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jubol


Location: Dover, De
Joined: Oct 3, 2003
Points: 1558

Re: Conversation with Simplicity
Original Message   Mar 6, 2005 9:07 am
Miss S S,

Thanks!

 No, but I will!

               Fred     

Checked that item. Head gaskets are the same and  have the same part number!!!

This message was modified Mar 6, 2005 by jubol


Husqvarna STE927(11.5HP) snowblower,  MTD Pro Series 18/42 Lawnmower, MTD 6.5 HP  Self Prop Lawn Mower,  Weedeater 1500 Blower, Web Gensis  2000 
Replies: 1 - 7 of 7View as Outline
MissSnowshoveler


If you don't have free speech, what do you have?

Location: NS
Joined: Feb 5, 2005
Points: 706

Re: Conversation with Simplicity
Reply #1   Mar 6, 2005 10:14 am
I know when short blocking an engine you get different head gaskets and that's how you are supposed to be able to use which ever one you want to get the engines hp.  We've short blocked several Tecumsehs this year and all came with 2 head gaskets.  The thinner head gasket being the higher hp and the thicker gasket being for the lower hp.

Sherri

If you don't have free speech, what do you have?
jubol


Location: Dover, De
Joined: Oct 3, 2003
Points: 1558

Re: Conversation with Simplicity
Reply #2   Mar 6, 2005 10:30 am
  Miss S S,

When I compared the engines, I used the spec numbers off of the Husqvarna 927STE  (9 HP) Tec engine  and  the Husqvarna 1130STE (11 HP) engine.

At the site I was checking, I found no differences in parts numbers.

So I assume Husqvarna is buying the same 11 HP engines and labeling their engines  HP down on the 927STE blower.                                     

                                                                Fred       

This message was modified Mar 6, 2005 by jubol


Husqvarna STE927(11.5HP) snowblower,  MTD Pro Series 18/42 Lawnmower, MTD 6.5 HP  Self Prop Lawn Mower,  Weedeater 1500 Blower, Web Gensis  2000 
Ben07


The more you know about something, the more you find there is to know.

Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Joined: Feb 26, 2004
Points: 178

Re: Conversation with Simplicity
Reply #3   Mar 6, 2005 10:58 am
Hi Miss S

Could you tell me the thickness of the two gaskets.  Don't have to be accurate , an estimate would do, You know like 3/32 on 1 and 1/8 on the other.  I just want to make sure that we are not dealing with the differences in headgaskets being the thickness of an adaptor-plate or something  (if you could do it in inches please, if not we can convert.)  (you made it snow down here in inches, not centimeters)  

Sorry to be negative,  and I will put this mildly but there is no way that you could ever expect to gain 37.5% more horsepower on a head gasket thickness.     (Not to mention that they would have to tell you that you would have to change from regular gasoline to high octane Aircraft fuel or something of that nature)  (I am not near my machine, however I think the gasket is only like 1/8 inch thick on the outside before crush, so how much thinner could you go?)  (maybe there is an adapter/spacer plate there, and I didn't notice.   However if I can get 40 % percent more power for a couple bucks and a ten minute job, then please send out the part number)  

 (Ben07

This message was modified Mar 6, 2005 by Ben07


Ariens 8524LE, Toro CCR2000, Jacobsen S-B S-blowers, Generac 10hp Gen-convt. to N.G., 5 L-boys(D's F's &Dura( 74,77,80,88,00), Antiq. 1960 AYP 20 in. mag w 3.5 Tech mower. Ryan/Ryobi gas Trim. AYP 205 gas blwr. Mac c-saw,Toro E-blwr, 2 Weed-E e. stg. trims. outboards, boats, util trail, 2 Jeeps 
Richie


Bring On The White Stuff

Location: Long Island, New York
Joined: Dec 12, 2003
Points: 562

Re: Conversation with Simplicity
Reply #4   Mar 6, 2005 11:53 am
Ben07 wrote:
there is no way that you could ever expect to gain 40% more horsepower on a head gasket thickness. 


Hi Ben,

Raising the compression on these engines will increase HP, however, as you mentioned above, you are absolutely correct.  It can no way increase it anywhere close to that much especially when we have to run our engines at 3,600 RPM's or less.  I also realize Ms. Snowshoveler was not implying that it would, merely some explanation as to what might be going on since Mr. Snowshoveler discovered there are two different gaskets for Tecumseh engines as shown on the Microfiche cards.   

I dug out some of the Dyno charts I had from my racing days and also spoke with a friend that was very heavy into racing with the Briggs engines.  What was interesting about the HP ratings the Dyno came up with, when you take into account all our engines are governed to run in the low to mid 3,500 RPM range, it amazed me just how much performance work must be done to these engines in order to raise the HP from say 5 HP to nearly 9 HP. 

