Anyone else hate this new governer systems?

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StevieC

StevieC

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I find they run the engines too slow and when mowing thick grass the engine wants to quit.

I usually disable them and put in a manual throttle on instead.

Your experiences?
 
Well, in theory, full throttle is full throttle. If the governor isn't calling for full throttle when the engine can't attain the set speed then the governor needs adjustment. This should be periodically checked anyways since cable stretch and linkages around an engine can be bumped, bashed and pulled by bushes or other accidental contact.

What's "new" about "new" governors?
 
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Amen, bro. My grass is thick, thick, thick.
I bent the arm that holds the governor spring and now full throttle is much faster.
 
Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
Well, in theory, full throttle is full throttle. If the governor isn't calling for full throttle when the engine can't attain the set speed then the governor needs adjustment. This should be periodically checked anyways since cable stretch and linkages around an engine can be bumped, bashed and pulled by bushes or other accidental contact.

What's "new" about "new" governors?

The problem is it doesn't respond quick enough and then it starts to sputter because it can't handle the increased load even if you approach the thicker grass slowly. By bypassing it with a manual throttle and keeping it near high throttle it does just fine.

We have ditches at the ends of my parents property and the grass is usually semi-wet because everything drains into this area and the grass grows thick quickly and needs to be trimmed with a mower because of the steep embankment and doing it with a Governor based system is a PITA.

Don't tell me to cut it more often because it would be like every 3rd day I would be out there because it's so quick in growing...

It worked fine the old way on the older mowers and they were easier to start as well I found being able to adjust the throttle, now it's a PITA nightmare that isn't necessary.
 
You can thank the CPSC for a maximum blade speed rule.

You can have a governor system with throttle control to set the bias, so it's not going to blow itself up without load. This is how many of the old briggses worked and probably your tec as well when you found parts off an oldie.

May also need your blade sharpened, can't be too sharp don't you know.
 
Blade is sharp and you could probably split hairs with it...

Never thought about setting up the governor with a throttle cable. Will have to think about that.

I set them up so they don't over-rev. I also disable the safety bars on the models that don't have self-propellers because I think that is just stupid.
 
Yeah, just get a throttle cable. First off, though, I'd get down there and remove the cowling and make sure all the related parts can move absolutely freely. You might get some degreaser and let that work on them for a little while. If something is a little gummed up or not yet properly broken in, the governor can't adjust itself as quickly as the engineers might have anticipated, resulting in your bogging down.

Also, you might consider a heavier blade. I have one of those Gators on mine, and I think half the reason it's so effective is it's mass. It's almost twice as thick as a normal blade and you can't beat kinetic energy.
 
No I have been all over this stupid thing... It's just s stupid design assembled somewhere in China (Sticker says so) and it's just not up to the job. Overriding it makes it run the way it should.
 
Unfortunately, it was probably engineered in the USA.
Too many engineers these days can cite all the prime numbers backwards from infinity, but have never held a wrench.

Being in engineering classes, I can see too much advanced math as "weed out" classes and too little practicality or common sense. Trust me on that.
 
Make Sure Your Blade Speed Is Safe!!! The shorter blades can be set to higher rpm, longer blades must run slower-- it's all based on the speed (not rpm, but linear speed) that the tip of the blade is traveling at.

Your personal safety is more important than grass-cutting aggravation.

Mikey
 
Originally Posted By: river_rat
Unfortunately, it was probably engineered in the USA.
Too many engineers these days can cite all the prime numbers backwards from infinity, but have never held a wrench.

Being in engineering classes, I can see too much advanced math as "weed out" classes and too little practicality or common sense. Trust me on that.
As a computer engineer I know exactly what you mean. There is logic and math and then there is common sense and universities aren't known for breeding common sense into its students...
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Originally Posted By: meep
Make Sure Your Blade Speed Is Safe!!! The shorter blades can be set to higher rpm, longer blades must run slower-- it's all based on the speed (not rpm, but linear speed) that the tip of the blade is traveling at.

Your personal safety is more important than grass-cutting aggravation.

Mikey
No faster is always better...
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Originally Posted By: meep
Make Sure Your Blade Speed Is Safe!!! The shorter blades can be set to higher rpm, longer blades must run slower-- it's all based on the speed (not rpm, but linear speed) that the tip of the blade is traveling at.

Your personal safety is more important than grass-cutting aggravation.

Mikey
I completely disagree. I'm far more likely to get hurt by a dull knife than a sharp one. I'm also a lot more likely to get hurt by a mower that runs fast enough to do the job versus one that holds to the arbitrary CPSC spec. why? Because a dull knife and a slow mower both mean a lot more futzing to get the job done. What's safer, blasting through a stand of grass without any drama or needing to lift the deck, back the mower up, shut it down to clear the grass, etc. because it's not moving the air and blade enough to do the job? This is a lot easier to imagine than the scenario where something is shot out of my mower. How exactly is that supposed to happen anyway? The blade rotates the wrong way for anything to get shot out of the deck. The deck exit is exactly 180* from where something could get kicked out by the blade. The only way anything comes out that exit is if it rides the air blast.
 
