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Horsepower Ratings?

H

Hec In Omaha

Member
I have a 2004 Huskee 17.5 HP with a 42" deck and a new to me JD 210 with a 39" deck. I was concerned that the 210 with a 10HP Kohler may be under powered. I finally got to mow with the 210 on Saturday. The grass had gotten over 8" long due to all the rain we have gotten and that thing didn't even slow down and did a beautiful job. The Huskee on the other hand would bog down. Both have new gator blades and mulching pluggs. Both have new deck belts so slippage wasn't and issue. So why would the JD do so much better than the MTD product? Is it that much better a machine?

Hec
 
Torque, that 10 pulls good at slow and mid range(hard pull) the 17.5 likes to make its power on the top end(good for mowing every 5 days).
The long stroke of the single piston make lots of torque.
 
Yes. That ten horsepower Kohler is probably worth at least twenty horsepower in new mower terms. Does the 210 have the 38 inch two-blade mulching deck? The original decks were a 39 inch or a 47 inch three-blade deck and neither of those would do well with a mulching plug installed. The old 39 inch deck is about the same size as the newer 38 inch deck. It's a John Deere oddity.
 
You are comparing a "Throw away mower" the Huskee to a mower that if taken care will last a lifetime.
The John Deere of that vintage is reaching aboot 40 years old. The other mower, we in the business call a glorified Murray, in 40 years will be only a memory.
 
I sort of agree with you but every once in a while even and old Murry will last for years and years. I still have a Murry and the tag on it say made in 1967. I bet if I put a battery on it and filled the gas tank it would fire up and run just fine and drive. Ya the mower deck is gone but the rest is still good but then it was made when things where made a tad bit better.
 
That B/S 17.5 gets its HP from RPM and that Koler gets it form torque being a long stroke lower RPM engine. If you where to dyno both I bet you would find that the Koler will flat out do more work
 
Steve in MO

It has a 39" 3 blade deck. I installed 3 of the 14" gator blades on it. Man she mows nice and even. Couldn't be happier.

Hec
 
When I was sorta running a lawn mower repair shop in the past, I also seen old mowers that was taken care of look almost new and on the other hand seen them that were not very old look like they were ready fur the yunk pile.
It has a lot to do with they were taken care of.
Seems like the ones that can least afford to abuse machinery are the ones that do. Maybe that is a reason they aren't very high on the financial ladder.
 
Is the MTD a hydro drive?

If so, that would explain a good chunk of the power difference.
 
You guys are comparing technologies here too. The K-series 241 in the 210 did not have to meet the emissions specifications laid down by our wonderful federal government.

That is why the Huskee with the 17.5 Briggs is sort of anemic when overloaded. It had to meet federal emissions or it could not be sold. It was designed to make its rated hp. at Wide Open Throttle and not deviate much, to keep it emissions compliant.
 
That's good to hear. I know that ten horsepower engine will run the 47 inch deck in any reasonable level of grass. I have one. I bought a 212 as well since I thought I'd like the extra two horsepower. Found out it doesn't matter.
 
I had one for a couple years but never got the right belts on it to make the variable speed drive work properly. If yours is the old 990 hydrostatic drive tractor, they are collectible now.
 
The old flat heads just have the guts. I have a 30 year old Kohler 16 horse on a ZTR mower. It will run circles around the newer Cub with a 22 horse Kohler running only one hydrostat. When I replaced the engine on my Snapper rear engine rider I hunted around and bought a NOS Briggs 11.5 horse flathead. That thing is a tank.
 
This old machine has a true 4 speed gear box so not that one but do have 2 with the variable drive but those to me are junk
 
I am a hydro fan, but it's amazing to mow with a DEERE 12 HP 112 (non-hydro) and an (early) 12 HP (hydro) 140. The hydro DEFINITELY saps power.

But put a modern 18 or 20 HP engine in a (hydro) 140, and it becomes an awesome mowing machine.
 
When I start my JD 275 - then release the brake which engages the hydro pump you can hear it puts the engine under load.

This has nothing to do with it but I think it's interesting. A top fuel drag racer blower saps more power than a regular unblown hemi could put out, @ around 400 h.p. Of course the blower adds much more than it takes.
 
Interesting!
The Kohler K241 10hp has a displacement of 23.9 cu in and a stroke of 2.88 in. A Briggs 10 HP Vanguard has a displacement of 18.6 cu. in. and a stroke of 2.44 in. A Briggs 10hp Cast iron IC has the a displacement equal to the K241 but has a stroke of 3.25 in!

Seems like the flatheads would have more power.

Am I right?
 
I haven't really kept up with small engine developments in the last ten or fifteen years. But, after reading all these comments, I must admit, I hadn't given much thought to the emissions thing. I guess that's why all today's mowers have such large HP engines compared to the older ones. Presently, I have a Craftsman 21hp with 46" cut, years ago I had a Sears Suburban with 48" cut but was rated at only 12HP and it would cut about anything. I understand that they have changed the way that they rate HP also.
 
The flathead design was good for simplicity and longevity but limited by fuel and airflow problems. There was a whole body of knowledge developed on flathead performance back in the day when Fords had flathead V8 engines. David Kirk built a flathead Kohler using some of those old tricks. You can find him using a google search.
 
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