Vintage Briggs 5hp : circa ____________ ?

[3930dave]

The answers may be in the video, but it is beyond my language skills.

1) What would be the approximate production year/era for this engine ?

2) Was that typically a factory option for the quieter muffler ?

3) Any data or guesstimates on how much quieter it was ?

Briggs & Stratton 5 HP, standard vs super quiet muffler - YouTube

Rgds, D.

 

[Renze]

I speak German with our suppliers pretty often, but what this guy speaks sounds like an Austrian or Swiss tongue, so i cant make much of it either

 

[crazyal]

I do believe that's called an "L head" engine. I'm sure there is a series number that would be more exact. I assume you have one that you would like to reduce the noise. From what I remember the mufflers were either held on with two bolts in a diagonal pattern and one that was pipe threads. Take a look at these options and contact them to see if one will work.

Jacks Small Engines-Quiet Mufflers for Small Engines.

 

[3930dave]

Thanks for the replies guys. As with many of these things, I was researching something else on Ytube, and stumbled onto this one.

I don't have one of these oldies (yet, and if I'm smart, not for a while.... got to many other projectst to clear first), but it caught my eye. My Briggs are newer, and I haven't seen one of this vintage in a lonnnggg time - takes me back to when I used help out summers at a friends older-brother's farm.

I'm always interested in comparing vintages of design - I find it notable that back then you had what looked like 2 factory options for mufflers - I'm no small motor expert by any stretch, but I'd say that flexibility is really rare today, at least around this size of motor.

I've always like the Supertrapp design, so that is an attractive aftermarket solution today. I've got a late model Briggs engine on a genny that I may well go the welded-on-standard flange + car muffler route - partly for cost/scrounging reasons, and partly as that may better suit a yet to be built gen shed.

I like some new technologies, but I find I usually learn at least a much looking at older machines

Rgds, D. (And.... I'm still trying to figure out the camera he used - nice resolution, but major lens motor noise at the same time.... )

 

[crazyal]

I think real old versions of that engine had a different style carb but the ones I remember have one called a Pulsa Jet carb. It would pump gas up from the fuel tank into a smaller tank inside the main fuel tank. As the small tank filled up it would spill over into the big tank. With just a large tank the fuel mixture would change as the fuel tank emptied. What would happen is the engine would run rich with a full tank of gas and then as it ran it would run better (if it didn't foul a plug). By going to the pulsi jet design the mixture never changed and engine ran the same throughout the entire tank.

 

[3930dave]

I remember a lot of the old Briggs as being hard to start. Some of that may have been due to the plug fouling you describe Al. They weren't mine, so I didn't tear into 'em - we needed them running to get stuff done. Interesting about the old tank design.

To be fair to Briggs, back then spark plugs in cars didn't last that long either.

Rgds, D.