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Just bought my first lawn tractor about a month ago. Bought the Craftsman 27333 (T3100) and loving it so far. Came with 46" stamped deck and 20 hp B&S V-twin. I have a question about mower speed and cut quality. So far I have been mowing at slightly faster than walking speed. Maybe about 3mph. For the record I walk at a slow 2 mph pace. I always have been a slow walker. Now the tractor will do 5.5 mph. If I should pick up the pace and mow faster will I see a difference in the cut quality? If yes will it be a better cut or an uneven cut? I know I could just get on her and let her rip but I would rather ask for knowledge before doing that. Thanks in advance

Don

Sorry forgot to mention that I mulch

Don

I would think quality of cut would be very dependent upon how much you're taking off the grass, wetness, etc. If you're only taking off 1/2" you have a much better chance at a good cut than if you're taking off 3 or 4". The deck can only clear out a certain volume of clippings per second.

In general faster speed will result in poorer cut quality. If you are mulching you will generally need to mow slower than discharging.

Don’t forget, always run your unit at full throttle and adjust your speed with the pedal, not the throttle.

The blade speed is another factor to consider, and faster is harder on the spindles as they try & keep up. You will see a difference in the cut quality, but if you double mow, you could let her loose when going over the previous cut.

And the deck height markings where you select height, are seldom correct, best to air tires to spec listed in your owners manual, & with mower on level surface, measure blade tip to ground, by following the manual directions.

That will get you best cut & you will know Exactly what height you are actually cutting. Reason I mention this is many machines are not set up as accurate as one might think. Check yourself & you will know for sure.

Congrats on your new machine & enjoy.

Thanks guys. I guess I'll keep it on the slow side. I rarely double cut but do on occasion. I have been mowing frequently, because mowing is actually fun now, and it is difficult to see my cut line. As the grass hasn't grown too much. So I am overlapping quite a bit. Right now I haven't mowed since last Sunday. I am trying to get the grass longer. Last two cuts have been at maximum height on the deck. I have been mowing at about 2.5 to 3 inches for a couple of years. Trying to get the lawn at 4 inches. Some of it is growing and some is lagging way behind. Thanks again

Don

I only double cut if I see some cuttings left, because they can hurt grass new growth. But cut fine enough, is good for the lawn.

Your rider is not even broken in yet, does your manual say to do an early oil change, like @ 8 hours or so ? Very good for new engines.

Is your rider capable of cutting @ 4", I would measure blade tip to ground & be sure.

7394 said:

I only double cut if I see some cuttings left, because they can hurt grass new growth. But cut fine enough, is good for the lawn.

Your rider is not even broken in yet, does your manual say to do an early oil change, like @ 8 hours or so ? Very good for new engines.

Is your rider capable of cutting @ 4", I would measure blade tip to ground & be sure.

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When I got delivery of the mower it had an assembly list. Part of that was adjusting the deck height. I set the lever at 3 inches as per the instructions and had to adjust the right side upwards. The max height is 4 inches all the way up. I did not measure the blades at that height. Just figuring if 3" is set right that 4" should be also. Not sure about the initial oil change. The hour meter is supposed to tell me when to change it. I will have to look in the manual to see if an early first change is required. Thanks for the heads up

Don

Cool, my former craftsman riders recommended the deck to have a slight pitch to the front. 1/16" - 5/16" fall to front, for best quality of cut. That is with tires aired up to book specs first.

Many mowers have "Break-in" oil in them from new, & best to get that out @ 5 hours or so, for nice long engine life. your book should say.

My craftsmans never said to do that, but yours may, Being an engine builder I would do it anyway. Oil is cheapest thing on mower.

Is it true that mowers come with a break in oil? I just assumed they were filled with standard oil. So I cut the lawn just now and decided to do a double cut. Did the second pass at a higher rate of speed. Lawn came out better this way. Did the first cut slowly. Slower than I usually do. Guess it's a good thing my lawn is fairly small. So even with the double cut I am still about half the time of using the push mower. Plus my bad knees and lower back feel great.

