Gardening for Old Folks (Adaptative)

[cavemanrich]

I started the mower up without the carb on. as long as I fed it fuel by hand it ran just great.

That reminds me of what I used to do also. I would take a small rag,,, drop/pour some gas into rag,,, and place by intake port. I could have that engine running for about one minute,, and vary the RPM,, by how far, or close the rag was. Pleasant old time memories.

 

[jvls1942]

That reminds me of what I used to do also. I would take a small rag,,, drop/pour some gas into rag,,, and place by intake port. I could have that engine running for about one minute,, and vary the RPM,, by how far, or close the rag was. Pleasant old time memories.

that sounds like fun.
I just held the fuel line close to the intake manifold .
probably not the safest thing to do if it would backfire, eh ?

 

[cavemanrich]

probably not the safest thing to do if it would backfire, eh ?

You need to order this T-shirt for yourself.

 

[jvls1942]

I spent part of this morning recording engine numbers and some specs in my lawn mower manual. so in the future I won't have to look them up on the web
one spec I question is 140 torque on the head bolts on the small rototiller engine. ?
waiting for a big storm to get here. It is supposed to have everything in it. hail, tornadoes, wind and rain.
supposed to hit us in about three hours. It is creeping across the Minn/Wisc border right now.

 

[cavemanrich]

I question is 140 torque on the head bolts on the small rototiller engine. ?

That does sound a bit too high,,, unless its in inch-pounds

 

[jvls1942]

That does sound a bit too high,,, unless its in inch-pounds

if it were inch pounds, it would convert to less than twelve foot pounds, that is way too low.
I am going nuts trying to find valve gap specs for both engines.

 

[cavemanrich]

if it were inch pounds, it would convert to less than twelve foot pounds, that is way too low.
I am going nuts trying to find valve gap specs for both engines.

I researched a little, and this is what I found.
The 140 is in inch-pounds. I know it seems too little, but most peeps overtighten bolts by default. Those head bolts are usually about 5/16 inch size approximate. Metric equivalent on newer motors still approximately same size.
Here is a link to the page. It has tighter torque for larger engines.
https://www.small-engines.com/torque

Now to the valve settings. I found that .005 to .007 seems to be very common. The exhaust valve is always slightly more than the intake.

Here is a link to the page.
https://www.briggsandstratton.com/e...se/valve-repair-maintenance.html#AdjustTappet

These are specs for Briggs and Stratton engines. Other manufacturer engines should be in similar range.

If not sure,, then start with .006 and .008 and see how motor runs. If sounds too loud, then readjust. It is better to have valves slightly looser than too tight.
These are solid lifters on these small engines, (my understanding) and those that I worked on.
I would thing hydraulic lifters would be on much larger horsepower engines.

 

[jvls1942]

Rich, thanks for your research. I did not notice the inch pound note. the bolts on the 15.5 hp are 3/8" .
I tightened them to 20 ft lb.
I am not going to take the head off of the rototiller.
I calculate that the more gap, the less open the valve will be, right?
I will set the tiller .006 intake
and .008 exhaust.

 

[wyoDreamer]

We.woke up to a large branch (5" diameter) down in the front yard. Funny thing us, the leaves were brown and crispy. I can't believe that we didn't notice a large dead branch hanging in the huge maple in the front yard!

DH took that as a sign and trimmed a bunch of branches off all the trees. I spent most of the day picking up branches so I can mow tomorrow.

and ... the belt broke on the mower deck on the LS tractor. So we will have to get a new belt before we can mow the jungle in the orchard. Luckily the grass in the front yard is thin enough that the zero turn will be able to handle it even as overgrown as it is.

1.3 inches of rain last night.

 

[bruceha2000]

Hopefully there won't be a "supply chain" problem with that belt.