Briggs And Stratton Which Ones Are The Good Ones?

[crazyoildude]

Im looking for a new snow blower for a friend which are the better engines for a snow blower around 10 hp??
Which briggs engines have the steel inserts in the combustion chamber??
We rebuild car and truck engines but dont know which small engines are the better ones
back 25 years i liked briggs and stratton and tecumseh but dont know now...Any ideas?

 

[dakota99]

As far as i know the kool-bore engine line is just an aluminum bore, no cast sleeve. How this affects the lifespan is unknown. It could be treated with something not really sure. The vanguard, I/C, intek edge, intek pro, and ELS engines have cast iron sleeves in them.

My opinion, the aluminum bore would probably be fine for a snowblower, but i don't know everything. Someone else will probably chime in with more info.

 

[MrMeeks]

all briggs snow thrower engines are good.There is no need for a sleeved engine,but you can ask the dealer/seller about it.I have run the nonsleeved engines for a long time without rebuilds or problems of any kind.Don't allow gas to sit in the carb. too long.Drain the carb after each use and carb problems won't occur.The flat head techumseh engine should be avoided.

 

[nitehawk55]

The Tecumseh flatheds on blowers work fine .

 

[tomcat27]

are you lookin for new or used? snowblowers get such little use that a sleeve isnt needed. if you are going new, all or most of the brigg have OHV - which is nice. also, tecumseh is gone - although my 10 year old tecumseh 9hp pulls/runs like a mad dog. still strong and torqy

 

[Boomer]

I am on my 24th year of a Lawn Boy (Gilson) 8 hp snowblower with a Tecumsah engine. It gets used very hard as every year I do the entire cul de sac and three driveways each snowfall. Still runs like a champ. I used Pennzoil 5w30 conventional in it and just this year switched over to Rotella T 5W-40.

 

[The_Jeff]

My older briggs 7hp is a torque monster. When it bogs down and the governor opens to WOT it sounds like a harley going 20 in 5th gear. But it doesn't stall; spins the drive wheels at just the right time and keeps eating away. Can't say what engine series but is a "big block".

Presently waiting on a OHV chonda to replace a 8 hp tecumseh on my other (toro 24") blower, not sad to see it go. Bad carb, bad attitude. Hoping it will be quiet-ish as I occasionally have to blow myself out at 4 am to get to work.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

My Tecumseh S/K 8hp is a good engine though a bit noisey(knockey). Never gets a carb drain - but I do add a tiny bit of tcw3 and stabil before storage. Unless you are doing commercial snowblowing I cant imagine needing more than 8hp or 26" width on a blower. That seems the sweet spot (for me) for maneuverability. I have a 160 foot(x10') hill driveway.

 

[electrolover]

i believe the sleeved engines have a /C on them. like 8/C or something like that. but dont hold me to it

 

[boraticus]

I cannot attest to the longevity of the Kool Bore engine but I can attest to it's ease of use and power. I have a 305cc KB engine on my 28" Simplicity. Engine starts first pull every time when cold. It makes more than enough power to do what it's intended to do. I did find however, that when using 5W30 Mobil 1 synthetic oil, it consumed it at a fairly brisk rate. I estimate around 1 oz. per hour under very heavy use and somewhat less consumption under lighter loads.

I have not heard anything from others about oil consumption in KB engines, unless they either don't bother to check their oil or, they're not having the same problems. Could be just the way my engine works. I'm not happy with oil consumption, however, the way everything else works, I can easily live with it.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
Im looking for a new snow blower for a friend which are the better engines for a snow blower around 10 hp??


For a brand-new 2-stage machine you don't have much of a choice. It's going to be a Briggs & Stratton snow series or an LCT storm schwarts. Both good, but I'd be tempted to go with the B&S as first choice.

Joel

 

[kcfx4]

borticus, your post to me proves my point, Full Synthetic in a small engine is not needed/nor a good idea, simply put...a waste

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: kcfx4
borticus, your post to me proves my point, Full Synthetic in a small engine is not needed/nor a good idea, simply put...a waste


And I fully agree with that.

I don't use synthetic oil in anything I own.

 

[dakota99]

I have a honda hs520 that i've put around 50 hours on, and it still runs like new. Has a gc160 engine, aluminum bore. It's fairly quiet and has a lot of power for a single stage. So far it consumes no oil. I usually put around two hours each snowfall on it. Current fill is Castrol EDGE 5w30 but i may switch to pennzoil platinum 5w30. maybe 0w40 idk. Ok im getting off topic lol.

Whether you get an iron cylinder or not, i don't really think it matters whatsoever. Unless you do commercial work.

 

[kcfx4]

Originally Posted By: dakota99
I have a honda hs520 that i've put around 50 hours on, and it still runs like new. Has a gc160 engine, aluminum bore. It's fairly quiet and has a lot of power for a single stage. So far it consumes no oil. I usually put around two hours each snowfall on it. Current fill is Castrol EDGE 5w30 but i may switch to pennzoil platinum 5w30. maybe 0w40 idk. Ok im getting off topic lol.

Whether you get an iron cylinder or not, i don't really think it matters whatsoever. Unless you do commercial work.

Have fun spending like $8/qt for the same protection ill get for like $2

 

[Cujet]

I'm a Florida guy so I can't help with snow blower suggestions.

However the EPA label on the engine A, B, C or a rating in hours tells the truth about engine life. 1000, 500, 250 for big engines, 500, 250 and 125 hours for engines under (about) 275cc. Remember that these engines have no significant emission controls, so the EPA rating is largely dependent on engine health.

It's not likely that an engine will achieve an A rating or 1000 hours without a cast iron sleeve or Nikasil bore. There is more to it than that. The valve seats, valve material, camshaft material and other components all play a role.

Obviously, a cheap lawnmower engine has a 125 or C rating.

 

[dakota99]

Originally Posted By: kcfx4
Have fun spending like $8/qt for the same protection ill get for like $2


I understand what you're saying, i had already planned on switching back to sae30 rotella this coming summer for the lawnmowers.