Stump Grinder Gas Power

[Liston]

:Eye: Which is the best for you grinder users Kohler or Briggs & stratton ?
on your grinders.

 

[Lumberjack]

New or used?

Prices?

Hp Ratings?

 

[intheelements]

I have a rayco RG20 with a 20 HP Kohler and a vemeer 222 with a Honda 620 20 Hp. The Kohler seem to run better and stronger, although I have had no problems with either

 

[treesurgeon]

Kohler's are better suited for this type of work. i had some grounding problems with mine. ran like crap for awhile. just a wire that was rubbing under the fan guard i guess.

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

i wouldn't touch a grinder that had a Briiggs on it

 

[Dadatwins]

i wouldn't touch a grinder that had a Briiggs on it

Why? I am thinking of ordering a Rayco 1631, only comes with a 31hp Briggs next step up from my 1625a with the Kohler engine. Kohler has a 31hp liquid cooled engine but Rayco will not mount it to 1631 grinder. I believe Kohler to be the superior motor to the Briggs but Rayco offers a 2 year warrantee on the Briggs engine ( same as the Kohler) so I will buy it and turn it over before the warantee is up. Hopefully next will get into the diesel RG50 and forget all this Briggs vs Kohler. Has anyone had bad experience with 31hp Briggs motor?

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

why? well i have spoken to a lot of machinery dealer's and most say Briggs engine's run very poorly and they are simply not built and desingned as well as the oposition,the best gas engines imo are honda ,kohler ,and kawasaki..machinery with Briggs engine's simply do no get sold overhere in europe............PS www.************ ran a poll and thread about engine's Briggs engine's were by far the lest popular

 

[abbeystump]

Kohler Motor 25 or 27 HP

I have a 1999 model Carlton 2500-4 with 25hp kohler motor.It burns oil and lacks power.650 hours use.Has any one replaced the 25 hp with a 27hp Kohler motor.Was there much differance......

 

[phillipm]

I will never recomend a briggs again.

We sold a Rayco that had a Briggs motor standard, it lasted 107.9 hours before it seized the crank to the white metal bearing on the rear main side.

We sent the engine to the local Briggs service workshop and had them do the repairs as this was obviously a warranty situation, We spoke with the person at Briggs that was the final word on all warranty claims and was horrified when he told me the Briggs 31 hp motor was not covered under warranty as it obviously had the drive belts to tight and this had directly caused the failure.

The surprises didn't stop there, it seems according to the Briggs expert these Briggs motors have a maximum of 200lb/90kg radial load.

Lets go to the belt experts, I thought that didn't sound like much so I had a report done by PT Australia and they came back to me with a report that shows using the recommended belts set at the belt manufactures spec the radial load would be 422kg.

The report shows all the mathematical equations on how it was worked out and are way above me but it clearly states the calculated static shaft load at the recommended tension factor is 422kg.

I took this info back to Briggs and was basically ignored, we then took the problem to the Kohler sales rep and was told they didn't have a shaft side load limit and they don't care what we hang off the end of the motor they will still cover it "NO QUESTIONS ASKED".

So I will never recommend a Briggs again.
Thankfully we now import the Bandit range of chippers and stump grinders and B & Stupids are not an option we offer....

 

[Bigstumps]

i wouldn't touch a grinder that had a Briiggs on it

Don't you have a 352 with the diesel??

 

[juststumps]

Don't you have a 352 with the diesel??

yeah he does,,, so do i....it's not a briggs engine,, it's a dahatsu....dahatsu bought briggs.... just like ford bought jaguar...and benz bought chrysler...

so your point is????

 

[Bigstumps]

My point is the 35 HP air cooled "Big Block" engine is made in the same factory!

That Diesel here in the US is marketed by Briggs.

 

[juststumps]

My point is the 35 HP air cooled "Big Block" engine is made in the same factory!

That Diesel here in the US is marketed by Briggs.

thanks for the info,,,, but the 34 HP diesel on a Vemeer SC352,,,, is a 3 cylinder ,,water cooled engine ,, made in Japan...

so your point is???

ps why would anyone by a gas powered grinder to begin with????

 

[phillipm]

I dont work for Vermeer.

