Governor Adjustment, Briggs and Scrap-Iron 21 hp engine

Making Sleek Black Beauty Craftsman mower with Briggs 21 hp engine toot a little quicker by adjusting the governor, measuring with Hardline Digital RPM monitor.

[@Sugrshane]

I have the same engine and it has always seemed like it lacked power. Good video thanks

[@BillChase-qm8ud]

says right on my B&S v twin 3600rpm

[@Serpico1152]

Thank you for your very professional and informative video posting and instructions which are far better that any that I've ever come across on KZbin, pages of internet sites, and even Briggs and Stratton's website. I've been mechanically inclined for all of my life and likewise felt that my same 21hp Briggs Intek on my Craftsman tractor was running way too slow to be working efficiently, and needed adjustment. I began to check it out yesterday using my tach initially starting with a dead idle speed of 1700 RPM slowly increasing it to a maximum governed 3090 RPM, eventually I ended up increasing it up to 3430 RPM maximum in several stages and left it at that with some future room to spare under a 3600 RPM safe maximum ceiling, but likewise my dead idle speed increased higher to 1890 RPM which isn't too excessive. I haven't tested it cutting the grass yet but am very sure that it will improve the slight bogging condition that I was experiencing in thicker grass areas because it felt and sounded like the governor wasn't kicking in at all. Just a thought and question that I had "wouldn't the new dead idle speed of 1890 (and the 2000 you say on yours) be able to be set back down closer to the initial 1700 (and likewise on yours) afterwards just by using the set screw where the linkage is connected at the carburetor plate swivel opposite linkage end if there are enough remaining threads available going counterclockwise to do so without causing any changes to the already adjusted high governor 3430 set speed, and have you tried to do this???" Thanks!

[@MotoRestoFL]

I'm not sure. I'll have to try that sometime. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@philliphall5198]

It’s just a matter of tension on the governor spring that over powers the governor weighs, governor spring pulls it back according to the tension of spring

[@stewartoates3987]

Big help thanks mate

[@pogtuber5146]

Hey man was looking for a video that had almost exaclty the same setup as the B&S engine I have, this was very helpful for understanding what to bend!

[@MotoRestoFL]

Thanks. Consider subscribing, liking and sharing. I need to get back into this mower and possibly rebuild the transaxle among other work. Will probably shoot some video of that. Cheers.

[@larryfine4498]

Most of these small engines are tuned to 3600 rpm max. 3200 is a good safe speed that will allow for some variation in rpms.

[@xx3868]

HI, I have same set up and can only get to 1/2 power and pushing throttle more, RPM wont go any higher. If i move the gov arm myself, i get full power!! So i need to add a little tension on that gov spring to get more power? Should i check the shaft to make sure it hasnt turned a little in that clamp?

[@rasmusrasmussen1249]

normal sped on lawnmower is betvin 32 and 3300 rpm

[@1mikechung]

Briggs and Stratton V twin Intek Hi, Had a bad misfire, replaced carburettor. Engine now revs very high. Took engine out replaced with a new governor, did not look damaged at all. Adjusted governor to carb as per instructions. Still revs high. Noticed the Governor arm does not seem to move througout the rev range. Any ideas? Thanks

[@MotoRestoFL]

Make sure the governor arm is tight on the governor shaft coming out of the crankcase. There's a lock bolt that goes through the arm which pinches on the shaft, at least most engines are set up that way. Did you replace the carb with a good one or a Chinese knock-off? Many times they're junk. You should check out James Condon here on KZbin. He does a lot of work on small engines, 100 times more than I do, I really try and stay away from them and work on motorcycles. @jcondon1. Bet you'll find more than a few videos with similar issues he has worked out. Hope it helps. EDIT: also there is usually a row of holes on either the arm (moving part) or the stay where the governor spring goes, you may need to change holes favoring loosening of the spring a bit. There may be a hole selection even with the type that has a screw adjustment. The tighter the spring, the more it "cancels out" the governor and maintains the throttle plate in a more open position. When the governor is working, the engine under load obviously drops RPM and the governor puts less force upon the spring thereby allowing the throttle plate to open more. This is why your throttle is always sitting side-open with the engine not running, the spring is forcing the throttle open because there is no governor action to counter that. Again, there may be different holes for the spring in addition to any adjustment screw and some engines only have a bend tab to put more or less tension on the spring. You also have to factor in the throttle cable make sure that's all hooked up properly. I don't exactly know how it's set up on that engine.

