Here's a starting fluid story that I witnessed in person. I was parked in a truck stop in northern California on a chilly night, and the guy down the line from me couldn't get his Kenworth started the next morning. This one was a one-year-old truck, with a big-cam Cummins engine in it. He stopped by the shop on his way to breakfast and asked them to get his truck started. Now, I won't say the shop guys were dummies, but if they had three brain cells to rub together, I'd be surprised. They used up one whole can of starting fluid, and about half of a second one, before they figured out the battery just wouldn't spin the engine fast enough. OK, hook up the big 8-D battery in the coaster wagon. Now it cranks! A Cummins doesn't have any throttle plates, and it was cold enough that the ether stayed puddled in the intake. When it lit off, it made it to about 5,000 RPM before the pieces started leaving the engine in all directions! The truck stop bought the guy a new engine!
If you're going to prime a gasoline engine, use a couple of TEASPOONS of gas, and hold the throtle plates open so it goes into the intake, before cranking the engine. It's better to put some gas into the float bowl through the vent, and let the accelerator pump do the priming. I use a squeeze-type ketchup bottle from a restaurant for that little operation.
Jerry
