Cold Blooded Honda

[NibbanaFarm]

I stumbled on that manual when I was researching Honda GX engines, and I bookmarked it for future reference. It's the best one I've found. I have an older BCS 605 powered by a 12.5 hp B&S Vanguard. That engine has worked well for me and even sounds nice and smooth compared to the Honda GX, which has more of a high revving and higher pitched lawn mower sound. I started looking at 853's to trade off the 605, but the Honda engine choice made me reluctant. The GX engines get great reviews, but also have some weaknesses as you are experiencing in cold and snow. I considered an 853 with a Robin/Subaru engine from Joel at Earthtools, but I read about quality issues and part of the Subaru engine line was sold off. I'm not sure if Joel still offers them either. So back to Honda I guess.
I like the way your engine shield looks. I can picture it with 3 sides extending down like a full dome or hood over the engine for cold and snow.

That's interesting. I have a Subaru engine on a generator, 14hp I think, and it works excellent. Starts first pull. I do completely drain the fuel and oil the cylinder after each use. And I've only used it a few times. We'll see.

As I said, I didn't have that shield on because I wasn't using the blower. But now that I look at it, I believe it would retain a fair amount of heat and I will put it on when I get a chance. It can't really be extended on the back because it would cover the carb controls. The front side could be though and that would probably retain a lot of heat from the cylinder.

 

[NibbanaFarm]

I'd be interested in building an engine shield for my 853 as well. I've noticed after blowing snow for a while, it seems like my engine power starts to decrease...

I can't see a photo of the shield you made, could you post it up if possible?

What happened to me was the engine power started to decrease because the governor was getting iced up. The snow would blow back on the engine, melt, drip down on the governor and refreeze. Made it unusable. The cover is bolted to the frame with two bolts and is also bolted to the air cleaner cover.

 

[Code54]

You can get a diesel on the 853 if you don't care for the Honda motor. It is more expensive of course but you have some fuel savings......

 

[ottawarob]

You can get a diesel on the 853 if you don't care for the Honda motor. It is more expensive of course but you have some fuel savings......

Ha, my honda engine isn't going anywhere anytime soon, it has a lot of work to do before it pays for itself.

 

[Code54]

Understand that - I personally got the 13hp on my new 853 and I have one on my pressure washer. The one on the pressure washer works great and is very easy to start. Now granted I haven't started it below 20 degrees so far but at 20 and above it runs great!

 

[Ford850]

The more I read about the common issues with the GX engines, I think your issue might be a slightly dirty carb that is showing up in cold weather. I understand the snow froze up the governor, and your shield helped protect that. But when you first used this 739 in the cold a few years ago, did it run rough and did you have to use more choke?
Your symptoms are repeated many times on the web, and nearly all of them were resolved by removing and cleaning the Main Jet, Main Nozzle Air Bleed Tube, and the Pilot Jet. Some said even a thin film on those parts caused your symptoms, and they were much worse in cold temps. Another issue I came across was the use of higher octane fuel, which is more difficult to start and run in cold weather. Some users were finding 87 or lower resolved their cold weather problems.
The more I read about the GX engines now, I think the main issues can be resolved by cleaning. They can probably be avoided by turning off the fuel supply and running the engine until it empties the carb before storing for a month or more. I'll admit I had carb problems on my B&S engine a couple years ago, and I had to change my fuel process and started using the fuel shut off on it for the first time in 20 years. I now use non-E gas in all my small engines, but that only comes in 91 octane around here so it could cause cold starting issues on some engines.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I now use non-E gas in all my small engines, but that only comes in 91 octane around here so it could cause cold starting issues on some engines.

I use non-E, 92 octane in ALL of my small gas engines and I have yet to have a starting issue, BUT it sure stopped all the E problems I was having with E fuel!

SR

 

[NibbanaFarm]

The more I read about the common issues with the GX engines, I think your issue might be a slightly dirty carb that is showing up in cold weather. I understand the snow froze up the governor, and your shield helped protect that. But when you first used this 739 in the cold a few years ago, did it run rough and did you have to use more choke?
Your symptoms are repeated many times on the web, and nearly all of them were resolved by removing and cleaning the Main Jet, Main Nozzle Air Bleed Tube, and the Pilot Jet. Some said even a thin film on those parts caused your symptoms, and they were much worse in cold temps. Another issue I came across was the use of higher octane fuel, which is more difficult to start and run in cold weather. Some users were finding 87 or lower resolved their cold weather problems.
The more I read about the GX engines now, I think the main issues can be resolved by cleaning. They can probably be avoided by turning off the fuel supply and running the engine until it empties the carb before storing for a month or more. I'll admit I had carb problems on my B&S engine a couple years ago, and I had to change my fuel process and started using the fuel shut off on it for the first time in 20 years. I now use non-E gas in all my small engines, but that only comes in 91 octane around here so it could cause cold starting issues on some engines.

I always shut the fuel off but have never run the carb dry. I think that is generally a good practise. I just normally use it pretty frequently and don't want to bother waiting for it to run out of fuel. So it may be needing cleaned. I never used it in single digits before so I can't say about that. I probably had it 5 or 6 years now.

That's interesting that lower octane helps. Makes sense though. Contrary to popular belief, lower octane is higher power fuel.

"E problems". I heard about this but never got any specifics. What problems does ethanol cause?

 

[tomplum]

More than likely if you simply remove the carburetor bowl and clean up the main which is in the center stem your carb will work as it should. Easily 90 % of the time that's all that is needed on these. Carb spray, small mig wire etc. 5 minutes of your life wasted if not.

 

[Ford850]

Ethanol gas goes stale sooner, causes more varnishing, and draws moisture from the air especially in less-than-full tank that sits for long periods. I used to buy gas 15 gallons at a time, but after having problems a few years back I realized I was using much less gas (switched to diesel mowers) so it was probably 6 - 8 months old. I now buy gas in small amounts so it is used up in weeks instead of months. I always add Stabil but that can only keep it fresh for so long. I now add a 'glug' of sea foam when I fill my engines to try to keep the carbs from varnishing up as fast.