Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I have a 15 year old Ariens . ST 924. It came with a 8 hp Techumseh. I'm planning to retiring the engine .  Which is better  a Subaru Robin sx30  with 9.5 hp 4000 rpm max , a Honda GX 390. or a 305 Briggs?  The Subaru does not give me as much  HP as the Honda, but I get more rpm. If i put Clarences kit on my unit then is will be even better. The Briggs is the cheapest , but I do not really know its power output They only tell me 305 cc and 13.5 lbs of torque. My Techunseh is a 318 cc so I guess the 305 Briggs is close to 8 HP. I prefer 12 volt electric start. The biggest Briggs is there 342 16.5 I was considering that one too.

My two cents would be. Honda, no question.  You simply can't be their ease of starting in any conditions.  And the way they run.

"Does HP Matter?" no. No. NO. NO.
Ignore HP, it is nothing but a number made up by a salesman to compare steam engines to horses. Torque is what you want. Torque does the work. Snowblowers only perform under load and how much load the engine can handle is determined by torque, not by horsepower.
If you're trying to decide which engine will give your blower the most power, compare them by looking at the torque curves. The highest number between approx 3200 RPM and 3600 RPM wins. Your engine will run at close to 3600 RPM most of the time, but as soon as it hits some heavy/deep stuff and starts to bog down, that when you need torque. Don't be surprised if the engine that has the most torque in that band is not the engine with the highest HP rating. It can happen.
Too many manufacturers played the numbers game to get the highest HP rating possible, they got caught, now they can't do it anymore. Ft-lbs @ RPM is all that matters.

Bill_H 
+1

Without horsepower, torque will just sit around unmotivated and does nothing.  :)

You need both to do the work.  The Indians aren't going to do anything without a chief. 

Bill_H wrote:

I hear you about the hp numbers! Technically you are 100% correct but for a newbie its gets too complicated imo. Much easier to say yes you need HP!

You could just paraphrase Carrol Shelby and say " HP sells snowblowers, Torque throws snow."

stresst wrote:
As Steve pointed out (great post, BTW ), HP is (was) a sales gimmick. And newbies better learn fast because since they lost that court case the manufacturers aren't spouting horsepower numbers anymore. Now it seems like they are advertising displacement, as if more displacement means you'll get more power - you might, but it's not directly related.

IMO.... if money wasnt a consideration id go with the Honda 100%...if u wanna save some coin go with B/S the 305 is a good engine but id go with the 342 if possible...either way u cant go wrong..if it was me l would get the briggs 342

Just to pile it on...that's one reason why Diesels are popular to do serious work.  High torque compared to the HP figures.

I believe that the Briggs engines are an excellent choice.  The 305 with 14.5 torque  for blowers up to 27 inches.

and the 342 with 16.5 torque  for blowers over 27 inches.     I am referring to the engines built in the USA  and they are stamped  as built in the USA.

But it seems that the 305 and  342  engines (and other sizes) labelled "Polar Force engines By Briggs "  are  manufactured in China.

If anyone has other information on these Polar Force  engines., please reply.   Thankyou