Myth test0 productsFuel & Additives

Small Engine: The Test Results

A head-to-head test of 0 small engine options with the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.

Some figures on this page were transcribed from the test video and have not been independently re-verified. Treat the numbers as a close guide and watch the full video for the exact readings.

The verdict

How it was tested

  • removal of the air filter and introduction of a controlled dirt and sand mixture into the engine intake to simulate years of unfiltered operation
  • visual observation of oil blow by into the carburetor and onto the frame after sand ingestion
  • cold engine compression and restart test after dirt ingestion, chapters titled Cold Engine Compression Test and Engine restarts after 25-30 pulls, but no compression PSI or pull count figures are ever spoken in the transcript, only qualitative statements that compression was too low to pull start and an electric drill with a socket adapter was needed to spin the engine over
  • visual comparison of engine oil color and clarity before the test versus after 15 minutes of running with dirt contamination
  • post mortem teardown and visual inspection of the piston, cylinder walls, and rings for wear damage
Data notes and caveats

No branded product or specific engine make/model is named anywhere in the transcript or description; this is a generic unbranded small engine (lawnmower) used purely as the subject of a destructive myth test, part of the channel's recurring destructive testing series, so the products array is empty rather than invented. The video's central question, Will Dirt Destroy an Engine, is answered narratively rather than with a declared winner: after only about three tablespoons of sand and 15 minutes of running, the engine had heavy oil blow by, blackened metallic looking oil, and on teardown, severe scoring and gouging on the cylinder walls, a torn up piston, and badly damaged rings; narrator's own words, it did not take long to destroy a perfectly good engine, I had no idea that such a small amount of sand would cause this much devastation and so quickly. Chapter titles reference a Cold Engine Compression Test and an Engine restarts after 25-30 pulls milestone, plus an Engine doesn't have drain plug note, none of which have matching spoken numbers or details anywhere in the transcript audio, so chapterMap is false and confidence is low pending video frame recovery of the on-screen figures. Logged to data/onscreen-only.txt for that recovery.

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