You can gain at least a solid 1/2 HP at 3,600 RPMs merely by removing the highly restricting muffler and replacing it with a 12" by 3/4" diameter header pipe.  The down side to that is the engine becomes so incredibly loud, you would never want to use it in a populated area.  Performing a good Porting and polishing to the intake and exhaust may yield about 1/4 HP at the governed RPM, in addition to decking and milling the head to increase compression gains about 1/8 more HP.   Similar performance gains will result by changing the cam shaft and blueprinting the carburetor.   Honing the cylinder also gains you some HP, but it is not much gain at 3,600 RPMs. 

It's also important to understand that some of the modifications I mention above actually start moving the power curve of the engine, usually to a much higher RPM.  Although the HP increase may be very little at 3,600 RPMs, they actually produce much more HP at say, 5,500 RPM's. In other words, a modification like porting and polishing the intake may yield slight HP gains at the governed speed, will actually give you much more power at a very high RPM, which isn't what we are all looking for.   

With that in mind, it seriously makes a person wonder how these HP ratings are determined, regardless of that SAE J1940 standard every engine manufacturer must comply with. It makes no sense to me where all these different HP ratings are coming from and just confirms once again to me how messed up this industry really is.  The Dyno doesn't lie, that's for sure.

Back when these Dyno readings were taken was well before this HP race started in the OPE industry.  Back then, a 5 HP Briggs engine really did put out 5 HP at 3,600 RPM's.  That isn't the case now, especially with the emission carbs added into the mix.



Richie
Ben07


The more you know about something, the more you find there is to know.

Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Joined: Feb 26, 2004
Points: 178

Re: Conversation with Simplicity
Reply #5   Mar 6, 2005 12:06 pm
Which brings up a good point Richie,   When did all this hogwash start?   I would have to now assume recently, and probably in the same time frame that they also made the horsepower /torque graphs  impossable to find.  And now that I think of it , maybe around the same time the emission junk started to become mandatory.

Ben07

Ariens 8524LE, Toro CCR2000, Jacobsen S-B S-blowers, Generac 10hp Gen-convt. to N.G., 5 L-boys(D's F's &Dura( 74,77,80,88,00), Antiq. 1960 AYP 20 in. mag w 3.5 Tech mower. Ryan/Ryobi gas Trim. AYP 205 gas blwr. Mac c-saw,Toro E-blwr, 2 Weed-E e. stg. trims. outboards, boats, util trail, 2 Jeeps 
Richie


Bring On The White Stuff

Location: Long Island, New York
Joined: Dec 12, 2003
Points: 562

Re: Conversation with Simplicity
Reply #6   Mar 6, 2005 12:18 pm
Ben07 wrote:
Which brings up a good point Richie,   When did all this hogwash start?   I would have to now assume recently, and probably in the same time frame that they also made the horsepower /torque graphs  impossable to find.  And now that I think of it , maybe around the same time the emission junk started to become mandatory.


Ben,

You asked another really good question.  It wasn't until about 1998 when I started purchasing much more OPE due to my wife and I purchasing our home.  Prior to 1998, we purchased a 1991 Sears lawn tractor with a 38" mowing deck.  It came with a Briggs 12 HP engine, which I thought was extremely overpowered.  I even had the snow plow for it, which was very heavy, in addition to heavy wheel weights mounted on the rear tires.  It never missed a beat, even when using it for snow removal and was all the power you could want.  A neighbor wanted to purchase that tractor from me, so that's when I went back to Sears in 1998 to get a new one. 

I found that most similar lawn tractors were in the 14-19 HP range, which blew my mind and made me wonder what's going on with this HP thing.  In fact, at the time, the 19 HP engine was actually a twin cylinder job.  So, to answer your question, I myself noticed this crazy HP race back around 1998.  What started it is a mystery.  If I had to give you an answer, I'd have to say it's just some type of ridiculous marketing thing that has to do with the manufacturers competing with one another and trying every dirty trick in order to sway a consumer to buy their brand. 

BTW...for whatever it's worth, my snowblower with it's L-head engine runs smoother now with the new adjustable carburetor than my Briggs 17 HP OHV tractor engine does, which also has an adjustable carburetor on it.  I'm pretty sure those emission laws came into affect starting with the 1999 models.

This message was modified Mar 6, 2005 by Richie


Richie
Garandman


Location: South Boston, MA
Joined: Mar 10, 2005
Points: 341

Re: Conversation with Simplicity
Reply #7   Mar 11, 2005 5:47 am
In looling at specs for a replacement snowblower, I found some that seem to list the max rated HP at 3900 to 4000 rpm.  At 3600 they were substantially less.
Max torque seems to be much lower in the range, usually 2300 to 2600.
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