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OT what is your favorite small engine?

P

Pajamafied John

Member
Got to thinking bout this while in the garage today. What is the favored small engine make? I have Techumseh (tiller and snowblower), Kohler (mower and gravely convertible) Honda (generator, log splitter, pressure washer) and Kawasaki (skag ZTR). I think my favorite is the Kohlers (1975 & 89) because the ones I have are the oldest and keep running like new, the Hondas are also nice.
 
Mingo. From the Daniel Boone show. Ed Ames did a great job. Sang good too! Although I wouldn't call him small. He stood taller then Fess Parker.

Kowasaki.
 
Ya-ta-hey.............for me, it's Cummins 5.9 hands down; had mighy good luck with Mopar's 273s and GM's 283s way back when.
 

anything but B&S, although is it true that they have some goo ones now? What models if any?
 
Tecumseh, Clinton (yes, I do know that they have been out of business for decades).

B & S trails my list but they have improved in recent years.

Dean
 
back when we made 'em, briggs or wisconsin, today honda, they simply run, the others are china junk which is why i got several less than 6 years old on the scrap heap, 2 honda, similar vintage are still on the machine working
 
The best small engine ever made was the original Wisconsin.

For today Robin still makes a good motor and Vanguard is the only B/S worth owning. Kind of odd both are made in Japan.
Honda makes a good motor but their costumer service after the sale is junk.

I have a air cooled Kawasaki in my mower and while I have only had it 2 years it seems pretty good.
 
For a 5hp I loved the 80-90s flat head Briggs, they were simple and lasted a good while, now there all junk,
 
I have a B&S motor. For some reason Dad kept it, when we moved from the home place. The motor was used to pump water from our well to the water tank. The motor was used from around the late 40's to 1960 when we moved down the road. The motor has a wind up rope around the crank pulley to start. Stan
 
I have a Temcumseh that is about 30 years old and it runs GREAT!

I also have a 25 hp Kohler, ...love it, and also several B&G that run good.
 
I have a 16 HP electric start Tecumseh thats around 25 years old that set'n on the fender of my A.O.Smith welder. I was a dealer years ago and sold it to a guy that mounted it on a saw, the next day he brought it back and said he only cranked it once and let it run for a few minutes. When he was ready to use it it was locked up. I gave him another and a few days later pulled the flywheel shroud off and he or his helper had dropped a 3/8 lock washer and it stuck to the flywheel magnet and locked it up. thought I'd keep it for myself but I've never had a need for it.
 
If you want it to start after setting every time and run great then I would say Honda first. Then Kawasaki.

If you want it to start hard then Tecumseh.

If you want it to burn oil and be a PITA then Briggs & Stration will fit the bill.

If you want it to be so noisy that you can stand to be around it then Kohler is the tops.

The USA makers of small engines did not change their designs for fifty years and let the Japanese companies pass them right on by. The US makers have played catch up and have fairly good motors today but they still are not in the same class as the top line Honda or Kawasaki.
 
Probably my fave is a 6 1/3 horse Kohler on a MotoMower SnowShark snowblower. Tank leaked but all I ever had to do was put fuel in and pull the cord. Usually no more than two times and it was running. I sorta owned it on shares with a elderly neighbor (now deceased) he would usually shovel the walk before I got up and I kept telling him we have a blower no sense in wrecking his back, his response was it was too much trouble to get it started, if he only knew LOL.

I think I have dealt with a couple techumseh's one was worn out on a rider and the other is on a Toro walk behind. That Toro is amazing, same deal as the SnowShark.

Several Briggs and for the money I like them best. Biggest complaint is on sprayer transfer pumps. The steel tank will start to rust after a couple years and at that point the engine is pretty much junk. I have kept the two that this has happened to always with the notion of getting new tanks fixing them and selling. Just got one with a plastic tank and we will see how that works out in a couple years.

Never had a Honda so can't say other than they are spendy.

JM2CW

jt
 
I'm a big fan of Honda. Worked for 'em for a few years in fact. Can't beat 'em.

But....One of your points I find fault with. I've got a 22hp Kohler that is EXTREMELY quiet compared to all the Honda, Kawasaki's, B&S, ect, I have currently. Starts easy, runs well, great power, just uses a LOT of gas.

Got a couple "Nondas" (cheap Honda knock-offs) One is an easy starter, runs good, uses little fuel. Other is an absolute piece of garbage.
 
The Kawi on my scag is the biggest lump I own. I've never had so much trouble with a small engine.
 
Everybody complained about the Red Ryder with the 10 HP Tecumseh but oddly enough they were pretty reliable. The reverse drive was known to give problems though.
 
Oh, man! I had forgotten about the old lawn mowers with the wrap-around pull ropes. We had a couple of old Yazoos that really did the job.
 
Kawasaki 12.5hp. Have 5 with over 8000 hours and never been apart. That's a good motor. Have many other kinds that struggle to get to 2500.
 
K series one cylinder Kohlers followed by the Hondas. Currently running a B&S Intek on my snow blower all I do is change oil and add gas I've been impressed but don't have enough experience to make a proclamation on them yet.
 
For quality, you can't beat a Wisconsin.Timkin
roller bearings, rebuildable Zenith carb.Magnetos
may give problems when old, but you can get
virtually every replacable part, Stellite valves
with replacable seats, most parts available at NAPA, yes they weigh a hundred pounds more than
other brands, and cost hundreds more, but there's
no substitute for quality!
Made since 1930, Stutz Bearcat had Wisconsin
engines!
 
Really old, Wisconsin. They're built like a tank and if given reasonable maintenance, they just don't wear out. Nothing built today produces the torque Wisconsins do. Onan twins were very good too. Too bad they priced themselves out of the market. My current mower has a Kohler Courage v twin that I'm not overly impressed with.
 
I gotta go with the Wisconsin.

I have a couple of old Bolens Tractors with Wisconsins, and they are danged near bullet proof.

I'd put the 40 year old TRA-12D in my 1256 up against any modern engine with 2x it's hp, and I'll guarantee you that this old cast iron beast will still be running long after these new engines are worn out.
 

I like the 5 hp B&S motors that were on our 2" pacer water pumps, and the 16hp I/C series on our grain augers. Good starters. I like the hondas we have, but they are lousy starters in cold weather, hard on recoil ropes, and needle and seats get leaky. They do last well and are good on fuel.
 
I have a 1962 Gravely LI with a Gravely made engine that always starts on the first or second pull so I would say it is one of my favorite. Also, it takes the same oil filter as my Jeep, (Napa Gold 1068).
 
Growing up, it seemed like B&S was super common. In the 90s I bought an in-barn silage feeder with a 5.5 hp Honda. Kept in a cold feedroom in winter....if it didn"t start on the first/second pull it was either out of gas or the oil monitor said it was low on oil. Same rep from others. Briggs dealer told me B&S had so many model/parts changes, just miserable to get parts.
 
(quoted from post at 11:45:29 04/15/12)
If you want it to burn oil and be a PITA then Briggs & Stration will fit the bill.
Click to expand...

Oh man, our Craftsman we got about 5 years ago with the B&S engine on it... It burns oil like it is going out of style. And it also seems like it has less power at 6.0 HP than our 15-20 year old Craftsman did with just 5.0 HP...

Thanks to that failure, I got a Husqvarna mower with a Honda motor on it. Starts nice, runs nice... Hope to get a few more years under my belt with it before I pass full judgement on her, but she has plenty of power.
 
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