# Anyone try Platinum or Iridium plugs?



## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Has anyone tried Platinum or Iridium plugs in their snowblower or lawn mower for a hotter spark for easier starting?


----------



## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

JLawrence08648 said:


> Has anyone tried Platinum or Iridium plugs for a hotter spark for easier starting?


I replaced the torch plug after i read here they were garbage i saw no change on the lct 414
ill keep the torch as a backup
i also have never ownd a small engine that woudnt start 1 pull when set up right must be lucky
dont see it helping a good running engine or hurting


----------



## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

Use Iridium plugs on the bike and are great but no issues starting the lawn equipment on a standard plug so never spent the extra, Bike didnt have issues either but was changing them anyway so put the Iridium plugs in.


----------



## Lottstodo (Feb 16, 2018)

I have never used them in a small engine. A friend put Iridium plugs in his old but real nice Polaris 295 colt snowmobile and melted the the left piston. Destroyed the jug. I think a 1973. He said it was running great but decided that after 45 years with the factory plugs he would give it a once over. It may have 2500 miles on it.


----------



## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

Lottstodo said:


> I have never used them in a small engine. A friend put Iridium plugs in his old but real nice Polaris 295 colt snowmobile and melted the the left piston. Destroyed the jug. I think a 1973. He said it was running great but decided that after 45 years with the factory plugs he would give it a once over. It may have 2500 miles on it.


No plug can do that, A seriously lean running cylinder on the other hand will.


----------



## old ope mechanic (Feb 16, 2018)

Dauntae said:


> No plug can do that, A seriously lean running cylinder on the other hand will.


oh yes and very fast. seen it to many times in the shop,one side is fine the other gone. 


as to plugs the torch brand made in china plugs last a few hours at the most,then fail,, with the hours per year run on a small engine a good old copper plug works fine for many years . i mean how many times is a 20 year old briggs or tech found that still runs good with the OEM champs still in the head? 
a 3 buck plug ver a 10 buck,each to their own


----------



## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

One of the reasons to use Platinum or Iridium plugs on cars is to get extended life (90-120K miles vs 30K on standard plugs) without needing replacement (less maintenance). 
On a small engine I do not see the need for one (but the same happens with synthetic oil use and I DO use Mobil-1 on my small engines :grin.
I've always used standard plugs on small engines.


----------



## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

*I just use those plain old high flootin' NGK Plugs with oot all the fancy smancy stuff on them. come to think of it I ran 1 of those in the weed mower for 5 years before it finally told me to change him oot.:facepalm_zpsdj194qhk:k:k::wavetowel2:*


----------



## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

i use regular NGK plugs in all my lawn/snow equip and have never had one fail. cost abot 1.30 cents


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Dauntae said:


> No plug can do that, A seriously lean running cylinder on the other hand will.


If the plug isn't the correct heat range as in too hot it can cause pre-ignition and in short order pop a hole in the piston. 

It's just a snowblower. I do use special plugs in my cars but one it turboed and the other is supercharged. They can make use of something special. Snowblowers just get a standard Chanpion, NGK, ... I tried E3's, IMHO worse than junk !!

.


----------



## 1132le (Feb 23, 2017)

old ope mechanic said:


> oh yes and very fast. seen it to many times in the shop,one side is fine the other gone.
> 
> 
> as to plugs the torch brand made in china plugs last a few hours at the most,then fail,, with the hours per year run on a small engine a good old copper plug works fine for many years . i mean how many times is a 20 year old briggs or tech found that still runs good with the OEM champs still in the head?
> a 3 buck plug ver a 10 buck,each to their own


as to plugs the torch brand made in china plugs last a few hours at the most,then fail,,

the torch i removed worked perfect and looked perfect it had 75 plus hours on it
when people post bad info on something and the masses run with it
someone types it must be true cough cough


----------



## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

I use iridium on my propane converted generators, better cold starting. Copper on everything else.


----------



## broo (Dec 23, 2017)

For the amount of use a typical snowblower sees, I see no reason to get anything fancier that regular plugs that will last many years anyway.

In almost all my OPE I put Champion plugs since that's the easiest ones to get for me. Only my pushmower has an E3 since I couldn't find anything else in stock that was compatible at the store.


----------



## deezlfan (Nov 8, 2017)

Platinum and iridium plugs are designed to stand up to high energy ignition systems typical of modern automobiles. Since a OPE engine doesn't have that, it is unneeded.


----------



## old ope mechanic (Feb 16, 2018)

1132le said:


> as to plugs the torch brand made in china plugs last a few hours at the most,then fail,,
> 
> the torch i removed worked perfect and looked perfect it had 75 plus hours on it
> when people post bad info on something and the masses run with it
> someone types it must be true cough cough


I'm going by my first hand inside MY shop with them, the early ones fouled or shorted out in hours 10 at the most,that alone made me care enough that when i did a PDI of a new machine, they came out and champs went in, this was more as a personal caring for my customers thing on my own part,

i also gave a emergency kit with the machine, a set of spare belts and shear pins when called for and 1 qt of factory branded oil,a new 1 gallon gas can and small bottle of stabilizer with my sales. when delivered to the home a careful walk through of HOW to operate the machine ,how to check the oil properly, 

i always felt a few bucks less in my pocket that could very possibly make a repeat customer ,which it did and had less problems down the line


you had good luck with the plug, great good for you, but not common,


----------



## Lottstodo (Feb 16, 2018)

As to the lean condition only, not so on a twin single carb . Polaris said that the new plugs fire hotter than those of the era of 1973 and even though the plug equivalent was used it will still burn hotter. In that era they even cautioned people from using fire injector plugs. and on a fan cooled twin the left cylinder was not being cooled as much the rt was as the fan is on the rt of the case and with a more intense spark the lft could not dissipate the heat build quick enough thus the melt down.


----------



## arienskids (Jan 26, 2018)

ngk br2lm is what i use in all flatheads, bpr6es for ohv engines


----------

