Re: Tecumseh vs. Briggs, was Re: Lawnmower idle question

On Wed, 18 May 2005 11:43:48 -0500, "jakdedert"
<jdedert@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>James Sweet wrote:
>>> No doubt....
>>>
>>> On a different subject; the last time I had occasion to check the
>>> Repair FAQ regarding a lawnmower issue, (I had a shear key problem
>>> which was easily fixed with the info contained there. Thanks, Sam)
>>> I noticed a very interesting dialogue concerning the relative merits
>>> of Briggs and Tecumseh small engines.
>>>
>>> Being how it's much too late (probably) to get my $.02 in the FAQ, I
>>> thought I'd post my opinion here:
>>>
>>> IME, Briggs motors are much more 'finicky' for starting and
>>> maintenance, but they last longer and use much less gas and oil.
>>>
>>> The Tecumsehs (I have two of those, and one Briggs & Stratton) start
>>> much easier, although that's probably due to the priming bulb which
>>> my Briggs does not have. They start using oil right out of the box,
>>> however. I have to check and add oil on almost every use. My
>>> Eager1 uses almost twice as much fuel to mow the same yard as my
>>> older Briggs of the same horsepower and cut width. I almost never
>>> have to add oil to the Briggs in an entire season.
>>>
>>> Given the greater oil and gas consumption, I assume that the
>>> Tecumsehs are emitting considerably more pollutants per hour of use.
>>> The consumables only add a negligible amount to my lawn-care costs
>>> every year; but multiplied by (however many millions) of them out
>>> there.....
>>>
>>> Any thoughts?
>>>
>>> jak
>>
>>
>> Well it's hard to say these days, back when I was tinkering with this
>> stuff a lot I was dealing with engines made mostly in the 1970's and
>> the Briggs motors were very noticeably better made and easier to work
>> on. The Tecumsehs' were nothing but a pain in the ass, carb problems,
>> ignition problems, a few common models would regularly throw rods. It
>> was no shock since they were always about 40% cheaper than a
>> comparable B&S. Now days I don't really know, the Tecumseh engines
>> seem to have improved somewhat, while the Briggs engines have gotten
>> *very* noticeably poorer. Somebody said they're now made in Asia so
>> perhaps that's when the quality took a dive. BTW the new ones do have
>> a primer bulb, haven't tried starting one though. My mom has an old
>> mower with a Tecumseh and it does actually start quite easily though
>> I have to take apart the carb and clean out the banjo bolt on the
>> float bowl every year, never had to do that with an old Briggs.
>> Unfortunatly I never compared fuel consumption but I don't recall oil
>> usage problems on either.
>
>I've not had to pull the carb on either of my Tec's, but the Briggs (bought
>new in the early 90's) is laid up until I can pull the carb and determine if
>it's the cause of the hard starting. Both Tec's have worked reliably since
>I aquired them, except for the shear pin, which was result of operator
>error, of course. This morning I pulled out one of them and oil was below
>the dipstick. (5.5 hp, self propelled pusher...I ran two+ tanks of gas
>through it last session, and oil was full when I started...need to check
>more often!)
>
>However, both of them were aquired used, as opposed to the Briggs. I wonder
>if they were abused in an earlier life. I had one other many years ago, and
>it 'used' oil/gas as well. It might have been old enough to have been made
>in the 70's...thrift store find.
>
>I'm glad to hear Tecumseh quality is going up. Except for needing to keep a
>close watch on the oil, and seemingly needing to fill gas more often, both
>of these mowers have been relatively flawless.
>
>It's also a shame about Briggs & Stratton. The first engine I ever worked
>on was a horizontal shaft Briggs which came off my dads old reel-type power
>mower from the 50's. I pulled it off the mower some time in the mid-60's,
>used a pipe wrench to break the rings free and mounted it on a go-cart. It
>was too small for the application at a (maybe two, it's been a long time)
>horse and a half, but it ran well.
>
>jak
>
Yes the earlier Techumsehs did have a problem regards to burning oil.
They were built terribly cheap way back.
And yep, the earlier B&S engines were built like a tank.
The problem with using the older Briggs horizontal shaft motors for
go-carts or minibikes was they had low rpms and not much torque.
The ones they marketed specifically for that purpose were setup tp
spin a bit faster and had higher compression.
You could fudge a bit with some of the 3hp models by resetting the
mean idle on the govenor springs and either rejetting the carb for
quicker response or replacing it with a bigger throated one so the
engine could breath a bit better.
Using a low hp engine like a 2 or a 2 and a half you'd have had to
change out the drive sprocket for a much larger one to make it an easy
pull. Which of course would have made it as slow as a turtle.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Tecumseh vs. Briggs, was Re: Lawnmower idle question
    ... >>> interesting dialogue concerning the relative merits of Briggs and Tecumseh ... They start using oil right out of the box, ... >>a lot I was dealing with engines made mostly in the 1970's and the Briggs ... >>though I have to take apart the carb and clean out the banjo bolt on the ...
    (sci.electronics.repair)
  • Re: Tecumseh vs. Briggs, was Re: Lawnmower idle question
    ... >>> this stuff a lot I was dealing with engines made mostly in the ... >>> ass, carb problems, ignition problems, a few common models would ... >>> never had to do that with an old Briggs. ... >> pulled out one of them and oil was below the dipstick. ...
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  • Re: Tecumseh vs. Briggs, was Re: Lawnmower idle question
    ... >> interesting dialogue concerning the relative merits of Briggs and Tecumseh ... They start using oil right out of the box, ... >a lot I was dealing with engines made mostly in the 1970's and the Briggs ... >though I have to take apart the carb and clean out the banjo bolt on the ...
    (sci.electronics.repair)
  • Re: Tecumseh vs. Briggs, was Re: Lawnmower idle question
    ... >> of Briggs and Tecumseh small engines. ... but they last longer and use much less gas and oil. ... Now days I don't really know, the Tecumseh engines ...
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  • Re: Tecumseh vs. Briggs, was Re: Lawnmower idle question
    ... > interesting dialogue concerning the relative merits of Briggs and Tecumseh ... They start using oil right out of the box, ... a lot I was dealing with engines made mostly in the 1970's and the Briggs ...
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