Chipmaker,
I have mostly Tecumsah engines on my non-JD equipment and have found them pretty reliable. The only B&S engine I have is on my 8HP rototiller. It has become harder to start in the past year or so but it could be it needs a carburetor rebuild which I will have done next season. My only observation is that the carburetor on the B&S needs more adjustment than on any of my Tecumsah powered equipment to run smoothly. Other than that, both have been good engines for equipment that I don't use that often. I have an Ariens 6HP string trimmer mower with a Tecumsah that has been easy to start and performed very well with no maintenance for the 3 years I have had it. I will do a tune up over the winter or next spring but again this is a piece of equipment I use only once or twice per month.
I have mostly Tecumsah engines on my non-JD equipment and have found them pretty reliable. The only B&S engine I have is on my 8HP rototiller. It has become harder to start in the past year or so but it could be it needs a carburetor rebuild which I will have done next season. My only observation is that the carburetor on the B&S needs more adjustment than on any of my Tecumsah powered equipment to run smoothly. Other than that, both have been good engines for equipment that I don't use that often. I have an Ariens 6HP string trimmer mower with a Tecumsah that has been easy to start and performed very well with no maintenance for the 3 years I have had it. I will do a tune up over the winter or next spring but again this is a piece of equipment I use only once or twice per month.