lawnmower rpm

pete black · Aug 1, 2012

At what throttle do you run your mower, at full throttle as
manfacture suggest or at throttle to meet the need. I"m
aware of proper rpm for lubrication and cooling, but really,
does it need near throttle?

Bob Bancroft · Aug 1, 2012

We run our zero turn lawn mower wide open. Wife runs her 5HP B&S powered rear tine tiller wide open, to get the speed over the ground she wants. Otherwise it could be run slower without issue. My liquid fert. pump has the identical engine as the tiller. I run that just above idle, and get all the flow I want.

Vernon in Ks · Aug 1, 2012

Almost all small engines are designed to run at 3600 rpm for proper oiling and cooling. You do what you want.

David G · Aug 1, 2012

Wide open, the motor will cool better and the blades turn faster.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 1, 2012

At some point we have to assume the engineers know what they are doing. The engine RPM and the mower blade speed in feet/second is all in the design. Your variable for mowing is the ground speed you choose with the transmission or hydrostat.
Besides cooling and lubrication, many mowers
use Hi-Lift blades to lift the grass. Lower RPM, less lift.

Mike M · Aug 1, 2012

Wide open ! Unless I'm by the flower beds and such then I back it off so as not to suck up the multch or driveway gravel.

buickanddeere · Aug 1, 2012

What are you trying to save?

pete black · Aug 1, 2012

Just asking a queston. Pretty good understanding of cooling, lubrication, engine rpm and blade speed, engine rpm and foward speed. Just seems that wide open increases fuel usage which produces more heat to dissipate, more rpm produced which places more stress on the engine. Therefore i run mine at lower rpms, not lugging the engine, just at a lower rpm and curious as to what others do.

36 Coupe · Aug 1, 2012

Engine speed is regulated much lower on new mowers.Engines that have to run at 3600 rpm use a large amount of oil.Most generators run at 3600 rpm and blow up if oil isnt checked at refueling.

Russ from MN · Aug 1, 2012

Wide open is not really wide open, it has a governor to control the rpm. It's not like driving a car with the petal tight to the floor! I think some of the newer walk behinds only run 3000 rpm for safety reasons, they need to be run that fast to cut decent.

Russ from MN · Aug 1, 2012

We always run ours full throttle and they use almost no oil, change it every 100 hours and never add any in between.

wisbaker · Aug 1, 2012

The Toro folks always told us to run the motor wide open and use the gears or hydrostat to control ground speed. Also shared with us that courses with older or retired people running their mowers had more engine warranty claims than courses like ours that hired college kinds. On the turf equipment it was not only for the engine health but the Hydraulic system was designed for 3600 RPM input run it lower than that with a load and you'd scuff up precise components that don't work well after they have been scuffed.

36 Coupe · Aug 1, 2012

Ive seen new generators run out of oil and throw a rod.

Kirk Grau · Aug 1, 2012

Kind of an interesting thread. I wonder if there is an age based bias for this. My in-laws are always giving me rats for running the mowers at full throttle even though I have showed them the manual where it states only use PTO at full throttle. I run the lawn tractor at full throttle as manual states. Have 1100 hours on a consumer (MTD) mower.

Kirk

guido · Aug 1, 2012

Hello Vernon in Ks,
Not anymore.The old ones were set at 3600 R.P.M's
The new ones are at 3000 R.P M's at best.
Remember the H.P. fiasco. Now all you get is Torque rating, and that in a 4 cycle engine happens way before full rated R.P.M.
Uless the engine is turning a generator it will not be running 3600 R.P.M's anymore.
Guido.

buickanddeere · Aug 1, 2012

You are loosing cooling airflow and operating hotter.
10HP at 2800rpm applies more torque and more stress on the drive train vs. 10HP at 3600rpm.
It's not a 24/7 genset, irrigation pump or marine propulsion application. It's a lawn mower.

Royse · Aug 1, 2012

Wide open for air flow on my '76 JD 212.
Wide open for air flow and hydraulics on my 2000 Toro zero turn.
Both are starting to burn a little oil. LOL

ss55 · Aug 1, 2012

My newer push mower (2008 6 HP Briggs motor) does not have a throttle. It runs at full throttle all the time and that works fine for me.

The older mower has a 1990 3 1/2 HP Techumseh. I run it at full throttle whenever it's cutting grass. It's on it's second set of wheels but the motor is still good (it was always under powered though). A sharp blade, fresh gas, regular oil changes and clean air filters keep it going better than I am.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 2, 2012

I'd bet you're using even more gas because you're not developing full HP and engine efficiency. Yes, golf course machines that run everyday run with throttle to the nuts... well governed nuts.

jm. · Aug 2, 2012

I can tell you this from a dealer stanpoint with 28 years experience I have seen more problems from not running the engine at rated speed than I have from running wide open. Thos that the little old lady just won,t open up are lots more likely to have problems.. If the unit is maintained (ie oil changed) as it should be I think you are better off running it as manfactures suggest full speed.

lawnmower rpm

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