Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - carb. governor
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bobyeh
08-01-08, 12:27 PM
I have an old MTD snow thrower with a 4HP Tecumseh engine. The governor mechanism is pretty rusty. I have read the governor limits the engine not to exceed 3200 RPM. Can I disconnect everything and just set the throttle to run at 3200 RPM and leave it that way? I know it is just going to be one speed but it does not bother me.
rogerflies
08-01-08, 01:30 PM
Yes, you can do that. Just locate the arm on the throttle shaft, and run the end of the throttle cable directly to it. That'll bypass the governor, and you can set the top speed where you want. Position the cable jacket so the engine runs at 3200rpm with the throttle lever all the way up.
However, the engine is going to slow down under load without the governor, so I doubt the snow thrower will work like it's supposed to. If it's working properly, the governor keeps the engine at the desired speed by automatically adjusting the throttle as the load changes. The governor is a simple mechanism. If all the parts are there and none are broken, you can probably clean it up, oil it, and it'll work OK.
It's a good idea to start the engine at part throttle and let it warm up a bit before running the engine faster. It's also good to let it run slowly before shutting it down, unless you kill it by shutting off the gas supply.
However, the engine is going to slow down under load without the governor, so I doubt the snow thrower will work like it's supposed to. If it's working properly, the governor keeps the engine at the desired speed by automatically adjusting the throttle as the load changes. The governor is a simple mechanism. If all the parts are there and none are broken, you can probably clean it up, oil it, and it'll work OK.
It's a good idea to start the engine at part throttle and let it warm up a bit before running the engine faster. It's also good to let it run slowly before shutting it down, unless you kill it by shutting off the gas supply.
bobyeh
08-01-08, 01:44 PM
I really don't see the point of the governor. For my snow thrower, there is a manual throttle switch to open and close the throttle. Why not just use that to limit the max RPM instead of the governor?
rogerflies
08-01-08, 02:10 PM
Like I said, the governor automatically adjusts the throttle plate in the carb so the engine doesn't slow down under load (or run dangerously fast with no load).
For example, say you set the throttle lever so the engine runs at 2500rpm with no load. If you put a load on the engine, it'll start to slow down, but the governor will sense the drop in speed and open the throttle enough to bring it back to 2500.
Without the governor, the speed will drop to whatever the engine can run at with the set amount of airflow under the load on it. The speed will vary quite a bit as the load changes. It might even quit altogether.
For example, say you set the throttle lever so the engine runs at 2500rpm with no load. If you put a load on the engine, it'll start to slow down, but the governor will sense the drop in speed and open the throttle enough to bring it back to 2500.
Without the governor, the speed will drop to whatever the engine can run at with the set amount of airflow under the load on it. The speed will vary quite a bit as the load changes. It might even quit altogether.