On Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:35:04 -0400, "Worn Out Retread"
wrote:

I am looking for a new snow blower and have discovered that the power rating
of the engines are no longer in "Horse Power" but in "Foot Pounds" if given
at all. Sometimes all that is given is the CC's of the engine.

Even the people selling these machines don't know what the "Horse Power"
ratings are so that old geezers like myself can understand what is going on.
Does anyone have any general rules regarding the conversion of Foot Pounds
or CC's to Horse Power?


Foot lbs X rpm /5252 is horsepower. So you need to know the RPM.

The reason they have done this is because several companies were sued
for over-rating the horsepower their engines actually put out.
Like a lawn mower has a 4.5 HP engine (rated at 3600 rpm by the
manufacturer) but because of the blade length and safety regulations
the engine is limited to 2400 RPM on the mower (maximum velocity of
discharge limit). So the 4.5HP engine is now 2.85 HP - but it is STILL
a 6.56 ft lb engine.