This engine runs at the standard 3600 rpms but you could use different pulley ratios to change the speed. If you are running a direct drive from the crankshaft you could adjust the governor linkage to get 2000 rpms but the horsepower rating is probably at 3600 rpms so some power could be lost. Not quite sure on that though, hope this helps.:goodl:

brokenbeak

 

Under current standards, the power rating is measured at 3600 rpms, so if you reduce engine speed, you will dramtically cut power, in fact, this engine idles around 1800 or so.

As said...gear it down.

2" pulley on the engine and 4" on the item being driven is a 50% reduction, so at 3600, the driven speed would be 1800. So if yo went to a 2.25" crank pulley, and a 4" driven...you would be pretty dang much right on 2000 rpms, and in doing so multiplying your torque to boot...

 

OK,,thanks.

I think the pulleys are about that size now,,on the engine that is installed at the moment.

I am replacing the old Wisconsin engine on a 1960's blacktop roller.

I just bought this for rolling my lawn!! lol

It's runs and works but is very slow. The transmission on this is about the size of a basketball. Fairly simple looking thing that I know nothing about. Other than it says 7hp engine at 2000 RPM's.

I have a feeling the Wisconsin engine is tired and not doing it's job although it sounds good. Until under a load,,then it losses RPMs,,I think?

I can't tell what hp the Wisconsin is;: Anyone know from these numbers?? 111618-3421262 These are the only numbers I can find on the engine,,so far.Previous owner said it's a 10hp.

If I can get this to run correctly it is getting a complete restore!!

I have a Predator 212cc engine now,,,but thinking I might need something bigger.
What was the thinking in 1960 about the RPM's for this trans?? 7 HP seems awful small to move 2000 lbs.

 

I guess I could install the predator and see what happens.

I believe the predator has a 3/4 inch shaft and the wisconsin has a 1" shaft. So I would have to get another pulley the same size Dia..

 

the old Wisconsin engines didn't turn a lotta RPM's...they had a lotta torque tho...would idle real low too..prolly rated at 2000 high end.. so RED-85-Z51's thinkin would sound right...do as he suggests...

BTW...if u use it on ur yard....u will turn it into a full yard driveway...that thing will really pack it too hard for grass to grow....

also....I have a JD R-72...it had a 8 hp....& it did move a 95 Carlo...who's rear wheels wouldn't turn cause the brakes rusted up tight..do know it weighed bout 3000.. that thing u got is geared so low....it creeps along.....it's not a high speed racer...

 

the old Wisconsin engines didn't turn a lotta RPM's...they had a lotta torque tho...would idle real low too..prolly rated at 2000 high end.. so RED-85-Z51's thinkin would sound right...do as he suggests...

BTW...if u use it on ur yard....u will turn it into a full yard driveway...that thing will really pack it too hard for grass to grow....

I believe the pulleys are that size now,,or very close. I'll take a better look today.

As far as the yard being too packed. I'll let you know how it works out. I don't think it will deter the grass from growing. At this point,,I don't care,,lol,,it is so bumpy it's terrible. Seems to pack it down real nice.

 

A friend of mine has a small asphalt roller like that,I gave him a Wisconsin I had that was identical to his original one,it had a 6:1 gear reduction box with reverse rotation on the engine(so the PTO turned the opposite direction of the engine)......

I'd make sure your "new" engine rotates in the proper direction ,before mounting it...it may not make a difference perhaps,as some of these things had a simple forward/reverse tranny (usually hydrostatic but not always),in that case your reverse would become forward if the engine rotates the "wrong" way...if that isn't the case you'll have to devise a way to reverse the engines rotation using a jack shaft or some other means..

HP doesn't mean much when things are geared low enough...I've moved a 35 foot motor home on asphalt with a Sears Syuburban in low range,first gear,the top speed is maybe 1/2 a mph...but it moved it without even spinning a tire at a fast idle...at first it wanted to pull a slow motion wheelie,then the motor home started to roll...we were able to pull it across a parking lot,out of the way of a traffic lane ..no one there believed me when I said it could do it!....

