Priming squirts a little fuel into the carb so there's something there to go bang when you turn her over. This is generally a good idea when cold-starting such an engine; in a carb engine, any petrol left in the cylinders tends to evaporate. (I don't know about old motors, but having an explicit primer is very common on petrol lawnmowers and piston engined aircraft.) hoiho is probably right; it seems plausible that the starter handle maybe mechanically tickles a primer, and that the electric start doesn't; it's also plausible that turning her over with the handle maybe sucked a little gas in from the carb, giving the same effect.
If there's no explicit engine primer, but there is an accelerator pump hooked up to the gas pedal (and I'd be very surprised if there wasn't), you can usually achieve the same effect by squeezing the gas pedal once or twice before starting. (Not too much, or you'll flood her.) Do be sure to get a second opinion, though; I'm fairly new to this too :-)
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Date: 2003-03-26 04:39 am (UTC)If there's no explicit engine primer, but there is an accelerator pump hooked up to the gas pedal (and I'd be very surprised if there wasn't), you can usually achieve the same effect by squeezing the gas pedal once or twice before starting. (Not too much, or you'll flood her.) Do be sure to get a second opinion, though; I'm fairly new to this too :-)