Are you in the U.S. or Canada? Is your engine the B&S 305 cc ? There's been quite a bit of discussion about that engine and B&S bizarre h.p. ratings for the same engine. I've read that all the 305cc engines are 11 h.p. and marketed as 8, 9, 9.5, 10, 10.5. 11 and 11.5 h.p. I have a Simplicity with a B&S labeled as 9.5. It's a much more potent engine than my previous Tecumseh 10 h.p. engines. I don't doubt that it's probably an 11 h.p. engine. The difference between h.p. and torque is that torque can be readily measured. Horse power is calculated. The following is the formula concerning torque vs. horse power.
Horsepower Equation P = T times N/5250
Where:
P = Power, hp
N = Rotational shaft speed, rpm
T = Torque, lb-ft
so: 14x3600, divided by 5250 = 9.6hp
T=14 for ft/lbs torque
N = 3600 (usual RPM OPE engines are rated at)
I'm in the U.S., Massachusetts. Thanks for the formula and translation! Found this B&S 14.50 torque version in the Northern Tool website along with some specs. According to their specs, the rpm is 3750 max. Using your formula, I get 10.357 hp. Close enough. My manual doesn't list the engine size. My snow thrower B&S model number is 21C214-0530-E1. (sorry about displacing the quote above - couldn't fix it) 
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200084174_200084174
This message was modified Jan 24, 2008 by Snowbound
