Jim Kemp Quality

[cschannuth 3,816]

I just want to commend @jimkemp Jim Kemp. I bought one of his fantastic mufflers six years ago when I was putting together my little rat rod tractor. I had a nice roller with no engine at the time and my dad had a predator sitting on the shelf not being used for anything so I put that in there and I wanted a muffler. I bought one from Jim for, I think, $50 at the time which is an incredible price. I started noticing a tinging type rattle from the front of my tractor when I was driving it and I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from for the longest time. One day last week I was pushing it out of the basement just to move it out of the way and I could hear it when the engine wasn't running  so I did some shaking around on the machine and I finally figured out that the baffle inside the muffler was loose. I contacted Jim and he immediately asked if I could ship it back to him so he could inspect it. He said he had improved the design since my muffler was built. He cut open the muffler, repaired it for free, and shipped it back to me along with my shipping cost to reimburse me. On top of that he put a fresh coat of paint on it before he sent it back. I just wanted to say that so that everybody can hear how he treats his customers.  I could not ask for a better experience. Here’s a before and after picture. Sorry for the bad angle on the after shot.

Edited July 1, 2022 by cschannuth
Spelling

[dclarke 4,032]

I've bought a few mufflers from Jim and love them. He makes a quality product and has always provided great service to me. 

[953 nut 55,223]

The mellow tone of Jim's mufflers is what sold me, one more happy customer. 

[Jennifer 1,877]

I to bought from Jim!   Great price and great quality!  Oh and looks great too!!!  

[ebinmaine 67,484]

This is what absolute top level customer service is all about. 

@jimkemp. Nice. Thank you. 

 

I have a special edition of Jim's on my 1974 C160-8 Cinnamon Horse. 

Excellent build quality. 

Nice mellow low tone. 

[jimkemp 525]

Thanks everyone , I do my best to make sure they are the highest quality , but if something ever goes wrong all you have to do is let me know and i will always make it right no matter what , again thank you all

 

Jim Kemp

[rjg854 11,361]

You were great with me when I had a problem trying to quiet down a loud 10hp kolher. Customer service was fantastic 

[Jennifer 1,877]

@Handy Don  well you asked for a video of the sound from 8 feet… I figured if you requested it maybe others wanted to hear so I posted here!  As you requested 20 seconds at idle 20 seconds at mid throttle and 20 seconds at full throttle and then back to idle hope this helps you these are really nice stacks!

Edited July 4, 2022 by Jennifer

[Gregor 4,846]

And 2 is even better than 1 ! 

 

[Handy Don 12,217]

15 hours ago, Jennifer said:

hope this helps you these are really nice stacks

Definitely mellows out the harshness to a less "strident" tone. Not sure if overall its any quieter. Hmmm.

Thank you for making the video!

 

1 hour ago, Gregor said:

And 2 is even better than 1 ! 

How does the exhaust gas know which stack to take when leaving the engine! 

[Gregor 4,846]

21 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

How does the exhaust gas know which stack to take when leaving the engine! 

The stacks take turns, but you have to watch the one on the left, he gets greedy.

[ebinmaine 67,484]

3 hours ago, Gregor said:

The stacks take turns, but you have to watch the one on the left, he gets greedy.

So not an "Alternate Merge" situation?

 

[Handy Don 12,217]

3 hours ago, Gregor said:

The stacks take turns, but you have to watch the one on the left, he gets greedy.

Hmmm. 2x is a kinda costly solution, but what's your take on the overall volume with the dual stacks? Does the longer piping have an effect?

 

[Gregor 4,846]

1 minute ago, Handy Don said:

Hmmm. 2x is a kinda costly solution, but what's your take on the overall volume with the dual stacks? Does the longer piping have an effect?

 

2 stacks or 1, didn't make a noticeable difference on the 7hp Tecky.

[Handy Don 12,217]

I have the K181, same as @Jennifer, and still hoping to take it down by at least 5db or more when running under load at 3k+ rpm.

I've taken notice of how some manufacturers have enclosed their small engines and put in sound insulation as well as using more complex mufflers--Honda is a prime example. Apparently "block ring" is almost as loud as the exhaust noise.

