Kemp Chipper Transplant


  When you have something that is perfect, you keep it no matter what. I get that trait from my Pop. He, too, has some great stuff that works so well that it must never leave the family. His Kemp Chipper Shredder is a perfect example. He bought it in 1991 to clean up and manicure a good bit of land he had in Fairfax, VA. At first, the "cleanup" was just a reason to obtain another machine. But, over time, he realized it really was a perfect machine - it ran well, was well made, and fit his need. More importantly, it had many options which were advertised in multiple brochures, giving him hours and hours of rereading enjoyment even when the machine was stored away for the night or winter. When he moved to a golf course, the landscapers got all the fun and his Kemp sat quietly, taking up valuable alternate project space in his garage. So it came to live with me. It happened to come with its less useful little brother, a big MTD red machine that takes up three times the space and does three times less. I think its a outdoor vacuum cleaner - the epitomy of an oxymoron.

  Click for a Larger Image I picked up the Kemp Chipper Model K6CH and the MTD Outdoor Vacuum last fall from my Pop's house and brought them home. They lived crowdedly in the shed along with the G-Cart and the little riding lawn mower. This spring, I thought I'd try to use the chipper to grind up some old mulch and tailings from the yard gardens. When trying to start the Kemp, I felt little resistance in the motor. After pulling the plug, I stuck a little screwdriver in the hole and slowly pulled the starter - no piston movement. Not good.

  It just so happened that the outdoor vacuum cleaner had a horizontal shaft, 5HP Briggs and Stratton engine, (nearly) identical to that on the Kemp. So I decided that a transplant was in order. Here, I've done the extraction of both engines. I did it outside on the gravel cause the engines had a quarter inch patina of oily sawdust. Thankfully, the engine mounts were identical. The biggest differences are that the outside vacuum machine has a 1" shaft and the Kemp machine had a 3/4" shaft. For those that might care, I did reassemble the vacuum so it looks OK but doesn't work. Click for a Larger Image

  Click for a Larger Image Here is the Kemp motor with the side case taken off. I'm guessing that all that metal down in the bottom is related to the inoperative engine. That metal used to be the big end of the rod that connects the piston to the crankshaft. This makes four defective Briggs and Stratton engines (out of five) that I have owned or inherited that have had these rods break. If I have to have a gas engine now, it is never a Briggs and Stratton.

  Post motor transplant. I had to get a new pulley for the bigger shaft - cost $18 at the local Tractor Supply Store. Also replaced and added a few nuts and bolts to tighten everything up a bit. Note the oil fill tube on the transplant motor - it limits rearward motor adjustment. Also the exhaust puffs straight ahead. I could replace it with the old exhaust, but then I risk more Briggs and Stratton quality problems (busted studs). Click for a Larger Image

  Click for a Larger Image At work in the mulch pile. By this time, I had cleaned out the drum about three times cause the mulch I was grinding was already like dirt - it was clogging the holes in the drum. So I put a different exit door that my Pop had the forsight to have. It was a grate instead of a solid door. Stuff got out lots easier. It kind of shot out of the left side as well instead of having to get through the little holes in the drum. It really works nice. Thanks Pop!

Chip me off a Note