Actually, there is a good reason for the spec. The safest lawnmower blade is the one that does not separate from the crankshaft, come though the deck, and remove your feet.
 
Originally Posted By: greenaccord02
Actually, there is a good reason for the spec. The safest lawnmower blade is the one that does not separate from the crankshaft, come though the deck, and remove your feet.
Is there a video of that?
 
Originally Posted By: StevieC
Originally Posted By: greenaccord02
Actually, there is a good reason for the spec. The safest lawnmower blade is the one that does not separate from the crankshaft, come though the deck, and remove your feet.
Is there a video of that?

lol.gif
Yeah, I'll make a video for you when it happens to me.
Actually all I did for mine was raise RPM to about what my old, pre-litigous society mower ran.
I make no recommendations about tampering with mowers, but I'm willing to do it to mine.
 
Originally Posted By: greenaccord02
Actually, there is a good reason for the spec. The safest lawnmower blade is the one that does not separate from the crankshaft, come though the deck, and remove your feet.
If a blade is okay at 3000 but will separate at 4000 then you're already too far inside the safety margins.
 
StevieC: I have never had a too-slow-to-respond governor problem. All of my governed OPE still has a "speed control" which a lot of people call a throttle but isn't. The "throttle" control controls the governor and the governor controls the actual throttle plate.

I have had some cutting "trouble" on my Honda Masters mower but it may be simply a case of setting expectations too high. We have to mulch in my area and when I first got it I used to cut the grass shorter and it seemed to go through with few issues unless very long, thick and damp. If I set it to the highest setting it seemed like it could go through anything without ever bogging down. As the years went by it seemed now like the highest cut setting would now bog down like the lower ones used to. I was sharpening blades, adjusting things, and fretting.

I did find a couple of things - my choke mechanism (Honda's have one control that chokes at one end) needed adjustment which was causing hard starting and my governor wasn't quite making full throttle. It seems better now but could probably just use another 0.5-1hp to get the job done. Again, we're mulching and I always mow at the maximum self-propelled speed and usually the full width of the mower (no half-bites). I see how slow some other people mow their grass and, like I said, I wonder if it isn't simply setting my expectations too high. If I bag or use side-discharge instead of mulching nothing seems to phase it.

Raising your governed RPM isn't going to do much for you to prevent bogging. It's probably only at 10% increase from where you are up to the engine's "redline" and once bogging starts and the governor can't hold full speed it will be unable to hold 3600 just like it can't hold 3300. I tried this with my mower at one point and it was of no help.
 
I wish I could have shown you this problem... It's definitely the only way around it. It is a B&S engine but it's a stupid setup.

Maybe I will buy a Honda for my dad next time. But I don't know because the one before this was almost 30 years old and if this one lasts the same as that he will be outlived by it.
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Originally Posted By: calvin1
Originally Posted By: meep
Make Sure Your Blade Speed Is Safe!!! The shorter blades can be set to higher rpm, longer blades must run slower-- it's all based on the speed (not rpm, but linear speed) that the tip of the blade is traveling at.

Your personal safety is more important than grass-cutting aggravation.

Mikey
I completely disagree. I'm far more likely to get hurt by a dull knife than a sharp one. I'm also a lot more likely to get hurt by a mower that runs fast enough to do the job versus one that holds to the arbitrary CPSC spec. why? Because a dull knife and a slow mower both mean a lot more futzing to get the job done. What's safer, blasting through a stand of grass without any drama or needing to lift the deck, back the mower up, shut it down to clear the grass, etc. because it's not moving the air and blade enough to do the job? This is a lot easier to imagine than the scenario where something is shot out of my mower. How exactly is that supposed to happen anyway? The blade rotates the wrong way for anything to get shot out of the deck. The deck exit is exactly 180* from where something could get kicked out by the blade. The only way anything comes out that exit is if it rides the air blast.


There's a lot of kinetic energy stored up there. bent crankshafts, mangled blades, failed hubs... all happen. I've seen the deck separate at the engine mounts on a stock craftsman mower and it wasn't pretty.

Do what you want. I had a 24" prop come off a hovercraft years ago and saw first-hand what 3600 rpm can do when it has to stop suddenly.

I realize a prop and a blade are apples to oranges, but so is a mower to a utility knife. If you are endangering yourself by tipping the machine and frequent cleaning, you may need to rethink your technique.

Have I boosted rpm on mowers? yes. that much? no. ever had a mower blade come off? no. But I dare say that the propeller letting go and shattering the iron sheve, well, 3600 rpm has a lot of energy it it, and if you're in the wrong place when it happens, there aren't any do-overs. Not trying to lecture. It's your mower, your health. Just be careful.

Mikey
 
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