When i was twenty i moved to fayetteville NC. My wife and i bought a house with .6 acres of land and a small house on it. At this time i went to store and bought a 22 inch push mower with a small briggs on it. Once a week about i would mow the grass and always used this push mower. There were times that the grass in the back of house was fairly heavy and the mower struggled thru it. Regular stalls were common in places. The mower was probably over worked. Anyway, i changed the oil once a year, with whatever 5w or 10w 30 i could get cheapest. Probably mostly super tech. After about 4 years it started burning some oil, and within two more years, i was lightly fogging the neighborhood. So you could say 6 years of solid use is about what i got from it. Is this pretty common for this type of engine, or could i have done it a major favor by using 15w40 or something heavier. Remember it was usually in the 80s minimum when mowing down there. Mostly probably in the 90s. Just a fun post to see what you all think.
How long can a 150 dollar push mower last,
- Thread starter jstutz
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I'm hoping the Toro mower I bought earlier this year (with B&S engine) will last longer than 6 years, running Pennzoil HD30 in it, changed once a year.
That's pretty amazing that you could destroy a briggs besides clogging the carb and not wanting to clean it.
Are you sure you weren't just overfilling the oil? Being horizontal shaft splash lube, a little overfill will result in a large amount of oil burnt.
Are you sure you weren't just overfilling the oil? Being horizontal shaft splash lube, a little overfill will result in a large amount of oil burnt.
13 years on my Scott mower with a 6.5hp Briggs. Mow about 1.5 hours at a time and 2 times a week.
Change the oil once a year (at the end of the season) with any oil I have. Most of the time it seems to be a 5w-30 or 30HD mix.
The deck seems to have some issues coming up.
Bill
Change the oil once a year (at the end of the season) with any oil I have. Most of the time it seems to be a 5w-30 or 30HD mix.
The deck seems to have some issues coming up.
Bill
We have a 1970s model Craftsman with a Briggs. I'd say it's had the oil changed maybe 3 times. It's had it's fair share of foreign object hits, to include a few rock strikes that we thought for sure broke the rod or crank.
Still runs perfect, doesn't consume oil, or smoke, and starts within a few pulls every spring. It's stored outside uncovered under the deck!
Still runs perfect, doesn't consume oil, or smoke, and starts within a few pulls every spring. It's stored outside uncovered under the deck!
My push mower is 15 years old! It has a 3.5 hp b&s and I have ben trying to kill it for 10 years! I have overridden the governor when the throttle cable broke so it has ben 100% WOT at the carb since 1999!! It vibrates so much when not under load that your hands will go numb.I do change oil yearly with 5W30.
"100% WOT at the carb since 1999!!"
You should have that made into a bumper sticker for the back of the mower!
You should have that made into a bumper sticker for the back of the mower!
I have a walmart mower from the time that walmart first opened in this area. I would assume around 10 years ago.
It has the briggs motor, I change the oil once a year with whatever is left over.
Thing runs fine, I bring it inside during winter, and drain the gas.
It has the briggs motor, I change the oil once a year with whatever is left over.
Thing runs fine, I bring it inside during winter, and drain the gas.
dang, im suprised at how long these small engines are lasting.
"That's pretty amazing that you could destroy a briggs besides clogging the carb and not wanting to clean it.
Are you sure you weren't just overfilling the oil? Being horizontal shaft splash lube, a little overfill will result in a large amount of oil burnt.
I am sure that it was not overfilled. In fact the last year i used it i ran 20w50 in it and could not stand the smoke as i was mowing. The crazy thing is that it went from burning almost no oil to burning enough to require a few top offs a year, to not being able to stand the smell as i was mowing, within two years. We have had small engines on the farm i grew up on from the seventys that were still kicking as i grew up in the 90s. I just figured that i over worked the mower, as the push mowers on the farm were just used for trimming and would be considered light use. maybe i just got a bad one or something. Perhaps i should have changed the oil more often considering the long hrs of use during the hot summer, or been more choosy about the oil used.
"That's pretty amazing that you could destroy a briggs besides clogging the carb and not wanting to clean it.
Are you sure you weren't just overfilling the oil? Being horizontal shaft splash lube, a little overfill will result in a large amount of oil burnt.
