Yes, you are using it correctly. They are reliable too. I've only seen troubles w/ one so far.

Here is a little more information. There is indeed a choke on the ready start engines. The choke is spring loaded closed. When the engine starts, the flywheel fan blows air against an air vane and the choke opens. When the engine is hot, a bi metal arm holds the choke open.

If your throttle lever is placed to the slow position, there would not be enought air blown against the air vane and the choke would not open.

So far this has been a good starting system for Briggs. It will be important to keep grass debris from building up around the choke mechanism. In addition to the automatic choke, the engine features a small venturi in the carburetor so that fuel is quickly drawn into the engine. A high output coil delivers higher voltage at starting rpm. The high output coil is identified by a blue ring when the secondary is attached to the coil body

The Briggs DOV engine will also offer this system.

Thanks, guys, for the info. Well this is a really complete auto choke system, then. I remember the Rochester Quadrajet carbs on GM cars having a bimetal choke pull-off like that. It's bar none the easiest starting engine I've ever had. It's also compact and light, like all L-head engines, so the mower feels like a flyweight now (a good thing on my very sloped back yard). And the muffler works well - it's not loud and the tone is indeed "lo," as Briggs says. I wish it had the real power of my OHV Robin or Kawasaki, but you can't have it all.

Automatic choke is really nothing new. Briggs used a thermostatic choke on the 9-14-23 series cast iron engines in the 1950's and 1960's. Also used a vacuum operated auto choke on the 820000 and 920000 series "Classic" aluminum engines from the 1970's and 1980's.

As for the Q-Jet, I remember when VW went to the Solex and bi-metal choke in 1961. Prior to that the choke was a knob on the dash. The Solex was considered crude compared to the starting valves (enrichment circuits) used on other Solex's, Zenith's, and Webers.

Holley used bimetal choke as an option on the 2300, 4150, and 4160 carbs. Not sure about Carter and the WCFB and AFB.

I had a Briggs I/C with the Pulsa-Jet vacuum-operated choke on it. It worked, but nowhere near as well as this one. I have no doubt similar ideas have been around all that time. But this new Ready Start deal is a world apart from anything else I've ever tried. It's so good I can't believe it. I have yet to _ever_ have to pull more than once whether cold or hot or whatever, and I'm including starting it last Sunday at 40*F ambient temps. Hell, it even includes the very first startup of this thing ever, right after I installed it on the old deck. And once it starts it will idle, run full speed, and transition from one to the other flawlessly immediately, even with no warmup. It's like buttah, I tell ya.