Splitter Engine Replacement thoughts

[svart ole]

HF 6.5 HP, get em on sale for $99. Have one on my wood splitter, going on 3 years. No problems at all. Have one on my troybilt for over 4 seasons now. Never any problems with any one of them. Have a generator with the 420 cc version. That has been good to. Well after I fixed it. Got it for free because it was "shot". Drained out the boat gas, changed the plug and put the carb back together right and been good ever since. Look at what you pay for other engines and then and figure out how many $99 motors you can buy for the same price. The HF "Chonda" engines are fine by me. For the money I keep an extra on the shelf for the next project. I keep looking at the old mini bike frame sitting in the iron pile.  Now if all I had was money to spend I would have to go with a Kubota EA or OC diesel just because I could.

[John Mc]

...I keep looking at the old mini bike frame sitting in the iron pile.  Now if all I had was money to spend I would have to go with a Kubota EA or OC diesel just because I could.

A diesel minibike... now there's something I've never seen.

[Al_Smith]

Little diesel,I've seen one .A 12 HP ,air cooled crank start German made ,on a small chain trencher .

It had a ratcheting affair that released the exhaust valve after three revolutions of the flywheel which allowed the inertial of the flywheel to over come full compression. Kind of a bone shaker engine but it did okay on the trencher .

[bradevans]

    Can't go wrong with a Honda, has been my experience. I don't have any experience with the Predators.

Agree! Honda is the way to go.. These are some of the best Honda models I've seen. Any of the Honda GX engines listed here would be a solid choice...

[jmur1]

I will say I have never had a Honda fill the crankcase with gasoline but many of the knockoff models do.  So they added a fuel shutoff to them.  I have preferred the Honda engines for years, but have tried the HF/Princess Auto knockoffs with success as well.  But make sure if they have it you shut the fuel.  Both will work - make sure you cover them or store inside, keep the oil and air filter clean; and they all will work for a long time.

[Al_Smith]

I have a 5hp briggs on mine.  It had an extra lobe on the cam to reduce compression for easy starting.  I ground it off and now it has twice as much power and is nearly impossible to start by hand.  I just picked up a 22hp v-twin with electric start and will be putting it on the splitter with a 22 or 28 gpm pump.

I filed the valve on a 5HP Briggs on a tiller  and got scolded by an "expert " factory trained no less ,big deal  .I was after more torque at lower RPM's and got what I was looking  for .Because of the way it was made I could not change the belt pulley sizes .A front tine tiller digging drive way gravel will try to tear your arms off and my arms at the time were 73 years old .Now of course after I did that I had to install a D-handle .It was about like rolling over a small diesel .

[47sawdust]

...I keep looking at the old mini bike frame sitting in the iron pile.  Now if all I had was money to spend I would have to go with a Kubota EA or OC diesel just because I could.

A diesel minibike... now there's something I've never seen

I think Svart Ole may roll a little different than ordinary folks.

[Al_Smith]

All this talk of high priced Honda engines and inexpensive Harbor Freight engines people avoid talking about used engines .For example Briggs made a zillion 5 and 8 HP horizonal shaft engines you can buy for a song .If you bother to change the oil and don't get the bright idea to bypass the governor ( which is not a good thing to do ) they will last for years on a splitter .
Think about it .I doubt the average home owner splitter gets much more than 20-30 hours of run time a year .I've only bought one new chainsaw in my life and never a small four cycle engine .I think I have five five HP and 3 or 4  8 Hp .Plus a couple of twins,14 to 19.5 HP .Plus a couple of Wisconsin baler engines .Then again I'm some what of a dumpster diver about things .  

[barbender]

Yeah Al, I'm thinking you're not really the average bear😁

Hey, your story of the hopped up front time tiller reminded me of one a buddy put a free 12 horse Briggs on. I thought it would be uncontrollable, he said, "I'll drop it off, you have to to try it. Make sure and toll some unbroken ground with it." So he dropped it off, and wow! That thing had so much power it never hiccuped, and the weight of that big engine kept it from bouncing around. It was the smoothest front tire I've ever used.

[Al_Smith]

There's a story behind that tiller .This model  originally had a 3 HP Briggs and they usually got repowered with a 5 HP Briggs because they are easy to find It's at least 40-50 years old and I have two of them .The idea of digging up driveway gravel was because of cleaning up a mess my renter left me who BTW passed away .It was a better option than a pick and shovel  .I got -er-done .Later with a skid loader after I broke it all loose .Terrible job !
Then comes my propane tank and over 160 feet of trench to bury the propane line through a bunch of  roots from 100 foot oak trees .I could not locate a trencher and it took me 4 days to do by removing the outside two sets of tines and using a chain saw to cut the roots .Got that done too .I think that's self imposed elder abuse .Some times I'm my own worst enemy .Life is not so easy when you're a tight wad . :D

[brianJ]

There's a story behind that tiller .This model  originally had a 3 HP Briggs and they usually got repowered with a 5 HP Briggs because they are easy to find It's at least 40-50 years old and I have two of them .The idea of digging up driveway gravel was because of cleaning up a mess my renter left me who BTW passed away .It was a better option than a pick and shovel  .I got -er-done .Later with a skid loader after I broke it all loose .Terrible job !
Then comes my propane tank and over 160 feet of trench to bury the propane line through a bunch of  roots from 100 foot oak trees .I could not locate a trencher and it took me 4 days to do by removing the outside two sets of tines and using a chain saw to cut the roots .Got that done too .I think that's self imposed elder abuse .Some times I'm my own worst enemy .Life is not so easy when you're a tight wad . :D

Poor people have poor people methods.   One can tell how long they been poor by how effective those methods are.

[Al_Smith]

I might further add with my little tweak on the valve that thing at half throttle will not stall just gets louder .However running slow it will over heat if I'm cutting sod or gravel .I might add another thing .If you get the bright idea to bypass the governor on a standard  duty Briggs it will blow the connecting rod right out the front of the engine .That can be repaired also but that's a subject  for another time .

[Al_Smith]

I can't really say I was raised poor just very frugally  .Some people can do mechanical work and some need to buy new or hire it done . I don't practice either if I can help it .

[barbender]

Al, my parents had an old push moelwer with a Briggs on it. I discovered the governor on it at about 15 and had a stick I would push it all the way open with in anticipation of thick grass (because I'd put off mowing the lawn for a week 🤦‍♂️). Well after a while it started to just stick open, I don't how many rpms it would spin but it was a lot. Unfortunately I couldn't get it to die in dramatic fashion, although it did eventually shake itself apart😁

[Al_Smith]

When I was about 14 I had a mini bike made from a bicycle frame and tires from a Maytag racer with a 2.5 HP Briggs from the reel type mower .I had bypassed the gov and it would run 24 MPH .To mow the lawn I had to put it back on the mower with the gov connected .Some how I didn't throw a rod .I suppose that old engine is hiding in the barn some place .I haven't seen it in 60 years .
As far as splitters  I've seen some home builds with 2.5-3 HP engines and small pumps .Some with belt driven power steering pumps .They weren't  very fast but the engines didn't tire out like somebody swinging an axe .I've also seen them use 30 HP Wisconsin  baler engines that will drink three- four gallons of gasoline per hour .

[blackfoot griz]

I replaced the factory 5 hp Honda with a 6.5 hp chonda/predator on my old troy built splitter. So far, so good. The only issue was I had to shorten the shaft on the predator.