't even run filters in line. They are rrp pickup filters. No primer. No choke. Just brap

The "scientists" put chokes on everything. Because they work great



Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
Every time your engine died. It died of a lean condition. On a dry carb. Big no no for 2 cycle engines

Primers are straight up a band aid for poor tuning

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
So what you gonna do with your a long way from the shoreline and you got some water in the carb. That primer sure has helped get ski fired off so I could get going again.
 

Sparkplug

Site Supporter
Location
Red Bluff CA
On the contrary

When have you EVER seen a carb not load fuel with your hand over it? It drops the pressure immensely and will easily pull through a semi plugged filter. EASILY

Here's the thing. That choke stays pulled. It doesn't have to be pumped. And it loads the carb with fuel, so you don't kill your engine with a lean condition

I'll bet you 1000 dollars I can plug a tiny filter like that and a choke will pull fuel through it. Plugged evaps do the same thing.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 

bored&stroked

Urban redneck
Location
AZ
I'll bet you 1000 dollars I can plug a tiny filter like that and a choke will pull fuel through it. Plugged evaps do the same thing.
I don't understand, what does carb signal have to do with fuel pumps overcoming a pumping restriction before the fuel reaches the carb? The fuel isn't drawn from the tank to the carb via vaccum signal from the carb throat.
 

Sparkplug

Site Supporter
Location
Red Bluff CA
I don't understand, what does carb signal have to do with fuel pumps overcoming a pumping restriction before the fuel reaches the carb? The fuel isn't drawn from the tank to the carb via vaccum signal from the carb throat.
It absolutely is.

Why do you think a plugged tank vent will run till the pressure drop in the tank overcomes the fuel pump. Then you pull the choke in the lake cause it died, and it chugs to life back to shore. Rich as all hell.

You can straight up unhook the pulse pine off your carb. Put your hand over the carb. Close it off. And crank. And your carb will fill with fuel.

Band aids. Straight up. Never needed one ever. Always see the "pros" using a shot of fuel into their engine to get it started. Every single time it's cold.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 

Sparkplug

Site Supporter
Location
Red Bluff CA
Ill personally take the emberrasment of running a primer since it means if my ski turns over in 5 footers im a few plunges away from having power again

No one im that situation is thinking abput their tune and what they need to tweek. They are thinking about getting the ski started
Again. A choke does this way better. It stays pulled. Doesn't need pumped. Fills the carb. Creates the ideal.rich condition engineered to start the engine.

Can someone. Anyone. Explain why a primer is better than a choke. Logically. Because any mechanical engineer will disagree.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 

Sparkplug

Site Supporter
Location
Red Bluff CA
I feel like 99 percent of people.dont understand the venturi effect. Or how a choke works. 14 years ago when people were doing internal fills, d cutting plates, doing raider trim, and swapping primers because they didn't like the dash know, somewhere the theory of carburetor got lost.

People run 20 psi popoff and wonder why they gotta prime their ski after it sits over night. Everything got re engineered just to go full circle. If you fell for it. I'm sorry

Primers suck. The only power sports that use em are jet skis. Drag racing 2 cycles. And backyard snow mobile dudes. No oem does.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 

DylanS

Gorilla Smasher
Location
Lebanon Pa
Putting your hands over the carbs or using a choke plate creates higher manifold pressures and in return draws more fuel through the low speed circuit

Poor tuning because of a clogged filter? I don’t see how, his ski ran fine until bad gas caused it to restrict flow enough to cause major issues.
As far as primers go, I personally don’t use them, I pop the hood and hand prime in the AM and have no issues till next morning. As far as choke plates go they’re just one more impediment to the flow of air feeding my big cc motors, no performance carbs come with them to my knowledge, so why use it?
But if it works and it’s convenient then use them, why not? How can we figure if the Cyl walls are still lubricated when the motor dies of a lean condition? How can we prove any fun filter will supply enough fuel until it’s 90% clogged? Run no filter? What happens when the average guy running pump gas gets a bad batch? Carb tear down.
How many times do the pistons hit TDC without combustion before the motor stalls out?

The real question is why we can’t all be one big happy family !!
 
Last edited:
I'm just gonna sneak in here and remind everyone that primers are for your cheap Chinese weed eaters, not a high quality watercraft. Every time a new ski comes through my garage with a primer, it gets yanked off and goes in the trash.
 

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
It absolutely is.

Why do you think a plugged tank vent will run till the pressure drop in the tank overcomes the fuel pump. Then you pull the choke in the lake cause it died, and it chugs to life back to shore. Rich as all hell.

You can straight up unhook the pulse pine off your carb. Put your hand over the carb. Close it off. And crank. And your carb will fill with fuel.

Band aids. Straight up. Never needed one ever. Always see the "pros" using a shot of fuel into their engine to get it started. Every single time it's cold.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
Lol. The Pro's go out for 2 minutes (if a competition), if training 10 to.15 minutes at a time. We are talking everyday riders.
 
So what you gonna do with your a long way from the shoreline and you got some water in the carb. That primer sure has helped get ski fired off so I could get going again.
Your gonna laugh and call me redneck, but I pop off my water separator/filter (ofcourse making sure there no water in it first lol) and use that to prime the system if I need to get something running again on the shore.

Now I could possibly side with someone who regularly rides big surf, that saltwater is a different animal, as having it as a safety to get out of a dangerous situation quick. But to have a primer for cold starting or for a freshwater boat chaser, they do more harm than good in my opinion (always leaking, introducing air in the system) especially when someone's running oem carbs, those things are incredibly easy to make cold starting a dream with zero choke or prime.
 

Sparkplug

Site Supporter
Location
Red Bluff CA
Yeh. Guys who plug fuel filters, and chase their tails about it, give the greatest advice.

Putting your hand over a carb. And cracking the engine. Turns the engine into the fuel pump. It absolutely DOES lower the pressure in the throat of the carb. Anyone who says otherwise is an IDIOT

PRIMERS ARE BAND AIDS FOR MECHANICS WHO DONT UNDERDTAND ENGINE THEORY

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
 
Top Bottom