[@BANACANADIAN]

I have the same issue with my snowblower briggs stratton it keeps surging I clean carb main injector new spark plug and add and fuel filter on it and now it start but sometimes surge and other works fine for 5 to 10 min and as soon a put a load on the augers start surging and stalling and doesn't not start again I have to leave for 10 min and choke again I even adjust the governador and still have the same issue and I felt the motor working in low rpm no like before started giving this issue I will try to adjust the spring on the governador thank you

[@MotoRestoFL]

If all else is good, it's the governor spring/linkage especially with surging. However, it also could just be the linkage. The throttle attaches to the governor arm usually with a selection of holes or positions, but sometimes not. If it's running slow and there's a governor adjustment screw, try that. If not, bend the tang like I showed. If those don't correct it, check to see if there's any other holes any linkage can go on the governor arm itself. You can move the linkage to another hole. I cannot exactly recall which way to achieve either a more or less sensitive behavior (surging is symptomatic of more sensitive or too sensitive). I'm not 100% sure about snow blowers, I imagine they're same basic engine setup. For a really good explanation and adjustment of governors, check out James Condon here on KZbin who works on tons of generator sets and adjusts a lot of governors to a set frequency (Hz) of engine speed. I may be relevant to your engine. Cheers.

[@BANACANADIAN]

@Moto-Resto, LLC I will check that channel hopefully I can find anything good I will adjust the tension on the governador spring to see if I can get more rpm tha k for the info

[@kramnull8962]

I have read many reviews that simply state that for these Briggs it is so much easier and less time consuming to just buy a carb from Briggs. Most all state they can never get the carb to tune correctly after it is gotten clogged up. I just bought my 4 year old 17.5 hp briggs a new carb last month and I can say they are plug and play with nothing left to do.

[@applianceman6009]

What would cause the engine to continue to run at high rpms when I move the throttle down? It is also not running at as fast as it should.

[@MotoRestoFL]

Most likely something isn’t connected properly. Or something is stuck or the governor is out of adjustment. Could be a number of things.

[@applianceman6009]

@@MotoRestoFL Everything is properly connected. I see it moving the throttle and choke arm on top of the carburetor, springs are good, but the engine’s speed will not slow down to idle. Is it a carburetor issue that needs adjusted or is it the governor arm? What is more likely? Engine starts out running at medium speed and slowly gets faster while it gets used, but it never can run at full speed.

[@MotoRestoFL]

@@applianceman6009 governor most likely. If you go check out James Condon on KZbin, he has numerous videos adjusting the governor and his channel focus is small engines.

[@carolinewells4355]

I have this same engine and having an issue with it starting. It cranks and spins, but will not start.

[@pogtuber5146]

Make sure you have spark. Engines just need 3 things to run... fuel, air, and spark. Take your spark plug out, plug it into the boot, put it up against the engine to ground it, then turn it over and see if it gets spark. Next is air and fuel, which are governed by the fact that the engine has compression and can pull air from the carb. If you can spin the big fan on top of the engine with no resistance, then your engine is blown. If you get resistance, then you're good and I would start to look at cleaning the carb to make sure the engine is getting fuel.

[@ocrun6765]

Good video. Do you have any idea why the choke only turns on as you get to the higher throttle? On my mower there is minimum throttle position to mow symbol on the dash next to the throttle lever which is past the point where it begins to engage the choke. They use turtle (which ironically has zero choke), mow about 3/4 way up and rabbit at the top. I opened up the carb and default position is choke held open by the butterfly spring. I thought mine must have been assembled backward or something but it appears as though in this century we now apply choke at higher throttle. My engine sputters and dies if I put the throttle up to the minimum speed for engaging the PTO because of the choke.

[@MotoRestoFL]

It’s just the way they make them, economy of movement and function. Your problem is adjustment. Locate the cable where it is restrained on the carb throttle bracket. Put it on full speed which should have a detent on the lever itself to locate it and hold it in position. Then loosen the clamp which holds the end of the cable at that bracket simply adjust by sliding the cable sheath one way or the other to the point where the lever which actuates the choke butterfly is just about to touch. Then tighten the cable clamp and try that.

[@ocrun6765]

@@MotoRestoFL OK thanks, I'll adjust it as you said and try that. "Full speed" should be the mark next to throttle for mowing speed? Or should it be a little past that?

[@MotoRestoFL]

@@ocrun6765 you should feel a detent or click like when it is in full throttle.

[@ocrun6765]

@@MotoRestoFL I wanted to get back and thank you! I adjusted the throttle cable at the detent, using that position for full throttle as opposed to the rabbit on the throttle, which is beyond the detent and gets into choke. I added a bit more RPM by bending the tang where the spring connects as you showed. All of your explanations are very clear and concise.

[@MotoRestoFL]

@@ocrun6765 excellent. Thanks.

[@juandelgado881]

Muy bueno el tutorial pero no lo encuentro en el idioma español,gracias.

[@jiffytoast]

Man you can’t stay talking about one thing more than 10 seconds.

[@MotoRestoFL]

Half of you want more the other half has A.D.D. and can only handle 2-3 words at a time. You’re more than welcome to create and talk more about whatever. Thanks for watching.

[@jiffytoast]

@@MotoRestoFL well I got out of it what I needed just bent the tab up thanks.

[@pogtuber5146]

@@MotoRestoFL dude your tutorial is perfect don't listen to this guy

[@user-xc8uy9db1g]

You waste to much time telling stories, people want to learn how to repair not story time.

[@MotoRestoFL]

Go watch Mortske Repair and get back to me on that.