Why Repower a Toro Sand Pro with a New Kohler or Briggs Engine

Admit it. There are some pieces of equipment in your fleet that you just LIKE. It may be that old Toro Greensmaster that’s served you faithfully for years, or the Toro Sand Pro that everyone just loves. Golf cart maintenance is very important and can be done with a small engine rebuild kit. Greens equipment hasn’t changed much over the years – whether it is mowers, rakes, or sand groomers, they were good to go when they started, and they still are. The only thing that has changed is the small engines. Small engines that can be repowered by a Kohler small engine or a Briggs small engine is much more feasible than going out each spring and purchasing new golf course equipment.

To keep your old faithful machine and renew it to a more powerful, cleaner and quieter machine, with a price tag that can be as much as 90% less expensive, consider repowering rather than replacing.

Repower, according to one government source, means to replace an old engine with a new engine, a used engine, a remanufactured engine, or electric motors, drives, or fuel cells. It only makes sense – after all, why throw the baby out with the bathwater? Ol’ Sandy’s engine may be wearing out, but the rest of her is still going strong. Why junk the old girl when you can give her a new motor and have her running good as new?

A Kohler repower kit includes everything you need to get your dependable Toro equipment working better than new. Depending on where you get the kit, you can replace the original 14 hp motor with an 18 hp motor that works harder, quieter, cleaner and for about 20% the cost of buying new.  On top of that, you’ll get 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.

A Kohler Engine is an original Toro part. Repower engines from Kohler are specially designed to replace the OEM engine that your machine came with. In addition to the motor, you’ll get all the fittings, bolts and Toro parts you need to fit the new engine into your Toro machine. So if your old, dependable sand groomer, rake, lawnmower, tractor or utility vehicles are becoming less and less dependable, take a serious look at the option of replacing the old, tired engine with a spanking new repowered kohler engines.

Mowers use small engines, which are relatively simple to build and maintain. They also use a lot less fuel than larger automobile engines. There are a couple reasons for this, one of which involves the fact that small engines are two-stroke, while larger engines are four-stroke. This means that it needs half the rotations in order for the fuel to spark and create the energy needed to power the mower, or whatever equipment that’s being run on the small engine. This helps with fuel maintenance while other aspects of a small engine simply make it easier to run. For one, since small engines don’t create as much heat, they can be cooled by the surrounding air, while larger engines need cooling liquid to run through it in order to properly cool down.

A recent development in small engine mower technology is the addition of gasoline engines with Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) systems. This technology, which has been used by Kohler small engines, a leader in EFI, helps with fuel economy in traditional carbureted engines. The monetary savings you get when using Kohler engines that enable EFI technology is reason enough to consider it as a fuel efficient new energy for a motor. For every $3.00 gallon of gasoline used in a mower, EFI technology will make it efficient enough to actually save $0.75. That’s an impressive feat, leading a number of top name brands to use Kohler engines in their products.  So, as price continues to rise on the fuel front, mower manufacturers are coming up with new technologies and alternative fuel sources. It’s changing the face of small engines and mower technology, and it’s very possible these changes will make a lasting influence on the fuel economy of mowers.

-Ben Anton, 2008