Don

Is it true that mowers come with a break in oil? Don- Not sure if your Briggs does, Your Owners manual should CLEARLY state this. But my neighbor just got a V-2 Briggs on a Simplicity Z, & it says to change the oil @ 8 hours. So I did the oil & filter change showing him what he will be needing to do next time.

I just assumed they were filled with standard oil. Not an area to go on an assumption. I would rather be safe than sorry.

So I cut the lawn just now and decided to do a double cut. Did the second pass at a higher rate of speed. Lawn came out better this way. Think of it like shaving, you pull the razor up & then down in same place, to get the cleanest shave. Did the first cut slowly. Slower than I usually do. What happens is on 1st pass some grass gets pushed down, then coming back opposite direction, you get those others. Guess it's a good thing my lawn is fairly small. So even with the double cut I am still about half the time of using the push mower. Cool. Plus my bad knees and lower back feel great. There ya go: Winner Winner.

Don

I just read the manual and it does state that a 5 hour oil change is needed. It does not state that the oil filter needs changing. I will assume that any 5w30 oil will be sufficient? Nothing special for the B&S engine? I guess now I have to read the engine manual.

Don

OK, great you finally read the manual. Last thing you want is "Break in Oil" in longer than 5 hours. That oil will scrub out the rings & cylinders & etc. In other words that engine would have a short life.

Air cooled oil does have different properties in it, compared to car oil. Briggs oil & filter is Cheap insurance, to get a good start on this new engine.

5 hour oil change will have the most 'wear in' junk in it. I'd do the oil filter as well. If you have Tractor Supply or even WalMart, you can get the proper stuff.

But it's your mower.................................... I know my Kawasaki gets the best treatment.

PS: You don't have to read anything. But don't you want the money you spent to last in your investment ?

Engine manual shows 5w30 synthetic for all year use. Just ordered filters and B&S synthetic oil from Amazon. Enough for three oil changes. Sticking with the B&S yellow oil filter. I'm sure that other brands are probably fine to use but I always stay with OEM oil filters on all my engines.

Don

Dadillac said:

Engine manual shows 5w30 synthetic for all year use. Just ordered filters and B&S synthetic oil from Amazon. Enough for three oil changes. Sticking with the B&S yellow oil filter. I'm sure that other brands are probably fine to use but I always stay with OEM oil filters on all my engines.

Don

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Just be sure that is what you're getting.

I've seen a lot of comments on Amazon about air filters advertised as "OEM" Kawasaki and when the buyer gets them, they are knock-offs.

cpurvis said:

Just be sure that is what you're getting.

I've seen a lot of comments on Amazon about air filters advertised as "OEM" Kawasaki and when the buyer gets them, they are knock-offs.

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Yeah that would P me off. The pics in the ad definitely show OEM parts.

Don

Yes the pics seem to always show OEM, it's what you get that's important.

If you don't get OEM B&S, send them back. I also have read many ppl getting aftermarket filters @ Amazon, when they ordered OEM. I have been reluctant to buy from them or ebay for that matter.


I just scored 4 fresh OEM Kawasaki oil filters for $7. each, at Ace Hardware, they sell Dixie Choppers so they carry Kaw OEM stuff.

They had a 30% off sale I called & they said they had my 49065-7007 filters, & when I got there, they were sold out, Arrrgh !!!!, so the gave me a rain check with more off the price.
But wouldn't allow me to get more than 4, at that price.

Once you have the oil changed, you can mow as fast as the mower will go assuming it is cutting the lawn properly. If the cut is leaving something to be desired, slow down. I mowed with my Craftsman at full speed all the time. The cut was always nice and I have over 500 hours on the mower. Change the oil once a season and with luck the mower will last a long time!

Every mower should be run at full throttle.

