Which small Engine is Better - Briggs / Tecumseh?

Which small Engine is Better - Briggs or Tecumseh?

If you mow a city lawn and do it every few days this probably wont even affect you. But I own a farm and mow heavy grass. Sometimes it's a foot tall. Having had numerous push mowers, I have decided that the Tecumseh engines are much better. When I was younger, it seemed that every mower had a Briggs engine. Then I started to run across mowers with Tecumseh engines. The last Tecumseh mower I had was a 3HP model. That mower just went thru everything and rarely ever stopped. Even when the blade was dull, it still kept going. I finally destroyed it when I ran over some metal and bent the crankshaft so badly the blade chopped the frame to shreads (because I kept going). I just got another mower with a crappy Briggs engine. Also a 3HP. Once again I got a mower that dies constantly, dont have the guts to get thru even the lightest weeds, and takes me ten times as long to mow. Considering both engines are 3HP, and the frames are identical (meaning no powered wheels, etc), I will say the Tecumseh has 3 times the power of the Briggs engine. And just for the record, this new Briggs mower has less usage than that Tecumseh one had. I already know that this POS will be going to the next auction. I just cant stand these weak Briggs engines with no power and no guts.

Which do you prefer, and why?

Mark

Reply to
maradcliff
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That's like asking which is better, chevy or ford.

You are aware that Brigs (and probablyi Tecumseh also) build different grades? Buy a cheap mower, you will get a cheap engine. If you really want a good engine you will have to buy a better grade mower.

One with a Honda will outperform your Tecumseh or Briggs but it will cost you. It will also still be running after the world ends. My oldest one is over 25 years old and still starts first pull every time...well I did have to pull 3 or 4 times last spring first time out of the shed. All I have replaced is the sparkplug (once), clutch cable (once) and drive wheel tires twice.

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

I agree. Just take care of it properly. I have found that 10W30 Mobil

1 synthetic oil is a great lubricant for air cooled eng> snipped-for-privacy@UNLISTED.com wrote:
Reply to
Rich256

The worlds going to end in 25 years? Yikes! *sets doomsday clock*

Reply to
autobus_prime

While I do agree you get what you pay for (usually). The Tecumseh engine mower sold for $98. My uncle bought it for around $65 (after the season sale). So, this was a cheap mower. Yet, it out performed every Briggs engine mower I have ever used. If I had not kept using it till it destroyed the deck, I would have now paid the $50 for a new crankshaft and other needed parts. That mower always started on the first pull and it would gnaw down 2" burdock stumps without killing.

This Briggs engine mower I have now dont have the balls to get thru a thick clump of grass, and a half inch burdock stump kills it instantly. I'll sharpen the blade, even though it's really not bad, but I need a mower that can get thru this thick grass and brush and not need to be restarted every couple minutes.

I should note that this briggs engine mower was a more expensive mower, and it's newer. This also came from the same uncle. When he went into a nursing home I got these mowers. He saved the receipts and manuals for everything so I have all of that. The Briggs mower was bought in 1997, the Tecumseh in 98. I have a feeling he could not get the Briggs to cut his lawn either.

I think part of the issue is the way the deck is designed. This Briggs engine deck clogs by the ejection hole constantly. I'm about ready to cut a larger hole, which is not the first time I have done this.

Mark

Reply to
maradcliff

Tecumseh shill?

Reply to
JohnR66

I have a 27 year old Tecumseh in my riding mower that's only had oil, plugs and filter cleaning. Have a 3.5HP Tecumseh in the shed that outlasted the chassis it came in. The 4HP B&S Quantum that replaced it doesn't seem to have any more power than the 3.5HP .All of them were made before mulching mowers became popular. A mower with a blade for mulching might not discharge well or so I've heard. Did you get the first mower off Honda's assembly line? My only experience with Honda mowers is my friends. His threw a rod through the crankcase last year, just out of warranty. I convinced him to take it back to Sears and see if they would make it right. They told him it was still under warranty and gave him a new one. Don't know if he didn't know when the warranty was up or if they gave an extended warranty because of a known defect or something else. Just pointing out they all can have problems. I have an ST1100 and love it other than the, $30 each, proprietary headlight bulbs. YMMV

Reply to
T Shadow

NO I dont work for Tecumseh. In fact I am retired but do small scale farming because I enjoy it. But being a farmer, requires powerful equipment. Practically anything can mow a city lawn that gets mowed every week or more. I am just looking for opinions from others. I can honestly say that the mower I have now is a royal pain in the ass. It's got a Briggs 3HP, and it kills every few minutes on grass that's

