Briggs’ Big Move In Small Engines

Briggs & Stratton has launched the first of a new range of single-cylinder, horizontal shaft gasoline engines. Three years in development, the new Vanguard singles will ultimately span a range of 5 to 13 hp and target a range of applications such as concrete equipment, light construction machinery outdoor power equipment and rental machines.

“When we looked at the market, we saw that nobody had really done anything significantly new in that space since Subaru came out with their overhead cam engine in 2001,” said Jim Cross, marketing manager for Commercial Engines at Briggs & Stratton. “There have been engines out there that have been tweaked and adjusted and that have worked very well, but really there’s been nothing brand new.

“So we looked at that market space — and this was before the Subaru exit — and we thought while there is an engine out there that maybe satisfies the market needs, what could we do that would maybe exceed those needs? We didn’t want to just build an engine — we wanted to come out with a complete solution that incorporates our mantra of delivering productivity through practical innovation and service and support across a complete line of commercial engines.

“We knew we could tweak some existing designs, but instead we decided to start from a blank slate.”

The design of the engines addresses specific customer concerns, Briggs & Stratton said, which included starting, noise and vibration and air filtration. For improved starting, the engines incorporate advancements in the combustion, carburetion — including a new deep-well carburetor — and ignition systems.

NVH issues were addressed through a new muffler design that the company said has improved inlet and outlet tube shapes, a stepped four-pass flow path and a new fiberglass and retainer section design, along with a new aluminum cylinder block, a better-balanced crankshaft and an optimized fuel tank designed to reduce resonated noise.

On the filtration side, the engine utilizes a new cyclonic filter with a two-level media that includes a nano fiber outer layer with Autoshed technology that is designed to use engine vibration to prevent dust buildup.

The first engines, which also include the company TransportGuard technology designed to prevent fuel dilution issues, go into production in the summer.

More complete information on the new engines can be found in the January issue of Diesel Progress. To see the story, click here.

To view a video on the new engines, click here.

www.vanguardengines.com