Well the oil arrived today. It is authentic B&S synthetic 5w30. One delivery down and one to go

Don

:thumbsup:

Okay I got the filters today and they are indeed authentic B&S. The box has part number 696854 which is the filter my machine requires. The filters in those boxes have part number 695396. I will assume that these filters are identical and 100% interchangeable? What gives?

Don

That may or may not be a good assumption.

cpurvis said:

That may or may not be a good assumption.

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Agree 100%, I would contact the seller & find out what they say. This is what we were warning you about. Sounds like a totally different filter. I would want to be sure & not bet your engine on an assumption.

I did a little research (and will be doing more) and it seems that the 695396 is the previous model filter. From what I could see the 696854 replaced the 695396. I will keep digging to see what I can find. I will be contacting the seller and will send B&S an email and hope that I get a reply. Any reply

Don

Ok here goes. I was chatting with Katie on Briggs website. Gave her my info and she was looking things up. Then the chat went down. But while I was on their site I looked up the 696854 filter. The picture of the filter shows part number 695396. So I am sure that I have the right filters.

Don

This is a page from Briggs website
https://outdoorpowerdirect.com/coll...roducts/briggs-and-stratton-oil-filter-696854
And here are the pictures of the filters I received.

Okay mu pics are in the attachments. Couldn't figure out how to place them in the post body

Don

Did she have an answer for why the number on the filter and the number on the box don't match?

cpurvis said:

Did she have an answer for why the number on the filter and the number on the box don't match?

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We didn't get to complete the chat. She posted she was checking things out and it stalled for about an hour. When I checked after that time it said that chat was temporarily down. But after checking out the pics I knew I was good to go.

Don

Dadillac said:

We didn't get to complete the chat. She posted she was checking things out and it stalled for about an hour. When I checked after that time it said that chat was temporarily down. But after checking out the pics I knew I was good to go.

Don

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Not necessarily. Some counterfeit filters are very good knock-offs of the originals--until you cut them open.

If it was me, I'd call that Briggs person (or chat, or email) and tell them you bought an XYZ Briggs filter but it came in an ABC box and you'd be glad to trade them for the correct filter.

If you're in a rush to change oil, go to a Briggs dealer and buy a filter. The one Briggs sends you will be for your next oil & filter change.

You are not setting off to Mars.
It is a mower, not a rocket ship.
Briggs do all of their filters , loose in 12 packs for workshops and in single retail sale boxes.
They also do them in std, black & in high capacity , yellow.
All 4 of these are interchangable ( as are about 40 other filters ) and each one has a different B & S part number.
The length of time it is on there is far more important than the actual filter.

Unless you have a "Full Pressure Lubrication" model Briggs, most times the filter simply pulls oil out from the sump, passes it through the filter then returns it to the sump via the bottom bearing.

FWIW I only keep 4 filters for me to use and am yet to see an engine I service have oil delivery problems.
OTOH I have 32 different retail pack oil filters because that is what customers want to buy so there is no point is argueing, sell them what they want .
I actually make a higher mark up from selling genuine B & S filters so every one is happy

bertsmobile1 said:

You are not setting off to Mars.
It is a mower, not a rocket ship.
Briggs do all of their filters , loose in 12 packs for workshops and in single retail sale boxes.
They also do them in std, black & in high capacity , yellow.
All 4 of these are interchangable ( as are about 40 other filters ) and each one has a different B & S part number.
The length of time it is on there is far more important than the actual filter.

Unless you have a "Full Pressure Lubrication" model Briggs, most times the filter simply pulls oil out from the sump, passes it through the filter then returns it to the sump via the bottom bearing.

FWIW I only keep 4 filters for me to use and am yet to see an engine I service have oil delivery problems.
OTOH I have 32 different retail pack oil filters because that is what customers want to buy so there is no point is argueing, sell them what they want .
I actually make a higher mark up from selling genuine B & S filters so every one is happy

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You miss the point entirely. There IS a box and it does NOT match the filter that came in it. Is Briggs in the habit of throwing any filter in any box and then leaving it to the customer to figure out what filters interchange? I really, really doubt that.

