SMALL

ENGINES
HISTORY
 Scottish inventor, James Watt – developed concept of
horsepower
 Namesake of “watt” unit of power
 Expanded Newcomen steam engine (late 1700s)

 1800s – first crude internal combustion engines developed in

Western Europe
 Evolved to run on gasoline and kerosene

 Early 1900s – Briggs & Stratton developed revolutionary

stationary Type “P” engine
 Game changer for 4-cycle gas engines; set course to
become world’s largest manufacturer of air-cooled
gasoline engines
 Engine powered washing machines, garden tractors,
cultivators, and generators
 1953 – Briggs & Stratton revolutionized lawn and garden
industry by developing 1 st lightweight, air-cooled aluminum
engine
 Further advanced in 1958

 1970s – development of electric motors and one of the 1 st

gas/electric hybrid car prototypes (Briggs & Stratton)
SMALL ENGINES
 All shapes and sizes
 Used to power:
 Outboard motors
 Weedwackers/mowers
 Motorcycles
 Small generators
 Chainsaws
 Concrete mixers
IMPORTANT SMALL ENGINE
PARTS
 Cylinder head

 Spark plug

 Carburetor

 Muffler

 Crankshaft

 Dipstick

 Starter

 Air-filter

 Crankcase

 Fuel tank

 Camshaft

 Piston

 Valves

 Connecting Rods

 Flywheel
SMALL ENGINE PARTS
SMALL ENGINE PARTS
HOW ENGINES WORK
 Power and energy made by
burning mix of fuel and air in
cylinder
 As fuel burns, it explodes and
pushes piston down in the
cylinder
 Piston is attached to crankshaft
that turns as the piston moves up
and down
HOW ENGINES WORK
ENGINE CYCLE
 Common in most all engines:
 Intake: fuel and air pushed/sucked into cylinder
 Compression: fuel-air mix compressed as piston moves up
 Ignition/Power: spark ignites fuel-air mix; explosion pushes the piston down

 Exhaust: burnt gasses are pushed out through exhaust

 https://www.briggsandstratton.com/na/en_us/support/videos/browse/4-cycle-th
eory.html