Honda Starts in Summer Not in Winter

[maciejp]

I have a Honda Snowblower. In the Summer, easily starts. No Problem. But every Winter or when its cold it will not start at all.
What would cause this? I put a new carb on. Like I said in Summer every month would start first pull. As soon as its cold It will not start.
Fresh Recreation Fuel too. I tried everything and all I can think of now is it needs a Valve Job? Any sugguestions?

 

[sgkent]

usually that sounds like a mixture problem - gasoline doesn't vaporize very well in winter and it is really easy to go from no gas right to flooded. I usually pull the engines a couple times in winter before choking or priming them, then try. I am not an advocate of starter fluid but winter is a good time to use just a little and see if it helps. You can also try heating the area around the manifold and carb a little with a heat gun or hair dryer but don't aim at one spot long enough to melt it.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Are you using a multigrade oil appropriate to the temperature ?
Are you running winter fuel ?
When cold the viscious friction of the oil increases so the engine actually revolves slower when you try to start it.
Slower revolving means slower passage of air through the carb which does not give the same sort of suck on the venturii .
Add to that colder petrol is denser ( heavier ) so you are trying to draw heavier fuel through the starting circuit with less force.
In the cold it is a common practice for kick start motorcycle riders to kick the engine a few times to free it up before turning the fuel on , then kicking the engine a couple of times choke open to prime the carbs before turning the ignition on.
A carburettor does not vapourise the fuel, it atomizes the fuel into tiny droplets .
Those droplets go into the engine and heat from the engine is required to turn the tiny droplets of petrol into a gas.
Only Gasses burn so if there is not enough heat in the engine to turn the drops to gas then the engine will not fire , the petrol mist will deposit on the spark plug creating a path for the spark to run down the side of the electrode rather than jump the gap.
The simple trick of popping the spark plug under you arm ( or leg ) pits for a few minutes to warm up a little can also be the difference between starting & not starting.

Fuel goes off
One of these ways is for the aromatics to evaporate .
If there is none of them left then the engine can not start unless you pre-heat the manifold
So if you have summer fuel ( less aromatics ) in the tank that is more than a couple of months old then you will have a lot of difficulty starting.
Modern fuel is not petrol.
It is light fuel oil with some aromatics tossed in to assist starting.
It is designed for computer controlled fuel injected engines not carburettor engines .
This is why many equipment makers get their own brews made , sold ( at great cost ) in sealed containers that will keep for a long time .
The best a home owner can do is to buy your fuel on a cold winters day, fill the METAL can right to the top then screw the top on very tight .
That should be good for the entire winter if the can is not let in the sunlight.
When you open the can, it can spurt out under pressure .
Some add 1% to 2% acetone to increase the aromatics ( or replace the evaporated aromatics )