I recently purchased a replacement Briggs 450e series engine for my old Rover, because the engine was worn out but the base was still in pretty good nick. I've been noticing with this dry weather, the air filter gets clogged in no time. I am forever cleaning it, and it is not easy to clean.
I made some inquiries about getting a remote snorkel for it. Blunt reply I have received is "We are not making them for these engines". This is a bit sad, considering they are being sold as lawnmower engines. In fact I note that one of the Victa mowers has this same engine, but no snorkel! And when looking at mowers in the shop recently I noticed that some no longer have snorkels. Is this some sort of "cost cutting" measure I wonder? If so, it will come back to bite the companies big time. There is the risk of sucking in an enormous amount of grit over time, due to the constant need to clean or replace these filters. Even if I am careful I find little bits of oily muck still end up on the filter or housing inside. And I can see the little plastic flap that holds the filter in place will soon get worn and then keep dropping off while mowing.
It is a pity, but it seems there is nothing that I can do, apart from try to make one myself. I wonder if anyone has had any success with purchasing remote snorkels that will fit, or modifying the filter cover to adapt a snorkel on to it? I suspect the answer will be "no", but it can't hurt to ask. :-)
