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 he

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.