Tickler Tech

[RichardL]

Exactly where does the fuel overflow flow when the tickler sinks the float? Is it just a puddle in the intake manifold or does it flow down to the intake valve? If you wait just long enough for the fuel to dribble out at the tickler, has the priming already occured, with no further priming possible because the overflow is bypassed by the tickler's leak? I've been having some starting problems lately and I just want to be sure it's not someithing simple, like bad tickler vs. throttle procedures. I guess I'm trying to better understand flooding vs. starving in the world of the tickler. Mine is A10 SA with 9:1 pistons, 356 cam, 930 concentric without a choke.

Any thoughts, greatly appreciated.

Richard L.

[muskrat]

That's a good question Richard, and I await other answers.
I was of the belief that raw fuel didn't flow into the inlet but escaped out of the tickler when the fuel level got high enough (just below the venturi) so that the first few sucks got a really rich mixture, and stayed rich till the fuel level dropped to normal.
We will need to remove the air filter (if fitted  ) and with a torch and mirror have a look. A carb on the bench with fuel hose connected would be easier.

[wilko]

The fuel is designed to overflow onto your maggy and catch fire!!

[RichardL]

I don't have a choke, but I almost did, laughing at this.

[muskrat]

I thought the drip tray was supposed to send it back to your rear tyre thus making burnouts easier.
Cheers.
Don't you luv Aussie humor.

[wilko]

And by the way , i hope you don't mean BLOWtorch when inspecting the carb!

[RichardL]

Yes, myte, I love Aussie humor. Perhaps Tevinoz (or someone) would join in and laugh at me while explaining to one so dumb as I what, exactly, happens to the fuel when you use the tickler and how it encourages starting. (No, not that "tickler".)

Richard L.

[wilko]

It just pools in a big blob on top of the jetblock and gets sucked in at kickover speed to encourage explosions!

[alanp]

Talking about explosions (well we are aren't we?) reminds me of my mate looking into the spark plug hole on his Goldie to see what was rattling inside the combustion chamber....the problem was he was using a cigarette lighter to provide some light... Baaaaaaannnnggggg....where did those eyebrows/eyelashes go? Of course we laughed like hell.

[MG]

*rofl*
Reminds me of when my uncle used the vac cleaner to get the last residues of fuel out of a bike tank. His wife was not really impressed, but must have been the world's first vac cleaner with an afterburner. 
Live and learn...

[bikerbob]

This topic reminds me of something that happened to my late parents in the late fifties dad had anA10 plunger with a watsonain sidecar on the type that had the fastener on the outside of the sidecar so once in you could not get out unless someone undid the catch anyway mother was in the sidecar dad tickled the carb kicked the bike over and the bike caught fire he tried to put it out but then realised that mother was franically trying to get out of the sidecar so by the time he got mother out put the flames out the bike was extensively damaged he had it repaired under the insurance and got an ariel bike with a sidecar that you open the door from the inside. Also just after that my younger brother had an A10 swinging arm Flash and the oil tank welded seam split he asked me if I would weld it up for him I said no bother just make sure you have washed all the oil out he said oh yes I have got rid of all the oil I washed it out with petrol.

[bsa-bill]

This is an old thread but it is the nearest I can find to my problem.

It takes ages to get the carb to flood, and when it does it floods (out the back of the carb ) before it comes up the tickler, plastic float, tickler just touches it so probably that accounts for some of the time taken but it really is slow, it's not the fuel lines as it is the same with a jury rig clear pipe and funnel.

Bike does start easy and runs fine if perhaps a tad rich (sooty plugs), I have a brass float, might swap and see what gives,

Anyone with similar experience ?

[KiwiGF]

This is an old thread but it is the nearest I can find to my problem.

It takes ages to get the carb to flood, and when it does it floods (out the back of the carb ) before it comes up the tickler, plastic float, tickler just touches it so probably that accounts for some of the time taken but it really is slow, it's not the fuel lines as it is the same with a jury rig clear pipe and funnel.

Bike does start easy and runs fine if perhaps a tad rich (sooty plugs), I have a brass float, might swap and see what gives,

Anyone with similar experience ?

Is it possible the tickler has a partially blocked vent hole? On a monobloc the tickler doubles as the vent for the float chamber, and, if blocked, petrol from the tank under gravity will have difficulty entering the chamber, this can also cause rich running if this results in petrol being pushed through the jets when the chamber gets pressurised.

I only found this was a problem on my bike after doing the cling film/rubber band trick to see what was going on with the float.

[bsa-bill]

thanks kiwiGF

I had not thought of this, will investigate first chance 

[duTch]

 Yo Bill- I think it's the same issue I had; I think a 10grm plastic float that just didn't reach the tickler. I did similar to KGF, but made a cover from first poly-carbonate, and when that failed ....something else maybe clear PVC (?)...anyway not relevant....I tried my original copper float and it still didn't reach either, so shimmed the needle landing with brass shimstock. Only problem was when I soldered it, the float heated up and the seam split and the whole thing exploded....    

 It took a bit to get it back together but now seems to work fine 

 NB; they have a small hole that releases the hot air, which needs to be opened before starting and sealed after- and the two halves somehow lightly clamped together.....