8 to 10 inches tall. Yet, my 3HP Tecumseh mower would take down grass that was 3 feet tall, and even chop off 1 inch thick burdock stalks. It hardly ever killed. I spent nearly 3 hours yesterday mowing a 50 ft. piece of lawn with 8 to 10" grass, and must have restarted the thing nearly 50 times. With that old mower, I would have done the job in 20 minutes and restarted probably 3 times at most. I just got this Briggs engine mower last week, actually it was given to me, but I left it with a relative. I absolutely hate the thing. When I mow, I want to mow, blast thru whatever needs to be taken down, and get the job done, not baby the thing, and have to keep restarting even if I do go as slow as I can. I know what works and what pisses me off. This mower I have now is a "piss off". In fact I just went out to look for another mower, and one with a Tecumseh engine. I have more important things to do than piss around with a mower that dont want to cut the lawn. This is probably the worst mower I ever had, but I have never owned a mower with a Briggs eng. that had enough power for my needs.

Mark

Reply to
maradcliff

I restore old (60s and 70s) garden tractors. Most have Kohler or Tecumseh engines; a few B&S. They all have peculiarities. Ignition modules, valve seats, balance gears. I prefer Kohlers.

--Andy Asberry recommends NewsGuy--

Reply to
Andy Asberry

As to the "first off the assembly line. Nope. I tried once a few years ago to figure out just when I did buy it. I bought it on recommendation from my neighbor who had seen one and had a Honda tiller. Purchase was in early or mid 80s but I can't come closer than that. So I may be wrong, it could only be 20 yoa. Then when I was coming up on retirement about 10 years ago I figured it would be nice to have a mower that would last through my 'fixed income' years and bought another one. That one is still in the shed as this one just won't quit. Smokes like a fiend when first fired up but then clears up. Of course both mowers and the tiller I also have smoked at start up from new. Dealer says 'nature of the beast' but can't give an explanation other than a few drops of oil leaking past valve stems. Since none of the burn oil I don't undersand it.

Harry K

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

newer mowers have been regulated by the feds, design of discharge hole, limit blade tip speed etc.

now all these make mowers safer but can adversely effect mower operation.

heck new mowers have carb adjustements permanetely plugged so you cant easily raiue engine speed.

this is why really old mowers were 2 or 3 horsepower and newer ones 5 or 6 hp and often dont work as well as old ones.

our federal governmment at work......

Reply to
hallerb

You don't mention the ages of the engines in question, but it seems at some point over the years that engine horsepower numbers went the way of compressor horsepower numbers i.e. grossly inflated.

I have a quite old Deere 110 riding mower with a Kohler 10HP engine that from every objective comparison I can make seems to have more power than the new mowers with "18HP" engines.

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

If you buy from the professional lines of equipment you bypass much of the asinine "safety" nonsense. Of course you can also modify the consumer units to fix the flaws if you're so inclined. I had to modify a snow blower that was downright dangerous with the "safety" junk. The "safety" clutch design made it impossible to have proper control of the machine to change direction quickly to get out of the road if a car was coming or to back up when you found the low stone wall.

Pete C.

Reply to
Pete C.

Both mowers are from the mid to late 1990's. The Teumseh I was able to date to 97 or 98. The other one I could not date, but he bought that one shortly before. I wonder if he found it tough to use too, and is why he bought the other one...

Reply to
maradcliff

Well, thats part of the problem with this Briggs engine mower. The deck is pretty much round, and the discharge hole is way too small. Then they got this spring loaded cover over the hole that is supposed to push outward when grass builds up. I wired that thing wide open, because it did not open as it should. Even with that wired open, there is no place for grass clogs to escape. The blade is right there and eventually gets bogged down. The "good" mower had an outward extension and larger discharge hole. The grass could get away from the blade, an came out easier.

This mower also runs too slow, and there is no adjustment since the governor keep it slow. (I think I can bend the rods to increase speed), and I know I can enlarge the discharge hole. I hope this helps, but there is still a lack of power.

Mark

Reply to
maradcliff

snipped-for-privacy@UNLISTED.com wrote: ...

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You're (a)busing the wrong tool for the job--you don't have a lawn, it sounds like an (unkept) pasture. If you insist on trying to use an inexpensive lawn mower as a bush hog, you will continue to break cranks and beat up decks (throwing more money and tantrums along the way). Either get a brush-cutting-capable rig or fix the problem w/ the "yard" is my suggestion.

I've Briggs-powered mowers on the farm that are 40 yrs old and still operate just fine. There are others w/ Kawasaki and Tecumseh as well. Each is suited (and used) for a particular task and the small push lawnmower in particular, is not for mowing around the lots, etc.

Reply to
dpb

BEST ADVICE...

I do this too. It's very cheap insurance, small engine parts & replacement engines are disproportionately expensive.

Larger HP engines - Tecumseh Snow-Kings & up into The Briggs V-Twins seem to really thrive on synthetic oil.

Rob

Reply to
trainfan1

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