Briggs and Stratton

[littlerob]

To be quite honest Littlerob, failures of this nature are very unusual, to have had as many as you have is even more unusual.

 

I am sorry to say this, but Ithink we have to be looking at maintenance here, especially the oil management.

 

Many operators do not realise the significance of the the oil. The fact that there is oil in the engine does not necessarily mean the engine is well lubricated. The oil breaks down in time, and although it may be present, it may not be lubricating or cooling the engine as it should.

 

Engines should have their oil changed after the first 5 hours from new. This is often overlooked and does not present too much problem in light domestic use, but its a different story in commercial use. The wear rate in a new engine is greatest in the first 5 hrs and changing the oil not only puts fresh oil in but removes all the running in particles with the old oil.

 

The engine oil should then be changed every 25 hours, which in your case means once a fortnight.

 

I know this sounds extreme, and there will be those who say it is not necessary, but if you want your engines to last it is very necessary. Oil is, after all, cheaper than engines.

 

The snapped conrod would have been as a result of a seize, or semi seize on the big end. Lubrication problem.

 

Low compression as a result of bore wear, Lubrication problem. The same with melted piston.

 

they do get the 1st oil changed at as the recommended in the manuals then a second about 30 hours then 6months like i said i do work them very hard its just seems they they dont last long with me and as a result i don't get warrenty on my mowers from my local dealer its not like i do stupid stuff and abuse them by trying to cut 2ft high lawns its just think is the sear amount of lawns and hours done with them of did for got about the rotovator i have that had a b&s engine put started to miss run off and run up and down on revs so got angry with that one as a resault it died buy a lump hammer and replaced with a honda engine gx160 about 15years old and runs sweet i am in no way of slating the b&s engines its just i have not had the best of luck with them apart from the one that's on the alko which i have said is sweet as a nut and dont use any oil and thats why i decided to try keep my mowers under £450 as the snapper and harry and hayter where quite expensive for the time they lasted

[GardenKit]

Fair enough Littlerob, you seem to be doing it right. Maybe oil changes once a month may help.

 

As to warranty, all B&S engines with aluminium bores only have a 6 month warranty for commercial use. Some of the smaller engines also have cast iron bores and these last much better and so have a 12month commercial usage warranty.

[GardenKit]

Oh, and I asked our Briggs rep about the Kohler thing mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

He was not aware of any connection between Kohler and Briggs.

[littlerob]

Fair enough Littlerob, you seem to be doing it right. Maybe oil changes once a month may help.

 

As to warranty, all B&S engines with aluminium bores only have a 6 month warranty for commercial use. Some of the smaller engines also have cast iron bores and these last much better and so have a 12month commercial usage warranty.

 

i will take your advice as you defiantly know better then me as it sound advice and give the alko oil change every month do you have any advice on mowers as i im looking to getting a new one and keeping the alko for a backup on the truck

[GardenKit]

If you want to stay sub £450 then you will have to stay with steel deck, and the Alko is going to be as good as you can get for your money. I have sold loads of them over the last 12years and many of the first are still going strong. But to be honest, a commercial operation such as yours, will see them fall apart in 2-3 years.

 

The Stiga Turbo Power 50SB or 53SB is not much more money, but benefits from a tough aluminium deck, still Briggs engines though.

 

Really, for commercial operation I would go John Deere or Kaaz, with Kawasaki engines. (honda GX on the Kaaz 21")

[littlerob]

i would up my budget for a mower that would last

[monkeymoreton]

The company I work for and look after there mowers the brigs engines seem to never give up and they are used every day and only serviced once a year

 

Sent from my SM-T210 using Tapatalk

[difflock]

Bear in mind Gentlemen, that all firms producing any kind consumer product, will probably "rest on their Laurels" if they have happen to produce a "blinder" of a product.

Which in part is often due to as much to serendipity as overall design.

On the other hand the survival instinct kicks in if they have inadvertently produced a few "dogs", or acquired a bad reputation.

The best example would be cars.

So in the short-term "pigeon-holing" a reputation, as good or bad, makes perfect sense, but in the short term only.

Any previously reputable brand can be worth re-considering a few years on.

Take the Blinkers off chaps.

And keep an open mind.

m

Edited March 8, 2014 by difflock

[GardenKit]

Well said difflock.

 

And its also worth noting that each manufacturer make many different models, of different qualities and sizes, to be sold at different prices for different machines.

 

Some of the smaller cheaper models are not as good as their more expensive ones, but often a persons experience with one model will then tar the whole range with the same brush.