Small Engine Rebuild Kits: Saving Money With A Kohler Repower Kit
Golf course equipment upkeep is a chore but a necessary part of keeping any golf course in premier shape. Maintaining the carts, mowers and trucks used on any private or public course can help ensure that they run to their optimum potential and that they last for several years. However, situations do arise when the engine in one of these pieces stops performing at its best or goes out all together. In that situation, buying a new engine to replace it may seem like the best option. In many cases, however, it is not. Many small engines used in golf course equipment can be replaced with repowered Kohler or Briggs Stratton small engines. By using a repower kit, you can restore you mower, hauler or truckster to a more powerful, cleaner and quieter machine at a much more reasonable price.
Repower is the term used to describe replacing an old engine with a new engine, a used engine, a remanufactured engine, or electric motors, drives, or fuel cells. It essentially is an engine heart transplant for your equipment. A complete Kohler repower kit, for example, includes all the fittings, bolts and Toro parts you need to replace the engine in a Toro product with a new, improved Kohler small engine. The benefit of repowering is simple – replacing a poorly performing small engine with a repower kit can be as much as 90% less expensive than replacing the entire piece of equipment.
Depending on where you get the kit, you can replace the original 14 horse power motor with an 18 horse power motor that works harder, quieter, cleaner and for about 20 percent the cost of buying new. On top of that, the quality rebuild kits come with a full two year warranty on your new engine. And if your state has an Emission Reduction program, you may actually be able to be reimbursed for all or part of the cost of repowering your equipment with a cleaner engine. Check your state’s web site for local information, but in most states around the U.S., if the new engine significantly reduces the NOX emissions, you may qualify for grant money to repower with a new Kohler engine.
Golf course equipment use small engines, which are relatively simple to build and maintain, making them perfect for repowering. A recent improvement to small engine mower technology is the addition of gasoline engines with Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) systems. It helps with fuel economy in traditional carbureted engines. This technology has been used by Kohler small engines - the savings you get when using Kohler engines that enable EFI technology is significant. For every $3.00 gallon of gasoline used in a mower, EFI technology will make it efficient enough to actually save $0.75.
Saving money and getting a superior engine are solid reasons to consider repowering the small engine in your Toro golf course equipment. Talk to an expert or read reviews online if you are looking to improve the performance of your course’s maintenance equipment.
~Ben Anton, 2008