I am sure that it was not overfilled. In fact the last year i used it i ran 20w50 in it and could not stand the smoke as i was mowing. The crazy thing is that it went from burning almost no oil to burning enough to require a few top offs a year, to not being able to stand the smell as i was mowing, within two years. We have had small engines on the farm i grew up on from the seventys that were still kicking as i grew up in the 90s. I just figured that i over worked the mower, as the push mowers on the farm were just used for trimming and would be considered light use. maybe i just got a bad one or something. Perhaps i should have changed the oil more often considering the long hrs of use during the hot summer, or been more choosy about the oil used.
I'd say you had a bad one. My current one is 98 and starts on the first pull with no oil consumption. I also have one of the first mowers I ever used from when I was 13, it's a Murray 3.5hp I think early 80's model. I used it before I got the 98 in 01 and it had no consumption. Dad bought it used at a auction but I know it didn't have regular oil changes.
In 1975, my wife and I bought a 3.5 h.p. Tecumseh powered Craftsman push mower as a wedding anniversary present for her cousin and husband. They had a good sized lawn front and back that would take at least an hour to cut. In 1990 they moved into a larger house with a much larger lawn and lots of steep grades. After a couple of years cutting it with the Craftsman, they decided it was time to get a self propelled two stroke Echo mower. They passed on the old Craftsman to us to take to our camp. As you can imagine, camp lots in this country don't grow regular grass. It's usually huge clumps of swale grass and a variety of persistent and thick weeds. Combine that with rocks and sticks over at least half an acre and you have a torture test for any lawn mower. Four years ago, I bought a riding mower for camp and now use the Craftsman for trimming the "real nasty" areas.
I can say this, the old 3.5 Craftsman still runs strong and starts in the spring with a couple dozen pumps on the primer. It gets the oil changed every few years and usually checked/topped of annually. It does not burn or lose oil.
So, from 1975 to 2005, (thirty years) that mower saw hard service and it still gets a few hard hours a month on it during camping season.
Not sure what the small engine manufacturers were doing right but it sure would have been nice to give up the secret to the North American vehicle manufacturers at the time.
I can say this, the old 3.5 Craftsman still runs strong and starts in the spring with a couple dozen pumps on the primer. It gets the oil changed every few years and usually checked/topped of annually. It does not burn or lose oil.
So, from 1975 to 2005, (thirty years) that mower saw hard service and it still gets a few hard hours a month on it during camping season.
Not sure what the small engine manufacturers were doing right but it sure would have been nice to give up the secret to the North American vehicle manufacturers at the time.
It can last the rest of your life if you get a few spare carb parts, sparkplugs, blades, and a decent amount of oil and grease.
you probly shoulda run 30W oil. I grew up mowing with a 3.5HP briggs cheapo and mowed two lots plus the field behind the house. plenty of stalls and overloads in the thick tall weeds. always ran 30W - usually pennzoil. after 10 years I disassembled the motor as part of a lawnmower repair class. mind you, the mower still ran fine - no smoke, oil consumption. anyway, I did install some valve stem inserts - but everything else was fine and all of the cross-hatch marks were still there in the bore.
I leave my briggs outside six months out of the year, under a tarp.
It will only smoke for the first 10 seconds of running it.
It uses only a few drops of oil per year.
It will only smoke for the first 10 seconds of running it.
It uses only a few drops of oil per year.
I have found that a cheap mower lasts just long enough to keep you thinking for years about what you will replace it with when it finally goes down. Ya put up with things that are irritating to you but not enough to go buy a new mower while this one still does the job. The old briggs flatheads are reliable and usually the valves get carbon built up around them where they no longer make a seal which causes a loss of compression. If you are up to it, pull out the piston and replace the rings. Costs aroud 12 bucks for a set. Dont replace anything else and see if your smoke problem goes away.
My 1973 Jacobsen 21" is still cutting the lawn and now even helps with pest control
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OK, granted it was $140 in 1973 dollars, which would be about $681 in today's dollars, so it's probably not fair to compare it with $150 mowers today.
OK, granted it was $140 in 1973 dollars, which would be about $681 in today's dollars, so it's probably not fair to compare it with $150 mowers today.
My Briggs powered mower lasted about the same, 7-8 years on a small but tough Florida lawn. I purchased a Kawasaki powered mower next. It's on it's 10th year and still runs perfectly. And, I now have a 2 acre lawn instead of a 0.1 acre lawn.
Same oil in both.
Advantage Kawasaki.
Chris
Same oil in both.
Advantage Kawasaki.
Chris
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I hope to get 20+ years out of my 2009 troybuilt highwheel with a honda 160 attatched
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