What's the best technique for manually starting a warm LA-46?

Cold, I choke it three times, then pull it through three times, then bump it backwards with a chicken stick.  Get first flip starts every time.

Warm, I've tried choking it similarly, also with a little less and a little more, but it's taking me five or so flips to start it.  Not really a problem, as the process takes maybe fifteen seconds, but I'm curious as to what technique others like.

thanks,

Peter

The "just to the spray bar" technique sounds good.  The comment is appreciated.

What I think I'll do is take the fuel line to the spray bar loose next time, just to see if my fueling is introducing fuel.  With it loose, I'll fill the line, then try to start with no choke or 1 choke.  The plug is an O.S. and kind of old, so that may need some attention.  Might try a Fox Long or Fox R/C long, just to see how it handles.

Practicing today, if I allowed 20 minutes between flights, and flew 10 flights, that's 200 minutes!  As pleasant as our field is, I'm not sure I'm that patient.

Peter

The "just to the spray bar" technique sounds good.  The comment is appreciated.

What I think I'll do is take the fuel line to the spray bar loose next time, just to see if my fueling is introducing fuel.  With it loose, I'll fill the line, then try to start with no choke or 1 choke.  The plug is an O.S. and kind of old, so that may need some attention.  Might try a Fox Long or Fox R/C long, just to see how it handles.

Practicing today, if I allowed 20 minutes between flights, and flew 10 flights, that's 200 minutes!  As pleasant as our field is, I'm not sure I'm that patient.

Peter

   Hi Peter;
     Two things to consider on warm or hot restarts. One, everything is hot and the engine will be down on compression just a bit, which is a necessary element for combustion. The next is that the crankshaft is also hot. It is made of steel, and is nice and insulated in the crankcase and will hold it's heat a while. When you choke it, and the crank is hot enough, it can boil off what you are trying to pull through. Back when I participated in the Foxy Hazel races at SIG, I figured out a way to get a common hot Fox.35 to start quick while hot after I had come to the conclusion I just mentioned. For pits stop, I had a syringe with the fuel I needed, and two other older syringes with ice water in them. I had noticed other guys just squirting down their engines with fuel to try and cool them off, but I figured that alcohol has a much lower boiling point that water, and what a waste  of good fuel!! So I tried the ice water in practice and it worked pretty well. I just aimed the flow at the bottom end of the engine with the first shot after catching the airplane. Then fueled the tank, and always got a start in a few flips instead of constantly cranking and such until things cool naturally enough for it to start. Bob Oge and Glen Lee and the other engine guys could weave their magic on their engines to get around it, but I wasn't that serious about the racing thing, and the ice water did the trick.,The first few times I did it, I had guys giving me some really weird looks!!  Now, that might not be practical with the airplane you are flying, and if I'm in the same situation and flying by myself , I just use a starter and do not choke the engine as already mentioned. 
    One other question. Are the Fox plugs you have old stock? The plugs that they were putting out towards the end of things weren't good enough to even use for fishing weights! A friend of mine came to the field once with six new ones he had just purchased, mainly because they were the cheapest, and they each lasted exactly one flight. After a flight, they were completely blown, and this was just on a Fox.35 or .19 and using proper fuel and battery. Try getting some Sonic Tronics Glow Devil R/C Long or Thunderbolt R/C Long, or Thunderbolt four stroke plugs. They last a long time and you will definitely be able to tell the difference.
   Type at you later,
     Dan McEntee

It is a profile / typical uniflow.

try  not choking it or flipping   at all,  until you are ready for it to start, then put the battery on, and  start flipping quickly , many times they start the best this way, if it needs  any chocking at all  just do  1 flip and no more

Randy

This is what I was going to say. Refuel, attach the battery and just flip it like you mean it. No choke, don't feel for a bump, just go for it.
Usually, if you try to feel for a bump, that was your only chance to start it. Haha

Right on.  I have been running OS engines exclusively since 1974.  I never use a full choke on a hot engine.  My 35S is considerably more a problem then the 46LA but both do not like to be flown back to back.  This is a real problem at a contest around here if you have to take an attempt because you are required to make an immediate re-fly  Once upon a time you used to get moved to the end of the round but I guess they caught on to that one.  In my first contest when I came back into the sport/hobby I missed placing because I had to take an attempt and couldn't get my engine restarted in time.  I found the 1/2 choke no bump works some of the time but when it fails I found that if I intentionally flooded it, let it set about 10 seconds then flipped it on it's side to drain the cylinder I had a real good chance of starting it on a back-flip.  Probably a dumb idea but it worked on that particular 35S.

Awesomeness!