That alone would be reason enough for me to set that filter aside. One phone call, to finish up the chat session that was started but not finished, will probably get a new, known-to-be-Briggs filter in the mail.

But if that's too much trouble, by all means screw on any filter that will fit the flange, genuine or counterfeit. It's probably painted just like a real Briggs filter and that Chinese-newspaper filtering media will work just fine.

If the filter was bought from an authorised Briggs & Stratton dealer then it will be a good filter.
If it was bought from a random on line source then who knows.
We have mower shops for people who want genuine quality parts and from memory Briggs actually has an on line retail presence.
Then there are big box stores that you can walk into because they are real. And because they are real and therefore sueable they also sell genuine parts or aftermarket parts of the same or higher standard.
Then there are the phony internet shops.
They may be a division of a real shop or just a computer in some ones garage taking orders & payments off the web then sending picking & delivery orders to a warehouse.
They might be selling genuine quality parts or OEM pars that failed Briggs QC and were rejected as being sub standard or fake parts who knows.
They are there because people are lazy , greedy , stupid or selfish or any combination of thereof.

Briggs change their part numbers more often that I change my underwear and it is not uncommon to fins the number on a part inside a package to be different to the number on the outside.
Or for that matter to order a part and have a totally different part number delivered for the part that has superceeded the part you ordered.

As previously mentions Briggs basically have 2 size filters and the filters come in 2 capacitiies that are correct for about 99% of their engines.
Confusion comes in with Vanguard engines that were originally designed & made in Japan so they have different part numbers to standard Briggs oil filters.

So 42932 / 492056 / 492932 / 492932S / 492932B / 4154 / 5094 / 5094H / 5094K / 842291 are all exactly the same oil filter, commonly called Briggs Short 27 microns , 7-9 psi pressure relief valve & anti drain back valve
The same filter also has Toro part number, A Cub Cadet part number , A John Deer part number , a Craftsman part number and probably a mile more.
If the filter was fitted to an engine with the mower makers brand name on the engine, generally the filter got a different part number , some times a different paint colour and that is part of the code specifications.
It is also identical to a Tecumseh oil filter and a Generac oil filter
The exact same filter, painted yellow but with more filter paper in it is 696854 / 695396 called "Extended Life"

These came out about the same time as Kohler started to fit yellow "high capacity" filters to their engines.


Then 300314 / 499532 / 70185 / 820314 are also exactly the same filter, commonly called "Briggs Long " these are 25 micron with a 9-12 psi pressure relief valve & anti drain back valve
Same filter but with more paper stuffed in & painted yellow is 692513

Vanguard "Full Perssure Lubrication" and the Cyclonic Commercial Briggs take
4153 / 491056 / 491056S again all exactly the same filter , 27 microns with 8-11 PSI bypass valve & anti drain back valve.


If you look across all of these specs you will notice they are all the same.
While some will get anal about the difference between 25 & 27 microns, there really is not any as the micron rating is +/- 10% so 25 is really 22.5 to 27.5

Each and every one of these filters will interchange and work perfectly well although in most cases the two larger filters will not fit in the space for the short filter when the engine is installed.
I am yet to see a filter that has become so full it is on bypass and if changed at Briggs recommended intervals there is no chance the filter would be clogged unless your 4 year old "helped daddy" by pouring a bucket of their best mud down the hole daddy pours his mud.
Briggs also order in all of their filters so they may even use a different number for the same part sourced from a different supplier, which would make good sense from a logistic & QC point of view.

IF I order any of the above in a Trade pack, they will have yet a different part number on the carton ( cause there is 12 in there) and some times on the filter as well.

So if you don't get what I am trying to tell you, there is no need to get an ulcer worrying about the part number if you purchased your filter from a bonna-fide source, you are being obsessive to the nth degree for no real purpose.

If you go to the web site of the filter makers, some of them will list the specifications of their filters and then list the dozen or more different part numbers that a single filter replaces.

