Mower HP, then and now

[amr40509]

I'm I imagining this, or does it seem like outdoor power equipment from back-in-the-day did the same job as the current stuff, with a whole lot less rated horse power?

I know my current push mower has a 6.5hp Briggs on it, and I swear that it has less power than my OLD mower with 3.75 Tecumseh motor (both 21" mowers).

I know I cut super hilly, rough, land as a kid for hour and hours on end with our old 8hp rear engine Snappers. If you went slow they would do anything you asked of them, and would darn near climb a tree in 1st/2nd gear.

 

[Hokiefyd]

In general, mowers are larger than they used to be, heavier, blades are larger (21"/22" vs. older 18"/19" blades), have more features and power requirements (self-propulsion), etc. You also typically mulch/bag these days, and it was often side-discharge in the past.

Additionally, power may not be rated using the same method. A few years ago, the power ratings had to be revised to reflect actual in-use power capability, and not theoretical power on a test stand. The 6.5hp Briggs is probably really closer to 5 or 5.5hp. I don't know how an older Tecumseh engine would have been rated.

 

[cchase]

The numbers posted on the machines are bogus, if one comes out with a 6 hp the other magically becomes a 6.5 the next year.

 

[boraticus]

Smaller horses nowadays. So the engines need more of them.

Alas..... The cost of going green.

 

[Sayjac]

Don't think you're imagining anything. Had a 14hp Kohler Craftsman ride on for 13yrs, manual trans broke. Got a 19hp Kohler Ariens ride on 2years ago from HD, doesn't seem as powerful/have as much guts, as the old 14hp.

Then IIRC, I got word/notice of a class action lawsuit against some of the engine/mower makers regarding inflated hp figs. for engines, including my Kohler engine. I signed up online but haven't heard anything, not really expecting anything either.

https://lawnmowerclass.com/

In answer to your question, there seems to be some hp figure inflation that has gone on over the years.

 

[expat]

Easy to sell HP!

 

[mpvue]

my Dad used a Toro Power handle w/ a snow blower and a lawnmower, 3hp for DECADES, plenty powerful. the blower is only like 20" or so wide, single stage, but man, that thing would hurl snow 20 feet!

I still have it, it's not running, but I have lots of memories of watching my Dad plow through 3' snow with it. I hope to get it back running soon.

nowadays, it seems everyone needs dual stage, V-twin, 20+HP 3 foot wide, heated handle snowblowers w/ headlights!

 

[greenaccord02]

My old '54 briggs 2.5hp runs like a top, but you can tell it's a smaller engine. Compared to a 2004 4.5 hp, fitted to the same deck with the same blade it's a little anemic. Still, if you take your time, the job gets done.

The design of the flathead is so simple that there isn't much really that has changed over the years. The four differences between these engines are pulsa-jet carb ('04) vs. vacu-jet ('54), foam air filter ('04) vs. oil bath ('54), crankcase ventilation going to atmosphere ('54) vs. recycled back into the intake ('04), and a breaker point triggered magneto ('54) vs. electronically triggered ('04).

 

[IndyIan]

I think up here they can now display HP or torque at working rpms. The manufacturers now show torque ratings as they are higher I guess? I'm waiting for them to show the wattage. Your 6.5hp mower has 6.5hp at 2000 rpm higher than you can run the mower at.
My old 21" lawnboy can cut as fast as I can walk in most grass under 6" tall, but its not a bagger or self propelled(thankfully!) so it just cuts grass.
I have an ancient front tine tiller with 3.5 brigs and its still a torquey machine, but maybe having no muffler helps? It fell off a couple decades ago.

 

[dwendt44]

Newer engines are rated by torque, not HP.
Look at Briggs' web site, the same size engine can be had with several ratings.
Most engines these says are limited to ~3000 rpm, but are rated, even the torque rating, at 3600 rpm.

My 2¢

 

[steve20]

I know I cut super hilly, rough, land as a kid for hour and hours on end with our old 8hp rear engine Snappers. If you went slow they would do anything you asked of them, and would darn near climb a tree in 1st/2nd gear.


That is why got another one last year to replace the 1982 model which finally burned a valve last Fall. The Model-T of lawn equipment

 

[expat]

Originally Posted By: steve20
I know I cut super hilly, rough, land as a kid for hour and hours on end with our old 8hp rear engine Snappers. If you went slow they would do anything you asked of them, and would darn near climb a tree in 1st/2nd gear.


That is why got another one last year to replace the 1982 model which finally burned a valve last Fall. The Model-T of lawn equipment


Off Topic, but I have to ask: Do you use the clutch when you change forward speeds with your Snapper, or Shift on the Fly?

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: cchase
The numbers posted on the machines are bogus, if one comes out with a 6 hp the other magically becomes a 6.5 the next year.


Of course they risk being sued for misleading consumers as to real horsepower. This explains why many OPE engines aren't advertising a horsepower any more, just the displacement of the engine.

 

[amr40509]

Originally Posted By: expat
Originally Posted By: steve20
I know I cut super hilly, rough, land as a kid for hour and hours on end with our old 8hp rear engine Snappers. If you went slow they would do anything you asked of them, and would darn near climb a tree in 1st/2nd gear.


That is why got another one last year to replace the 1982 model which finally burned a valve last Fall. The Model-T of lawn equipment


Off Topic, but I have to ask: Do you use the clutch when you change forward speeds with your Snapper, or Shift on the Fly?


I haven't touched one if these in years, but we used to put a LOT if hours on them. I always shifted without using the clutch/brake. The "gears" aren't really gears, but a friction wheel on a pressure plate, so I see no benefit to clutching.

 

[gd9704]

Originally Posted By: steve20
I know I cut super hilly, rough, land as a kid for hour and hours on end with our old 8hp rear engine Snappers. If you went slow they would do anything you asked of them, and would darn near climb a tree in 1st/2nd gear.


That is why got another one last year to replace the 1982 model which finally burned a valve last Fall. The Model-T of lawn equipment



Yep, I spent a good portion of my childhood on a rear-engine Ariens rider with a 7hp tecumseh....it never seemed underpowered to me.

 

[spasm3]

More pushmowers come with mulch blades/ mulch decks. Takes more power to mulch than to side discharge with straight blades. few older mowers had mulch decks. ( a few did).

 

[Papa Bear]

The first power-mower I remember using as a kid was a LARK reel type with a 5/8 HP Iron Horse engine. It powered the wheels and reel with no problem.

 

[tig1]

My first Briggs back in the 60s was 2 HP. My presant 20 year old Honda only has 4 HP.

 

[1 FMF]

it was the FTC I think that came down on small engine makers in the recent past about misleading if not outright bogus claims to small engine horsepower. They also came down on air compressor makers for publishing false electric motor hp claims, such as my 4.5hp compressor I have that runs on 115v 15A circuit (do the math).
this is why you may have started seeing the engine "power" rated as a torque value in lb-ft instead of horsepower, I believe that was one of the rules/laws imposed on them. And I haven't followed the issue but wouldn't surprise me either if they are doing away with torque numbers now and just advertising displacement numbers.
The internal combustion engine is not a magical complicated device, especially a single cylinder one. If one was smart, they would compare single cylinder engines based on displacement, whether it's a side valve or overhead valve, and what the compression ratio is. those 3 things will tell you everything you need to know.
What also hurts the newer engines is the epa forcing carbs to have no mixture adjustments and the engines run on the lean side which in the real world results in less power when the engine comes under a load.