Petrol chipper engine longevity- how many hours have you clocked up?

[marne]

10 hours ago, green heart said:

No worthwhile experience of more modern B+S chipper engines, but I do still sometimes grab to our little 1999 vintage 18hp Kohler engined Cramer 4'' chipper, for those awkward/narrow back garden type of jobs.

Reckon it must have 4000 hours now.. plugs, filters, silencer, one ignition unit and nothing else, in all that time .

Still runs like a good un !

 

If it's the Vanguard with the red metal cover for the fan/flywheel, then it was made in Japan by mitsubishi. Reliable engines with a breather on the crankcase that can fail but is no big deal then. Probably the reason for those 4k hours. 

The 27hp Kohlers from the past can go beyond 4k hrs in harsh environments as well. 

 

Probably the op should expect 2k hours from a new vanguard, the engineers nowadays can time the lifespan of their goods pretty exactly. So as 2k hours are common for small air cooled  pro grade V2s, they will aim for it, but not much more, as probably mitsubishi did. 

Edited Friday at 05:22 by marne

[Ty Korrigan]

9 hours ago, PeteB said:

The Vanguard engines need a plug in to see if there is a better tuning package released - and update, checking valve lash used to be done as a service item on many engines, especially performance units!

 

A better tuning package?

Sounds like manufacturers spin.

 

[markieg31]

20 hours ago, maybelateron said:

Makes me wonder if there will be a role for rebuliding/reconditioning the older chippers.

Using a 2005 machine at present, I have replaced a lot of parts, some obsolete and some are quite costly to replace when they break. 

[Ty Korrigan]

On 19/12/2024 at 22:59, PeteB said:

The Vanguard engines need a plug in to see if there is a better tuning package released - and update, checking valve lash used to be done as a service item on many engines, especially performance units!

 

 That epitome of reliability the Kubota V1505 requires valve adjustment at 800hrs whilst the Vanguard Efi at 250hrs

Why might that be?

 

[josharb87]

Kohler command V-twin 38hp on a bandit zt grinder i sold didn’t last long, think i sold it with 220 hrs, new engine needed at less than 300 

[PeteB]

Grinders are inherently prone to the oil levels being sloshed about and dry bits going bang! My lad does valve lash on 2000hp v8 every few runs - even been known to check it in a laybye halfway from Santa Pod to York! I used to do it every 8k miles on my RS2000!

[Ty Korrigan]

1 hour ago, PeteB said:

Grinders are inherently prone to the oil levels being sloshed about and dry bits going bang! My lad does valve lash on 2000hp v8 every few runs - even been known to check it in a laybye halfway from Santa Pod to York! I used to do it every 8k miles on my RS2000!

 

B+S Vanguard is hardly.a 'performance' level engine and if it is that vulnerable to differences in oil levels it shouldn't be installed on machinery where this could be an issue.

 

[paddyvero]

Fair enough, you have had a bad experience, but maintainance schedules on a petrol vs a diesel will always differ. You got a lemon.

There isnt another engine option available at this time, thanks to emmisions regs.