curious as to why some makers give you one number or the other but almost never both.

how is a body supposed to compare , or know what to expect ?

They changed the way they rated small engines a few years ago. Most now are rated by foot pounds of torque, rather than horsepower. Try to find a PDF version of the engine manual and it usually list the power specifications.

I assume the "cc" means cubic centimeters. vs horsepower.

Personal opinion, I would go more for the HP rating. I am sure there are ways to convert cc to HP, but why bother?

They changed because they got caught fudging the HP figures.

I retro-fitted a 13HP Predator engine onto a 28" cut Crapsman blower that came with a Briggs and Scrapiron engine rated at 8HP. (The B&S seized up, welded the rod to the crank. No loss, it was a POS anyway.)

I got two words for the results: Holy. Crap!

It will blow snow as fast as I care to walk. If it hits a drift, it just opens the governor a bit more and keeps on eating.

I just replaced a 20 year old MTD with a 8 HP rating with a new Ariens with a 12.5 ft-lb rating. The new Ariens will run circles around the ancient MTD.

Another point about engine size in cubic centimeters.

Flat head engine: Inefficient. Older Briggs and others.

Overhead Valve: More efficient than flat head but not as efficient as overhead cam.

Overhead Cam will generally be top of the line for horsepower & torque per cc.

I have a 6 HP Honda overhead cam on a pressure washer that is half the size and weight of a 8 HP Briggs that was on a old snowblower I junked.

My old Tecumseh used the same base engine for 8, 9 and 10hp. Same cc, different carb setup.

quote:

Originally posted by cee_Kamp:
Overhead Cam will generally be top of the line for horsepower & torque per cc.

I have a 6 HP Honda overhead cam on a pressure washer that is half the size and weight of a 8 HP Briggs that was on a old snowblower I junked.

Those Honda GC engines on your pressure washer are the worst engine in the entire industry for use on pressure washers. They have plastic camshaft pulleys which are not durable enough for use on a pressure washer. The plastic pulleys shatter due to the heavy load. At one time I had about 25 of them, junk, in my junk pile, when I had my small engine shop. When you told the customer that it cost more in labor to fix than the cost of a brand new engine, they decided not to fix and bought a new one. Also, people think that by spending more and buying a Honda, they are getting a better product. In the case of the Honda GC series of overhead cam engines, that is false. These engines are mostly junk, and not worthy of the Honda name on them. The cheaper made in China Honda GX clone engines on pressure washers are superior to the actual Honda GC engine.

In the future when shopping for a pressure washer, MAKE SURE it has a Honda GX200 5.5HP engine or equivalent Chinese clone engine. THIS is the small engine that made Honda famous and has legendary durability. Plus parts are RIDICULOUSLY cheap to keep it going. New carburetor? $10 New coil? $10 New recoil starter assembly and rope? $10. As long you change the oil every couple of years, there is not one reason why you cant keep a GX200 engine running perfectly fine and in good condition for 30 years or longer. Wonderful engines.

^^^Werd. GC stands for Generic Crap. Wouldn't give ya a nickel for a trainload of them.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
curious as to why some makers give you one number or the other but almost never both.

how is a body supposed to compare , or know what to expect ?

They are measurements of completely different things.
Cubic centimeters is a measurement of volume of displacement (sort of like size) and horsepower is the power output. Kind of like comparing a gallon of water to water pressure.
Usually more of either one is better but not interchangeable.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
Try to find a PDF version of the engine manual and it usually list the power specifications.

thanks ,
so far its a little puzzling

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
...Those Honda GC engines on your pressure washer are the worst engine in the entire industry for use on pressure washers...

In the future when shopping for a pressure washer, MAKE SURE it has a Honda GX engine or equivalent Chinese clone engine...

You had me concerned. I recently ponied up and purchased 4200 psi Dewalt pressure washer from Home Depot. Checked, relieved it is a GX engine.