I also used to own an old David Bradley walk behind tractor with a teeny 1.5 HP Briggs on it--I used to bet my friends none of them could hold it back,even the ones built like linebackers,uit would simply drag them across the yard no matter how hard they dug their heels in!...torque is what rules,HP is not always a good measure of what can be moved with a machine..

 

Some good thinking here,,I have already figured out it will turn the same direction.

Maybe there is not a problem with this machine at all. It just moves slow to me. I think it should go faster. But I could be wrong.
I did adjust the engine so it is at high RPMS now,,and have not had a chance to try it out in the yard since. Maybe it is OK.

But my thinking is,,,it takes along time to roll a acre of lawn at this speed. And this engine is old. Replacing it is not a bad idea,,IMO. I have a use for the wisconsin engine ,,on a roto tiller where it wont need to run for hours on end.

 

I just measured the pulleys. 3" on the engine and 8" on the trans. This is the way I got it. Looks like it's been this way for a long time.

I have no idea how to tell what this means. lol And why I am here.

 

About all those Rollers move slow. It should get rid of your bumps forsure, but I would suggest to follow up with a plug aerator. :trink40:

 

A 3" pulley driving an 8" pulley gives a reduction of almost 3:1,so the RPM's of the larger pulley will be almost 3 times lower than the small one driving it,and multiplies the tourque by that many times in the process...there is likely more gear reduction in the tranny,and the final drive to the roller,in the sprockets used most likely...you might get away with increasing the drive pulley size some and use a longer belt,but increasing the speed of the unit will also rob it of power,you may find it unable to propel itself up an incline ,and harder to control if it goes too much faster than its origina intended speed...

 

I think I will buy the approx. 10 hp engine from harbor freight. It has the same 1" shaft ,as the wisconsin does now,,so I can just use the same pulley.
If I try to increase the speed by changing pulley sizes I believe I will cause problems.And possibly ruin the trans. If that happens ,,it is all over.

I won't be so Leary of running this with a new engine,,since it takes so long to roll a lawn. I think the old wisconsin has put its time in and needs a break.

 

How did you guys become so god-danged smart?

 

This critter was not designed for speed. It goes slow because of the inertia developed while in motion. It wants to stay still when still, but when in motion, you do not want to get in its way. Be careful not to run the front roller into anything as where it attaches and rotates to allow steering is a very highly stressed bit of metal. Maybe that is why it moves so slowly.

When we had irregular bare dirt where the lawn was supposed to be, my pop rented a tractor with a 'drag box' on the back end. It had tines in the front and a blade at the back. He tried to flatten or smooth the soil by starting at one end of the lawn, and dragging to the other, in 'rows'. That didn't work. He ended up using the drag to break up all the soil so it could be raked smooth by hand. Hist method was to drive around in a random pattern, random enough that the neighbors called the police thinking he had been drinking. {they were Old, and never came outside but watched from behind drawn shades} Us kids got to learn about blisters in our 'thumb web' area from raking.
I don't think flattening the soil with a roller would have worked there. wow. long time ago. Another time trip courtesy of the forum.
tom

 

Do you think a 212cc (7hp) engine from HF would run this roller?

I can't find a HF in my area that has the 346(10 hp) engine in stock.

I have a 212cc in the garage now. I bought it last year.

It does say 7 hp on the transmission.

It just seems awful small to run this machine,,although ,,really it's just driving it,,and that is all.


BTW,,I have determined that the old Wisconsin engine that came with the roller,,,is not a 10hp like the PO told me. I believe it is a 7 hp at the most,,,,maybe even a 5hp.

 

The 10 HP engine is no longer made. Your choice is now an 11 HP or if you want electric start a 13 HP 420 cc. That bigger engine is usually only $50 more than the 11 HP. Roger

 

HF has a 346cc(10 hp) advertised now. That is maybe,,why they are out of stock. They tell me they will have more in next week. I don't want to wait that long. lol

I would like to have electric start. I am going to go look at my options for that.

What is the RPMs for the 11hp electric start engine? Whatever I get ,,I have to have 2000 rpms at the transmission. I am assuming all the engines are about the same rpms at the PTO.
So the pulleys used now can be used for all. It's something I have to figure out for sure.

 

11hp is the old 13hp, and the 13hp is the old 15hp, they changed how the power is rated.

 

They are out of stock on that engine too. Amazing!!