Have you ever had problems with these engines?

TillerofdaEarth · Feb 21, 2006

All we have ever had is briggs & stratton engines on Augers, sprayers, generators mowers etc..... Never had any problems with any of them that I can remember.

It always amazed me that those briggs engines on the "Augers" that set around for 10 to 11 months and all through the winter, would fire up after squirting a little gas in the spark plug hole and run like champs.

I currently have 5 briggs powered pieces of equipment and none have failed to perform.

Nothing against Kohler or Honda, I know they are fine engines, but I have had such success with Briggs that it has never been a priority for me to shop for something powered by a diffirent engine.

Also these Briggs are as quiet as anything with my little foamy ear plugs installed.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

fishman · Feb 21, 2006

Very well said, TreeGuy.

Since I also don't know when to shut up, I also want to point out that the Pearl Harbor attack killed 2,403 military men and women, whereas the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed up to 200,000 civilians immediately and at least that many more within a few years, at least half of which were women and children. Regardless of whether the decision to bomb saved the hundreds of thousands of lives supporters said it would, it was still a horrible thing . . . something we should all pray never happens again.

And this is way off the topic of this thread.

JohnSinVA · Feb 22, 2006

Hey 14 -

Isn't that Robin engine in your PT rated for 5000 hours of duty?

PAB_OH · Mar 2, 2006

CT, I admire your diplomacy. I just don't agree with it, respectfuly of course. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I did not judge, label, or call anyone a name. I made an observation regarding the merits of a comment. Would it have been better if I had stated it that way? Even though it means precisely the same thing?

Like I said in my reply to Carl's post, I don't want to start anything with anyone but I won't pretend like what was posted made sense to me because it didn't. Maybe I should have kept it to myself but I get tired of hearing people using that type of logic. I worry about my children's future the way it is. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

As for the OP, my FIL just bought a Simplicity with a Kohler engine so hopefully they are as great as everyone says they are. I have seen nothing but good things about them on here. That said, he just gave me his 7 year old MTD that has a Briggs 14 HP in it and he said the engine runs terrific although the chassis it is in is in terrible shape. I plan to use it for close-in mowing around the house as I have some pretty steep slopes and I don't want to run the Kubota w/ a RFM that close to the house.

By the way, not to hijack the thread but I heard Briggs owns Simplicity. Is that true? Sorry I didn't search the archives for this as I'm sure it was probably discussed if it is true. I'm just wondering if that will have any bearing on if Kohlers will be available in the future in the Simplicity line.

KJO · Mar 3, 2006

A good discussion going on here about engines and longevity. A question for some of you....I just finished overhauling my dad's Kohler KT17 after 25 years of service. If it were a Honda or Kawasaki....would it still be running? Would I be able to get parts to overhaul it? The old KT17 has iron cylinders....no lightweight aluminum here! The crankcase is aluminum however, unlike the K Series single cylinders (of which I have several). My overall point here is...where will these engines of today be in 30 years from now...in the scrap yard as throw away engines...or will they be overhauled and back in service for another 30 years? I may not be around in 30 years to care, but my kids...or their kids..will be and grass will still need to get mowed.
Personally, I have both Kohler and Briggs...I like the Kohler a little better. I have several Honda motorcycles and have worked on the engines...the prices on parts are crazy. Working on the engines takes a delicate touch...all aluminum!

SnowRidge · Mar 3, 2006

A question for some of you....I just finished overhauling my dad's Kohler KT17 after 25 years of service. If it were a Honda or Kawasaki....would it still be running? 

And if it is any make built today, will it still be running in 25 years? My guess is not. Today's air cooled engines run much leaner and hotter than those of yesteryear, due to regulatory requirements, which should pretty well insure a shorter life.

Like they say in the stock market, past performance is no guarantee of future results.

tenacrewoods · Mar 13, 2006

Hello! FOURTEEN
If you wanted the best chainsaw you shoulda bought a
Stihl or Jonsered or Husqvarna or Sashs-Dolmar. Not saying Echo is not a good saw but not in the same class as the top 4 . Stihl built it's first chainsaw in 1926, a two man saw with eletric motor and made a one man gas saw in 1929. Husky made a 2man saw aruond the 1930's and started production of a one man saw in 1959. the Jonsered & sashs-Dolmar were made between theses two dates. Look at www.arborist.lawnsite.com for the best info. on chaisaws.
All theses saw are top of the line and built between 1929-1959
Do a search on any of theses saws History or ask the Guy's at
Arborist and these are the saws they'll suggest. I hope your really happy with your Echo,I own one also and love it and I collect Chainsaws 13 so far, but too say Echo's the best saw out there is just plain Wrong!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

CT_Tree_Guy · Mar 13, 2006

Fourteen, I have a story you might like. I've always been a Stihl man, but I've loved some Huskys too. (My 242 got about 1000 trees on the ground, and was like a part of me).

I once asked one of our local chain saw experts (make that Expert, with a capital "E") to settle the Stihl/Husky debate for me once and for all. (Very honorable mention to Jonsered and Sachs-Dolmar of course). His reply: "If I had to walk a mile into the woods with a saw that I knew would start and run, it would be an Echo".

I've always loved Echo products; I have a PB-210 blower, and PB 751 blower, and a PPT-2400 power pole pruner. And I might just get an Echo 440 saw sometime, just to have one. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

What's the best saw? Maybe it's the one that you like best, and that runs. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

John

CarlGlas · Mar 16, 2006

( That has to be the most asinine* comparison I have ever heard. Period. 'nuff said.
And if you don't know why then....

* - marked by inexcusable failure to exercise intelligence or sound judgment

I'm not trying to start anything but that was just uncalled for. Maybe both of the comments were, but at least the first comment had merit. )

* * *

Not quite sure how I missed your response, but was my response really that foolish and stupid just because you have a different interpertation in the relationship between the two comments?

CarlGlas · Mar 16, 2006

( ( I wonder if the survivors of Hiroshimo and Nagasaki feel the same about products made in the USA?)

 They should feel that "You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with" Uncle Sam!!

Or, as Yamamoto said on 12/7/41: "I fear that we have awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve"!

That said, it is now 65 years later, we live in a world economy, and it may be foolish to not buy the best products available regardless of where they come from!

Every product that Honda builds is of superior quality, and many of them are actually built or assembled right here! Which is the 'foreign car', the Honda made in Ohio, or the Ford or Dodge made in Canada, or the Chevy made in Mexico or Brazil!!??!! (I currently own two cars, an Acura CL made in Ohio, and a Dodge Magnum made in Canada. Which is my 'foreign car'??) /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

I am happy that Power Tracs are built in VA, but that isn't why I bought one! It's the best machine for my jobs! I would rather have a Kohler engine in a Power Trac than a Robin (Subaru) engine, but if the Robin powered Power Trac will do the job, why not!?

I recently bought an Echo chainsaw because I had heard that they were excellent. Echo sounded Asian to me but I didn't care! I just wanted the best! To my amazement I subsequently learned that Echo was a pioneer in the invention of the modern chainsaw, that "Echo, Inc. was founded in Northbrook, Illinois in 1972", and currently has over 300,000 square feet of facility in Illinois!

In this country we have many freedoms, and an important one is the freedom to spend our money as we see fit! I don't care if someone buys foreign or domestic, but I do care when the PC Police try to tell me how to spend my hard earned money!! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif


)

My comment was intended as food for thought.

How long should a grudge be held against a country and or its people because of an unpopular decision their leaders made, years before their time?

Does the government owe reparations to the decendents of slaves? Back in those days slaves were considered chattel.

Do you like Mexican food? Remember the Alamo?