DuroMax XP20HP 500cc 1-Inch Horizontal Shaft Recoil Start Gas Powered Multi-Use Engine

I got the XP7HP version. It's a good little engine. The recoil starter bolts are metal, not plastic, which I like. The engine is extremely loud, the silencer may as well not even be there. The only quality issue I found was odd wear on the crankshaft counterweight. Keep in mind I have not run the engine yet when this photo was taken, it was brand new out of the box. That wear is from the factory. But the engine still works, so I'm not going to complain about it on a $200 engine. The rocker arms were oiled, and looked good. After I reassembled it it started on the third pull. Then after that it has always started on the first pull. It's no high performance engine, but it gets the job done.

I purchased this engine as a replacement for a Briggs 12 hp V-twin. The $329 price tag was the deciding factor - that's about half the cost of the Briggs short block. The engine is mounted on a BCS 30" roto tiller. All of the mounting was ready-to-go right out of the box. The clutch slid on the keyed shaft, and the retaining bolt turned right into the 3/8 - 24 tapped hole. It was only about an hour from opening the box until I was ready to go. After reading the other reviews, I was concerned about the starter connections, and also about building a battery box. Neither was an issue, as the engine is very easy to start and I haven't felt any need to use the electric starter or connect a battery. A brief examination, however, makes it clear that the only connection necessary is the battery cables - shouldn't be a problem. My tiller has a "dead man" switch that kills the engine if the machine gets away for some reason. Using the schematic, I was easily able to figure out how to connect the kill switch. The only difficulty I encountered is that I wasn't able to connect the throttle cable from the tiller control handlebar. That hasn't been a big problem - I merely set the engine rpm before I start work, and it goes fine. The engine is a piece of cake to start - it has started on the first pull every time. It does require a fairly stout tug on the cord, usually a "two handed" tug. It seems louder than the Briggs, but I don't have any way to measure decibels, and if louder, it's by just a little. It runs very smoothly, with no surging or "hunting", and fuel consumption seems reasonable - but, without a meter to count hours of operation, my opinion of fuel consumption is quite subjective. Without a dynomometer, there isn't a way for me to measure actual horsepower output, but there is no doubt is has a bit more zip than the old Briggs. As of this writing, I have used the engine for about 20 hours without any problem whatsoever. My own measure of engines like this one includes longevity, so I might be back to edit this if the engine doesn't give me a few years of good service. At this point, I don't hesitate to recommend it.

I had my doubts about this engine being such a good price point but it pleasantly surprised me! I purchased this motor for my sons go kart along with a torque converter kit and it works great. Tons of low end torque for hills but still has good top end. The electric start switch did give me a little bit of a problem but i installed a remote push to start switch that fixed that. The engine puts out plenty of charging power as well. It keeps the starting battery charged and we run 5 LED offroad lights no problem. I was worried that the motor my not be able to handle the bumps of off roading, especially since my sons go kart has the motor mounted on the moving portion of the rear swing arm/suspension, but it runs strong regardless of terrain. It has even be rolled a few times, but we flip it over and it fires right back up with a few puffs of smoke. This motor has given me the confidence to try other things from Duromax. I am look at their generators. If they are anywhere near as durable as this engine, I will be happy. And again, if you want to use this for a go kart, get the torque converter. You wont regret it.

I bought this for a large-ish bandsaw mill I am building (1-1/2" x 21' long blade). So far I am impressed with the engine. I have it mounted and have run it a little, but the mill is not yet 100% complete so I cannot yet comment on how powerful it is as related to cutting slabs. It is surprisingly quiet, pleased about that. As you may see in some questions, the included "manual" is not at all helpful for wiring up the ignition. There is a Q&A on here that has a link to the document you need for wiring this up. After getting it wired, it started right up, no issues at all. For the money, this seems like a pretty decent motor. By way of comparison, I was initially planning to buy the HF Predator motor which is a 22HP twin cylinder motor, but that one goes for about $700. To be honest, that one is likely a better fit for my project, but thought I'd try this first and maybe save some money. Time will tell. UPDATE July 2018: We have been using this successfully for a few months now on our bandsaw mill. It is working good with adequate power. Only noted downside is it does not seem to charge the battery consistently. Could be it just doesn't have enough electrical output to do the job, but the motor itself is performing well. Will update again if there is anything of note to add.

I bought one of these engines for a mini bike I was building. I had to make the frame anyway so fit wasn't an issue. the build quality is good and it starts easily and runs great ... not too loud. Electric start works ok but It doesn't seem to charge the battery so I rarely use the electric start...

Started up right away and runs strong. No complaints. A lot of engine for the price! Purchase to independently power a formerly tractor PTO snowblower.

Put in a golf cart, bought two kept one stock and modified one. Both start perfect every time. It fits better than the 670 because it is two inches shorter and lighter. The stock engine does not include a muffler but I added a 1.5 inch generator muffler and the engine is quiet aside from the valvetrain being a little noisy, but hey that's how puchrod engines are. Super powerful, unlike duromaxes 440cc I'm pretty sure this one makes advertised horsepower. The engine can be slightly modified for crazy power. Only complaint is the plastic cam gear, but that's no problem if you get a high lift cam ;)

I bought the XP35HPE engine for my stump grinder hoping it would be a good replacement with some extra horsepower. I had my mechanic install it and when he went to turn the engine over for the first time it made a grinding noise and locked up. Upon further inspection behind the front cover he found chunks below the flywheel, he discovered some of the magnets on the charging system had broken off and damaged some of the copper windings, for reasons unknown, but regardless should not have been an issue out of the box with a new engine. I reached out to the manufacturer to seek warranty, called twice within a few days, could not get ahold of a representative either time and left a message both times with no call back, reached out through email and no reply. After my mechanic cleaned out the chunks it ran and appears to still work but I have little faith in it knowing it had this issue out of the box and the company is ignoring the issue. It appears to run and work ok for now but as I said, I have little faith it will last, I’m under the impression it is cheaply made. The other thing about this engine is it is very electronically controlled, electric start and electric throttle adjustment, because of what I have experienced thus far I do not see these features lasting long in something that works outside in the elements. This stump grinder is the key element to my business and after two weeks of waiting for the engine to arrive I’m stuck with something I can’t rely on and no response from manufacturer. Do not recommend