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 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.

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