Now when you are looking at transmission filters, things are very different but as far as engines are concerned any Briggs / Kohler / Kawasaki filter can be substitued , there is no effective difference apart from the actual size & shape of the outer case. Honda and a lot of the Chinese filters do not interchange as they are metric and if they screw on, will fall off in use.

If the filter was bought from an authorised Briggs & Stratton dealer then it will be a good filter.

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Go back and read post #15. Then you'll know where this filter was sourced.

This is what I bought just through Amazon
https://www.outdoorpowerdeals.com/3...lter-pro-series-696854-695396-492932-492932s/

This seller, Outdoor Power Deals, has their own website and sells through Amazon also. Like I stated I am at peace. Briggs website, under part number 696854, shows a picture with part number 695396 on it. These numbers must be interchangeable. If it were not why would Briggs have a misleading picture? I have 100% confidence that I have the correct filter. And that my engine will in fact not be destroyed when I use these filters.

Don

Good luck.

cpurvis said:

Good luck.

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Ditto.......

Dadillac said:

This is what I bought just through Amazon
https://www.outdoorpowerdeals.com/3...lter-pro-series-696854-695396-492932-492932s/

This seller, Outdoor Power Deals, has their own website and sells through Amazon also. Like I stated I am at peace. Briggs website, under part number 696854, shows a picture with part number 695396 on it. These numbers must be interchangeable. If it were not why would Briggs have a misleading picture? I have 100% confidence that I have the correct filter. And that my engine will in fact not be destroyed when I use these filters.

Don

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And if you check their web page there is no contact other than by email.
Tried a company check and they do not show up under that name.
No phone number, no street address.
Dogs have face book pages and any person on the planet can open an Amazon account, all you need is a US bank account number and for Ebay, a Paypal account.

So are they a real company or just electrons in cyber space ?
A big flashy web page means nothing whatsoever.
The last salary job I had was running a warehouse.
The excess bays were rented out on a daily basis to non entities who had really flashy web pages but were no more than a computer in some ones garage.
We picked up the containers from the wharfs, unpacked & pallatized the stock.
Occasionally a very old Asian looking woman came & took some photos of individual items.
Other than that their computer sent our computer a picking slip, delivery order & invoice to be included in the package.
The invoices showed photos of a non existent office and interior photos of factories that were lifted from the web.
Down the bottom were a string of brand names, none of which were ever in our warehouse.
Once our live link bank statement showed payment had been transferred from their bank account , the goods were despatched.
The only contact we had for them was a variety of email addresses at their own domain, so they could have all gone to a single computer and 3 mobile phone numbers which always went to voice mail.
I use 16 email addresses so them having over a dozen means nothing.
Over the short time I ran things these sorts of deals were very regular and we got a lot of emails requesting these services , a lot fewer phone calls and perhaps 1 or 2 personal visits a month.

While you are happy with your purchase because it came in a Briggs box with a Briggs number on both the box & filter, that does not prohibit the possibility that the parts you got were counterfit.
I have sold genuine B & S parts that were made in the USA , China , Mexico , The Phillapines , Canada & Brazil, but never from India, so who knows.
The most counterfitted item in the world is bearings and they come with "what name you want " printed on the side or moulded into the rubber seals.
Thus I rely on my wholesale suppliers who are real so can be sued for counterfitting supplying me with genuine products and to date there have not been any counterfit parts problems.
I see a lot of mower parts for sale on the web that are cheaper than the wholesale factory door price direct from the factory that makes them so they either have to be low quality counterfit parts or defective parts originally sold as scrap., then retailed, quite honestly as "OEM part" or "Fits xyz",

Now Outdoor™ Might be real, they might be a retailer of genuine surplus B & S parts bought at less than cost or they might be a counterfit outlet or do both.
All you have to work with is what you read on their web page, can you independently verify that information ?
The fact they use a logo very similar to MTD's Arnold logo again raises suspicions.
The use of a ™ after a very generic type of name is also suspicious but R & S did in fact register the name in 2013 and the first use was noted at 2003, not quite "over 20 years" as stated on their home page.
OTOH if the part works well then you are fine , but if it collapses and promotes excessive wear in your engine which will not become apparent for a few years , will you know ?
And if you do know how to get recommpence ?

