Starting Fluid

[Snagglefoot]

In the old days it was called Ether. Not sure if actually contains anything folks would call Ether. Anyway here is a can I have. I use it if my movers don’t start up in the first few pulls. It also contains a lubricant to make it easier on the engine.

 

[road_rascal]

The Australian version.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

have a can of Prestone starting fluid about 20 yrs old still. Used it on lawnmower primarily. Still under pressure last time I checked. Gone all battery but still have it, I think.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I have a can around JIC and for troubleshooting but have never used it.

Used it plenty on old diesels as a kid. Directly through a hole in the intake manifold and boom - old diesel came to life.

 

[The_Jeff]

My carbureted dodge plow truck loved the stuff. Eventually I put in a manual choke and was able to get it going without getting out of the cab. I carried it with me in case it stalled in the street and I had to get it back in my driveway before the police showed up.

Brake cleaner has similar car-starting properties, but ether is more vaporous, an advantage in extreme cold.

 

[Rand]

Brake cleaner has similar car-starting properties, but ether is more vaporous, an advantage in extreme cold.

Depends on the brake cleaner use the wrong kind and it turns into poison gas?

 

[andyd]

Carb and choke cleaner has oil IIRC, and has more uses than ether. I use what brand is on sale and I keep a can on hand at all times for OPE

 

[Elkins45]

The last can I bought still smelled like ethyl ether.

I have a late 80’s photo of my dad running grandad’s 9.5 HP ‘Sportwin’ Evinrude on his Jon boat going down the Kentucky River. In the floor of the boat you can see a mop and a can of starting fluid. I have no memory of why there was a mop in the boat but I absolutely remember why the starting fluid was there.

For several years I owned a bass boat with an 85 HP Johnson V4. It had a weak starter that was quite prone to overheating. If it hadn’t been started in a while you learned to give it a shot of ether or you weren’t going anywhere. It’s also the engine that taught me it was possible to pull start an 85 HP V4 engine.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Depends on the brake cleaner use the wrong kind and it turns into poison gas?

You want non-chlorinated which is flammable.

 

[chainblu]

I keep a can on hand for starting something stubborn, but normally I use brake cleaner to start something that's been sitting.

 

[Snagglefoot]

The starting fluid I just bought does not list ether or diethyl ether in the ingredients but it does smell like what was considered ether starting fluid 20 years ago. It’s really volatile stuff. The ingredients list naptha, and distallates ( both hydro treated), propane and CO2.

I witnessed a guy starting a blown big block, with “ starting fluid”, spraying it into the blower air scoop. I didn’t stand nearby. It fired up.

 

[Exhaustgases]

And in the good old days, like in 57 or 58 yeah good old auto years too, if you had your tonsils removed or a broken arm etc, they poured that nice ether stuff into what seemed like a dust mask with a single filter unit and saturated that filter with it, to put you to sleep.
Oh yeah very terrifying ordeal, being forced to breath that stuff as a youngin. Wonder if that messed anyone up in later years?

 

[Egg_Head]

I kept a can of starting fluid in every carbureted rig I owned. Saved my bacon many a time out in the woods. The Carter (Edelbrock) 600 CFM would sometimes belch fire for good measure.