Winter operation

[RoyM]

Dealer with Briggs and Stratton Vanguard twin has been phoning me regularly over the last several days. The engine is cutting out on both cylinders intermittently and the crank case is flooding with gas. The engine is on a z-turn, his customer is blading snow. The temperature is -30C with the wind chill. , the carb is icing up. I suggested he fabricate a hood or at least a cold weather kit but no dice. He expects me to keep his customer from sticking the machine where the sun doesn't shine. Gimme a bloody break.

[bgsengine]

maybe rig a diesel glow plug in the air cleaner cover and turn it on with a manual switch for cold weather operation? LOL

Other than turning the air cleaner to cold weather port (if equipped) or cold weather kit, couldn't imagine any real solution. Zero Turns are for mowing lawn... Period. Whoever dreamed up putting snow blades on them should be shot.

[okie]

Whoever dreamed up putting snow blades on them should be shot.

Sounds like he was half shot anyway

Travis

[NevadaWalrus]

Roy, if this dealer won't accept your legit suggestion ask him to stop calling about it. All anyone can do is offer reasonable suggestions and if he won't listen to reason there is no sense in you worrying about it.

[jimw1949]

I am a bit confused, please enlighten me as to what is going on. A dealer keeps calling you and wants you to fix a problem with a piece of equipment that he sold? I don't understand that. Why doesn't the dealer who sold it want to fix it for the customer?

[bgsengine]

I am a bit confused, please enlighten me as to what is going on.

RoyM works for a Briggs & Stratton distributor in Canada.... in some sort of dealer support function, I surmise.

(a Distributor Rep/Sales Rep/In-House Rep to support the dealer network... Off Topic: I absolutely LOVE our in-house rep for our dealer account at Central power - Can't imagine anyone being any better that that!)

[jimw1949]

I was not aware there was such a thing as distributor technical support. I worked at an appliance/electronics store and whenever we called tech support it was the manufacturer tech support. All those years I worked there and I never knew there was a distributor tech support. It paid me to get out of bed this morning, I learned something new today. Thank you.

[bgsengine]

I was not aware there was such a thing as distributor technical support. I worked at an appliance/electronics store and whenever we called tech support it was the manufacturer tech support. All those years I worked there and I never knew there was a distributor tech support. It paid me to get out of bed this morning, I learned something new today. Thank you.

depends on the company and the brand... Some brands may have central distributors , which are also a dealer support line "cushion" - much more skilled, trained, and knowledgeable than the common "general public" CSR hotline.. Other brands or manufacturers may be dealer direct , cutting out the distributor channel, and thus provide their own support helplines, etc... other companies may be a hybrid.. same can apply across most technical industries I can think of.. automotive & parts, motorcycles, atvs, small engines, lawn & garden, power tools, appliances, etc... It all depends on how the manufacturer chooses to do business.

[RoyM]

I am a bit confused, please enlighten me as to what is going on. A dealer keeps calling you and wants you to fix a problem with a piece of equipment that he sold? I don't understand that. Why doesn't the dealer who sold it want to fix it for the customer?

Because neither he or his customer want to pay for it. He feels it is a design flaw as the machine was supposedly marketed by the OEM as suitable for the application. We finally have Briggs and the equipment manufacturer talking to each other and a cold weather kit is being developed.
Brian is right, that is my role in this. The factory will not deal directly with Canadian dealers or consumers, the calls are kicked back to us but we cannot make decisions on it's behalf. It can be very frustrating.

[RoyM]

The sequel:
The dealer called today on another matter, I asked him if this issue was being resolved. The OEM has a prototype cold weather kit that is being sent to him for trial. If it works Briggs will supply a new engine, no point in changing it now only to have it fail.The dealer disconnected the crank case breather hose as I suggested, it seems to have improved the situation. At least all the parties involved are talking to each other, his customer is happy the issue is being addressed.