OTOH you could have gotten the same price from Jacks Small Engines https://www.jackssmallengines.com/jacks-parts-lookup/part/696854 for the same price and these come from a real shop ( warehouse ) with a real street address and real contact phone numbers.
If you check the link you would also have noted that the part number has been superceeded which would have saved you a long conversation with Briggs customer service and some doubts.
You would have also seen just how many part numbers the same filter has / had and what it is supposed to fit. A bit lower down & you find the Stens after market alternative ( USA Made ).

So I purchased three filters from Briggs website. They were only about a dollar per filter more. Thought they would be more. They came today and here is what I found out. Although I purchased from Briggs the filters came from a company called Outdoor Power Direct. The boxes from Briggs are marked Made in India just as the other ones are. I opened one box of each and compared the filters. They are both made exactly identical. Obviously I did not cut them open. But visually they are identical. Same filter pleats, same color membrane, same internal structure. Now there is a slight difference on the outer shell. The Briggs filters have a bar code on them that the Amazon ones do not. BUT. But they both have the same part number on the outside. 695396. So all of these filters are authentic Briggs. So now I have 6 years worth of filters. So good to go in that area.

Don

If they are not plastic wrapped, the do that on a hot day when they are hot to prevent them rusting on your shelf.
Briggs have obviously got another supplier, the ones I have here are all made in Mexico.
Only got one customer who buys them.
Out of interest, try weighing them.
I did have a rep do that once, just used a length of extrusion on a piece of tube.
The cheaper ones from a supplier I no longer use were lighter.
The ones Stens were selling & the ones from my other supplier were all about the same weight as the Briggs branded ones although no 2 were close enough for the balance to sit horizontal

Did the first oil change today after mowing the yard. Damn that oil was hot. Being not sure how much oil would come out I drained into a measured container. Got exactly two quarts out. The drain system is pretty nice. I have the twist spout. There must have been synthetic oil in there as what came out was extremely thin. Just a bit thicker than water. Oil looked okay. I didn't see any visible metal or solids. So engine health is fine. I will have to remember to change the oil on a cooler engine in the future.

I ordered a deck blade height gauge. When I set up the mower I used a tape measure. Not the easiest thing to use. When that arrives I will check the blades again. I got the gauge that is made by Oregon. Since I like to buy "better" tools I Googled pro gauges. Didn't get any different hits. For those who service mowers for a living what do you use to adjust the deck? If there is a better gauge (providing the pros actually use a gauge) what is it? If plastic is the best there is than oh well I guess what I ordered will have to do. Thanks

Don

Cool, now very hot oil will be thin. And it can burn you good. The oil filter is the place to look for particulates, but you have to cut them open.

That Blade tip measuring gauge will benefit from gluing some weight on the outer most part. Other wise the gauge will just lift off the ground. (you'll see when you get it.)

They do make metal ones, but unless you are gonna start setting up decks regularly, that one from Oregon will do just fine for ya.

So the deck gauge came today and I checked things out in my garage. Garage floor isn't true to the world but things look pretty good. Maybe when it stops raining here I will check it on my sidewalk. That will be much flatter.

Don

I cut some blocks of wood on my table saw 2" x 2.5" x 3" and painted them white.
Deck leveling is not rocket science and with the blocks of wood you can see what is happening while you are making the adjustments.
People forget the trick is to do both sides so a 1/6 turn up on one side and a 1/6 turn down on the other works much better.

A lot of folk use foam coffee cups as the blade will put little dents into the foam.

Cutting grass is just like getting a haircut! The difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is about 3 days! Same with grass!

flywindy said:

Cutting grass is just like getting a haircut! The difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is about 3 days! Same with grass!

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:laughing: :thumbsup: