Dan/Ray

just wanted to pass on that low speed jet certainly helped start-up then adjusting back. The Lark still didn’t like the -5deg C off the start lol but fine adjustments definitely helped the coughing and popping when warming up for the day.. next time I’ll feather choke a bit to see if I can perfect. Thx!!

Haha John “NO” you guys helped me avoid that mistake way back in the beginning.. I actually purchase a million dollar 12VDC on on eBay .. that’s why I said screw it..it can wait till summer.

starter is still 6vdc though, I’ve been very easy on it also.. surprisingly I have very little draw on my battery.. I top up battery after every trip because I didn’t believe it would last all summer but you guys were right about that also! Battery is 95% after every use even when I’ve used bilge pump..  thinking electric trolling motor 

Where you using a 12 volt battery to activate your 6 volt choke solenoid?

Thx Dan!

to start yup lots of laughter from boat launch peanut galley which I got over very soon.. the ranger limited out on fish early in the day while all the monster boats still were fishing hoping for their first catch..
All that put aside, what you guys have said makes sense, to be honest even my pickups over the years of close to same age always needed a little coaching till they were warm.
I did avoid putting into gear until it was warm.. I finally was able to seal gear oil from entering exhaust chamber and really don’t want any reason to have to replace new clutch dog or gears.
A side note my electric choke failed after second use and have said screw it until summer.
I did feather choke and throttle from back of boat with a little luck but I’ve got low speed jet set at a very little rpm (but does prrr once warm) I will give this an adjustment after setting knob pointer up for next trip this weekend hopefully. 
Thx for taking the time to explain I’ve got a lot of hours on this motor now and it’s not stalled, hick-up, or left me anywhere as of yet. Very pleased/impressed with motor.. makes me smile everytime I look at it.
Like most I just want more speed haha. (Think I need a smaller feathercraft)

One thing I’m going to tackle is another holding tank with a small inline pump to push fuel/oil recover back to fuel tank because I’m getting quite tired of draining 1 litre catch can into a jug every hour or so.. (specially at idle)
Im quite impressed with this modification but it’s causing me a little frustration while I should be just enjoying myself out there.

I’ll let you guys know how it goes but makes logical sense when cold this adjustment is necessary.

curtis
 

cballer wrote:

Got ranger out yesterday, played with high speed a bit, made no change to coughing when starting. Ended up putting back where I started roughly 3/4 turn open. Was kind of the laugh of the boat launch until motor warmed up. She ran amazing all day in 2 foot swells, lake was windy/cold/rough.

Finally got some blood on ranger though fishing was hot!




 

Hey Curtis,

I'd like to share my experience with my 1957 35 hp Johnson.

I would get the sneezing, too. 

Here is what I have come to believe and practice.

The best setting for the low speed jet is not the same for these motors when started cold Vs after being warmed up. They have no thermostat but there is more to the story than that.

What I found is that if the low speed jet is moved counter clockwise about 45° (1/8 of a turn) on a cold start the sneezing stops. Also the manual choke can be used to stop sneezing by only closing it a small amount.  The throttle can also be moved sitting in the back at the motor by grabbing the mechanism and giving it a slight twist. 

Both of these techniques require the operator to be in the back of the boat at the motor. If you have the proper warm low speed jet setting then loosen the screw on the knob and set the pointer to 12 o'clock. This way you can get back to the proper setting(12 o'clock) once the motor has warmed up. While sitting at the motor simply move the low speed jet until sneezing stops and make a mental note of where it is. Next time before starting the motor move it to this remembered location. 

Ditto for playing with the manual choke knob.

Unfortunately the push button solenoid only operates full on or full off. If you hit the panel choke switch every few seconds for just a second or a fraction thereof you can also greatly reduce or stop cold engine sneezing.

What I usually did was to use the solenoid operated choke switch to cut down on initial cold sneezing and as soon as possible get in gear and get up to 1,000 rpm or so in gear and get underway. Quite often I would paddle my boat to be pointing in the right direction, give it a little throttle(a very little) and hit the start and choke switches simultaneously and off I'd go. (I also did this to eliminate shift dog wear as I do not like putting a cold engine in gear while jockeying the throttle and shifter).

Aside from not being the best for a motor, a sneezing motor can be quite embarrassing.

And not just embarrassing to you, but embarrassing to onlookers, too. 
 

 

Ray ok thank you, next trip out.

Low speed jet if it’s coughing on startup and while idling.

Got ranger out yesterday, played with high speed a bit, made no change to coughing when starting. Ended up putting back where I started roughly 3/4 turn open. Was kind of the laugh of the boat launch until motor warmed up. She ran amazing all day in 2 foot swells, lake was windy/cold/rough.

Finally got some blood on ranger though fishing was hot!

 

Makes me think of my 51 25 hp Johnson,  as it got colder I would richen up the jets to get it running right, then eventually put it away for the winter then in the spring get it out and wonder why it was not starting, then finally remember to lean it back out and it would be fine.

Alanbiltz THX!! Will do! What you saying makes sense I’m 3/4 turn out on high speed right now.  
We are holding 
a low of 26F and high of 50F with heavy rain at the moment.
much appreciated