[AT] cheating on hp

[Chris Britton]

>Which brings up a side question about horsepower..  When did they start
>the massive cheating on horsepower ratings?  I have an old Case VAC that is 
>rated at well under 30 HP and I have a newish lawn tractor that is rated at 
>26.
>The Case can pull pretty much anything I ask it to, or make a mess out of
>the ground trying.  Lets just say that the lawn tractor must be using much
>smaller horses

Smaller engines.. especially lawnmower engines rate hp generally on max 
attainable hp that the engine can produce, with no attachments on it,at an 
rpm just before the engine detonates.. I.E.  at a higher rpm than the owner 
will be using it at.  They may also be able to adjust the carb, fuel and oil 
for this test.  As you have noticed.. tractors.. especially older ones.. are 
much more realistically and conservatively rated.. usually specifting a belt 
or pto hp  drawbar.. etc.

As for the pulling? weight will be an issue with traction.  I'd wager that a 
2000# 18hp tractor would be able to pull more load than a 30hp 500# lawn 
mower, just due to weight, inertia and traction issues.. etc.

Soundguy