throttle setting

[Charlieson]

Been trying to convince the mother in law that running the old 416s at less than half throttle while mowing the yard was hard on the mower. Doesnt seem to be working. Any ideas on how I can convince her that mowing the yard for 2 + hours while at less than half throttle is bad for the tractor?

[goatfarmer]

Tell her at full throttle, the blades are moving faster. Also, I think most owners manuals say to run full throttle, and use the transmission to adjust riding speed.

[PatRarick]

Air cooled engines get their cooling air from the fins on the flywheel. They operate as a fan. Running the engine at slower speeds while under load does not move enough air volume to cool properly.

[Ronald Hribar]

How many years has she been running tractor at reduced speed ?

[Charlieson]

Father in law passed away 3 years ago. I think she just started this year. Dont know why. Yes, after she stalled out the motor, and ran the battery down, I tried to explain the evils of running the engine at such a low throttle speed. I told her 'the engine is air cooled, it has to run at full throttle to get proper air flow. I said that it wasnt a pressurized oil system that it had a slinger. I explained about the blades, the fact that it probably isnt charging the battery very well. All yea, she says. Didnt do any good. Guess I'll be looking for a 16 hp kohler before the summer is over with. ddh

[plastikosmd]

i'll take a stab and bet it is a noise issue..it is a lot quieter and hence more pleasant at 1/2 throttle for many of my machines. get her some hearing protection and i'll bet she will run her at full throttle. scott

[Ronald Hribar]

Disconnect or manipulate throttle cable so it runs at full throttle all the time ..

[mendon-chalmers]

I had a neighbor that ran at around 1/2 throttle with a 12 horse vertical twin and it took about 8 years to start fouling plug on one side and also buying a battery every other year.