How to Start a Flooded Small Engine

Flooding occurs in small engines when the engine is repeatedly primed when trying to start the engine. Over priming causes the carburetor to become flooded with gas, and instead of injecting a mist of gas the carburetor will drip gas into the piston chamber which causes malfunction.

1. Unscrew the air filter cover from the small engine. Use a flathead screw driver to unscrew the air filter and pull the cover off. Clean the air filter cover with a soft clean cloth and place the air filter cover to the side. Pull out the air filter and check to see if it is functional or needs to be replaced.


2. Open the butterfly valve. Insert the flathead screwdriver into the intake valve of the engine to force the butterfly valve to open. Opening this valve will allow for maximum air intake, which will counter the over-priming effect. There needs to be a large amount of air flow to counter all the gas that has been primed into the piston chamber.


3. Start the engine. Use the pull start or turn the key to the small motor until the engine starts and allow the engine to run for at least three to four minutes before turning off the motor.  Allowing the engine to run will burn all of the excess gasoline that was stored in the flooded small engine.  Shut down the engine and let it cool. Replace the air filter and the air filter cover that have been placed to the side. If the steps mentioned above do not work then the motor is not flooded and other motor problems should be considered.