[Horse Newbie 7,069]

I know this is off topic, so allow me to apologize now, but what does the white heart in the red ribbon at the top right corner of some posts mean ? The reason I ask is it blocks me giving an “ excellent” reaction on the post.

[ebinmaine 67,484]

9 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Apparently "block ring" is almost as loud as the exhaust noise

I've never used a decibel meter on a Kohler engine. I have experimented with at least half a dozen different mufflers.  

Mr Kemp's special muffler I have is pretty quiet and has a nice low tone. 

The only one quieter was a fleebay find aftermarket Cub type that was a stack on an 8 HP Kohler I had.  

 

I found through changing multiple silencers on a K341 that the engine noise NOT related to exhaust output is louder than most folks expect. 

 

When trying to quiet an engine it's VERY important to make sure it's in good tune. A small increment of movement in the points gap can change the sound output dramatically.  

Another thing one can do is install a very long exhaust pipe.  Thicker is said to be better. 

 

 

I've never been a believer in seeing side shields in an AIR cooled engine.  

 

Installing stick on sound deadener mats to underside of the hood will have some effect but may not be as much as desired.  

 

[cschannuth 3,816]

Here’s a 7 HP Kohler on the Ranger I got from Denny and a before and after on the 6.5 HP hemi in the rat tractor. 

Edited July 5, 2022 by cschannuth
Clarity

[Handy Don 12,217]

2 hours ago, Horse Newbie said:

I know this is off topic, so allow me to apologize now, but what does the white heart in the red ribbon at the top right corner of some posts mean ? The reason I ask is it blocks me giving an “ excellent” reaction on the post.

It means that post got a lot of reactions. I don't understand why additional reactions might be blocked.

[Handy Don 12,217]

2 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

I've never used a decibel meter on a Kohler engine. I have experimented with at least half a dozen different mufflers.  

Mr Kemp's special muffler I have is pretty quiet and has a nice low tone. 

The only one quieter was a fleebay find aftermarket Cub type that was a stack on an 8 HP Kohler I had.  

 

I found through changing multiple silencers on a K341 that the engine noise NOT related to exhaust output is louder than most folks expect. 

 

When trying to quiet an engine it's VERY important to make sure it's in good tune. A small increment of movement in the points gap can change the sound output dramatically.  

Another thing one can do is install a very long exhaust pipe.  Thicker is said to be better. 

 

 

I've never been a believer in seeing side shields in an AIR cooled engine.  

 

Installing stick on sound deadener mats to underside of the hood will have some effect but may not be as much as desired.  

 

I'm gonna pull out the decibel meter when I next have the K181 running and do some measurements.

I agree on the tone change with the Kemp into a less offensive range of frequencies and that may be enough.

The Cub mufflers (and similar) are readily available but can be large and challenging to mount. The "upward stack" is not the look I'm interested in and the underside is reserved for implements!

Yep, lots of vibrating metal in an engine and the attached tractor sending sound waves all over!

A timing light is on my "wish list" now, with the K181 is as well-tuned as I can get it by setting the gap. (I had one years ago but donated it to a church tag sale once I sold my last points-using car!)

Air cooled engines need careful attention to airflow for sure, but it is possible (sometimes with an electric auxiliary fan a la some D160s and D200s) to properly cool them. (Heck, with a big enough fan I could generate some down force for high speed cornering, right?)

Sound mats sound intriguing . I might experiment with layering some heavy damp rags atop the hood first while I have the decibel meter out.

[Horse Newbie 7,069]

38 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

It means that post got a lot of reactions. I don't understand why additional reactions might be blocked.

@Handy Don… all reactions aren’t blocked… just the top one covered by the ribbon… thanks for the answer… all good !

[Blasterdad 2,692]

I got these 2 beauties in the mail today! 

I'm going to have 2 very happy C-160's.

Happy owner too! Thanks Jim! 

 

[Miles 1]

Hello Jim, I want to purchase one of your mufflers for my 12 hp wheel horse. I'm ready to purchase. Please send me the information I will need for payment

[SylvanLakeWH 25,557]

20 minutes ago, Miles said:

Hello Jim, I want to purchase one of your mufflers for my 12 hp wheel horse. I'm ready to purchase. Please send me the information I will need for payment

@jimkemp