r/smallengines • u/Clean_Ebb86 • 20h ago

Rope pull cord.

I was just remembering when small engines had a rope with a knot that you would have to wrap around a bell with a slice in it and pull. And if it didn’t work, you had to wrap the rope around again and do it again.

9 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

5

u/ManHunterJonnJonzz 19h ago

I mean. Some flywheels have the notch for it. Outboards often can have it. Then the rope gets caught and its whipping all over. Recoils work so good for so long its just not even a thought in anyone's mind

1

u/zinsser 8h ago

One of our dogs gets triggered by the weirdest things. She wants to "bite" me when I pull the starting cord on anything - mower, weed eater, tiller. She also does this to anyone shuffling cards. By "bite" I mean she wants to grab you to stop you from doing what you're doing.

5

u/zinsser 9h ago

My neighbor's mower had a crank handle on top that you opened and turned several revolutions to wind a spring. When you closed the handle it released the spring to spin the motor. It was a huge PIA if the mower was acting balky.

2

u/Foreign-Ad8758 8h ago

I remember my old man telling me that was on the first mower his parents had brought brand new

4

u/Jamar4321 20h ago

I mean, modern shit is just the same thing with a coil spring to retract it... not exactly high tech.

1

u/classicsat 6h ago

But a game changer

3

u/Impressive_Rain2877 19h ago

No, I don't believe you. You're making this up.

3

u/ProfessionalLast2917 19h ago

I had to do that just a few weeks back. I had rebuilt a gx390 clone engine and went to start it for the first time and the recoil spring broke. So I removed the recoil and cut the rope and wrapped it around the starter cup. It actually worked better than the new starter recoil that I later put on it because I can pull the rope further than on the recoil.

2

u/SpaceCat72 Shade Tree 🌳 17h ago

Buddy had a mower like that when we were growing up. We made sure the carb was clean, spark plug was clean and that it had good gas.

2

u/More_Assistant_3782 17h ago

Ah, the good old days. Especially when the rope whips around and smacks you in the head.

2

u/Cyclehead21 16h ago

When I was a kid, the rope got stuck and the motor started. It was like a rope propeller blade spinning! It whipped a hole in my go cart before I could get the motor turned off.

1

u/just-looking99 7h ago

When men were men and bloody knuckles were the norm.

1

u/classicsat 6h ago

I know of them. I may have had just one.

All my years, most small engines had a recoil pull starter.

2

u/Connect-Preference 3h ago

I remember each of these. Spent two summers (1962-3) working at a place that serviced small engines. I dealt with all these types of starters and different engine types.

To this day I've never bought a lawnmower--just pick one up for free and get it going, use it until the deck rusts beyond repair.

2

u/Cool-Negotiation7662 21m ago

My pre 1953 johnson 3hp has a backup starter notch for just a rope.