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Spark plug quality gone down.


carter

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Have any of you noticed that the quality of spark plugs for small engines seems to have gone down the past few years? My grandson was grading the driveway with the Big Ten when it quit like it was out of gas. Since I had just filled it I knew that wasn't the case. Drity filter? No. Plugged fuel line? No. Stuck float? No. It would fire once on the choke and then die. Finally replaced the plug and it ran like new. The plug has less than 20 hours on it. Have had the same problem on a 11 hp Briggs on a old MTD the kids use for a go cart. All Champion J8C's or CJ8's. Any suggestions for a different brand or style of plug? Neither engine uses any oil so it isn't fouling from oil. Ron
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Ron After 25 years in the auto repair business you couldn't pay me to put in Champions. I will only use AC or autolite. This & $1.00 might get you a small Coffee Maynard aka/UCD
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I agree Champions are the worst out there.I have problems finding plugs for my Wisconsin engines and have nothing but problems with Champion.Bob
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Hi Carter, we have seen problems with the champs. We now recomend the NGK line of spark plugs. From what I have been told, the NGK plug uses a better grade of porcelin in the manufacturing process. This better grade of porcelin prevents carbon build up. The carbon deposits on a plug can foul or cause it to missfire. We have been very satisfied with the NGK's. Pleas help me with the spelling of Porcelin?
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http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary Main Entry: por·ce·lain Pronunciation: 'pOr-s(&-)l&n, 'por- Function: noun Etymology: Middle French porcelaine cowrie shell, porcelain, from Italian porcellana, from porcello vulva, literally, little pig, from Latin porcellus, diminutive of porcus pig, vulva; from the shape of the shell -- more at FARROW Date: circa 1530 : a hard, fine-grained, sonorous, nonporous, and usually translucent and white ceramic ware that consists essentially of kaolin, quartz, and feldspar and is fired at high temperatures
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I don't think the plugs are to blame as much as the poor quality of gasoline we get this time of year. With a little fuel additive each time I have had the same jlm19 plug for at least 3 seasons and she still fires of after2 turns religously. This is by no maens an endorsment for Champion plugs,
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Thanks all of you. Confirms my suspicions about Champion. Will have to find a local cross reference in another brand. Will look for a NGK dealer. I know NAPA has AC & Autolite. Fuel additives are a bit of a problem as I fill from a 220 gallon farm tank and often less than a gallon per fill. Makes mixing acurately a bit difficult. Already have 2 kinds of two cycle mix on hand, hate to add a third for small four cycle if the plugs will do the job. Ron
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I concur on the quality of NGK plugs -- I've used them quite a bit, though not in small engines. Has anyone tried Bosch plugs in these small engines? My favorite plug is the Bosch Platinum... In VW's they seem to last forever, and unless I'm mistaken were the first ones rated for 50,000 miles of use. Just curious if someone has tried, or has found the correct cross-reference for the J8. I'd like to try them in a different type of aircooled engine... I also heard somewhere that there's a Splitfire plug that will fit -- has anyone tried them? I've never tried them, even in a car... The foot-draggin' Clubhouse Custodian...
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I wish someone hadn't start this discussion in this club! I opened the same topic about Champion (some call in Chimpion) plugs in the Yahoo KohlerandOnanegine group a few years back, and the stirred the biggest hornet's nest of furry, frustration, war stories you ever saw! Not to mention how long it lived. Let's just say there aren't any Champions in ANYTHING I own. My first bad experience with them was in the early 70's on my Jap dirt bikes. NGK has the best quality and application selection for the money (IMHO). Below is a link for clubplug.net and I use their excellent cross reference charts. Interestingly, they all reference TO NGK; hummm. http://www.clubplug.net/cross.html Anti-Champion, Tom (PK)
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Oh yeah, About that clubplug.net website. The cross reference charts are a little hard to read, but are ok if you print out the web page(s). Alternately (for those of us who respect trees and are trying to go truely paperless), right click on the chart and save it as a picture (.jpg). Then use your favorite S/W to magnify the image--MS-Photo Editor, etc. I keep all the charts in my c:\pictures folder. Kent, you should be able to get the exact x'ref for the J-8. I get all my NGK's from NAPA 'cause their prices and service are so excellent. Tom (PK)
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If you want to see the difference in plugs just break the porcelain in half and look at the center conductor. Champions conductor has a thickness of your hair. AC and Autolite is about 1/8" thick. The porcelain on the champion will break a lot easier. This & $1.00 might get you a small Coffee Maynard aka/UCD
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I concur, bad luck with champions, OK luck with AC, Autolite makes a pretty good plug, never tried an NGK. BTW, I have an Allis-Chalmers branded plug. Which company made them for Allis? Is it a collectors item? Maybe I can sell it on ebay.
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And in this corner..... I think we have used well over 75,000 Champs over the years and I do not recall a bad spark plug. Sure a number have fouled, but that was the symptom not the cause so I guess they can't all be bad! BTW - most J8 and CJ8 applications are now replaced with the hotter J19LM - which is especially good to use on older "oil burners".
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Since spring Ive replaced 3 Champion plugs in 2 differant motors. Two in a 16hp K and one in a 10hp K..both using the same #H10C..none were fouled..just layed down and died...Ive got a couple friends the work at Champion in Burlington Iowa..so i told one of them about it and he took them to work to see if they could figure out what the deal was on them ..havent heard anything back on it yet ..but i replaced them with Splitfire SM21F plugs and are very happy with the results ..starts easier..runs lots smoother ..well as smooth as an old 1 lunger Kohler can run.. Charby5..
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Speaking of plugs,whatever happened to Prestolite? Used to work at a place years ago,that used Rite-Line plugs,which were made by Prestolite.Haven't heard from them in years. kenny
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A little history on our use of NGK plugs. In the 1970's, there were problems with snowmobile race engines fouling plugs. That is why we started using them. They just ran better and longer. As far as a replacement plug for the j-8, I would recomend the NGK B2-LM. It is the same heat range as the champion j-19lm, but we have seen better results. Hope this helps. Neal
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