Sorry but you seem to think I work for a Vermeer dealer, I did a few years ago but not any thing to do with this issue, the company I work for is an reseller for an American manufacturer (not Vermeer or Rayco) but this isn't about our machines being better than the other guys, its all about the fact that a engine manufacturer dumping its customer (the end user) and not having a engine that has the ability to cope with the side load on it's output shaft as per the belt manufactures requirements....

 

[stumpy66]

my vermeer 352 was sold to me with a diahatsu engine but the supplied manual for the engine is a briggs and stratton vanguard manual.....so i guess its a briggs engine....

that reminds me...time to change the oil.......anyone ever tried using oil additives....with like molyslip or a teflon additive..

 

[Bigstumps]

thanks for the info,,,, but the 34 HP diesel on a Vemeer SC352,,,, is a 3 cylinder ,,water cooled engine ,, made in Japan...

so your point is???

ps why would anyone by a gas powered grinder to begin with????

The 35HP Briggs is Built in Japan also.

My point is Rollacosta said he would never own a Briggs engine and he has one. The Diesel in the 352 is a product of the joint venture between Briggs and Daihatsu.

The gas engine appeals to me because it is 3 grand less and gas is cheaper than diesel. I figure I can run the gas for a few years , wear out the engine, put a new one on, and still have less invested.

 

[juststumps]

my vermeer 352 was sold to me with a diahatsu engine but the supplied manual for the engine is a briggs and stratton vanguard manual.....so i guess its a briggs engine....

that reminds me...time to change the oil.......anyone ever tried using oil additives....with like molyslip or a teflon additive..

wrong!!!!! this is from the daihatsu web site....

1986 Our Industrial Engine Division was founded, and the industrial engines derived from our automotive engines were launched in the market. Business tie-up was signed with Briggs & Stratton Co. (B&S) of the USA.

1994 We released the DM Series engines to the market, which are exclusively for the utility and/or industrial equipment.
Daihatsu and B&S formed a joint-venture sales company in the USA called Briggs & Stratton-Daihatsu (B&SD). B&SD started to provide Daihatsu's DM Series engines as one of Vanguard series engines in the USA.

2001 We started to provide the DM Series engines through B&S AG in Europe.
2003 New Kagami Plant for industrial engine manufacturing completed.


http://daihatsu-ie.ingway.jp/

 

[juststumps]

The 35HP Briggs is Built in Japan also.

My point is Rollacosta said he would never own a Briggs engine and he has one. The Diesel in the 352 is a product of the joint venture between Briggs and Daihatsu.

The gas engine appeals to me because it is 3 grand less and gas is cheaper than diesel. I figure I can run the gas for a few years , wear out the engine, put a new one on, and still have less invested.

we both own daihatsu engines,, made by daihatsu,, sold in the us and the uk under the briggs name....you can put a KMart label on the thing, it's still a daihatsu...so, we really don't own briggs engines..

gas might be cheaper, but you probable go through more of it....and my plan is not to have to change an engine every few years....to each his own!!

 

[Bigstumps]

I've really researched the engine and got most of my info from a good Briggs guy here, so he of course plays it as a joint venture not just a marketing agreement. He does claim they are very good engines.

My experience with the small Kohler I have now is dirt seems to kill them (of course that is what I've always been told) so I figure when dirt kills it, the gas engine will be cheaper to swap.

How many hours on your diesel?? Happy with it??? How about the liquid cooling?

The idea of liquid cooling appeals to me to help keep the engine temps down in the summer. I'm a little afraid of what the vibrations might do to a radiator over the long haul.

 

[stumpy66]

we both own daihatsu engines,, made by daihatsu,, sold in the us and the uk under the briggs name....you can put a KMart label on the thing, it's still a daihatsu...so, we really don't own briggs engines..

gas might be cheaper, but you probable go through more of it....and my plan is not to have to change an engine every few years....to each his own!!

i am happy with my engine whatever its called, as for radiator problems, some have vibration problems with the 352 inc cracking rad frames....i personally think that cutting without sharp teeth on the fast cutting speed shakes the machine too much... causing loosening and cracking....anyone used engine additives?