The annual snow blower thread

I should fuel mine up and get it started. Only an inch on the ground today, but sooner or later I'll need it.

We like to have fun while removing snow from the driveway...

We have a Toro that's a few years old. bought it with the house for a song because the previous owners didn't want to pay to have the carb cleaned out. They stored it full of gas... I cleaned it out and it has worked great ever since.

A little silicone spray lube keeps wet snow from sticking too much too.

Now I've upgraded to a Kubota 31hp 4x4 tractor and loader, but I keep the snow blower around for smaller areas and paths to the compost pile etc.

Been thinking about getting one of these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvQsJB8wHxQ

I figure I'll bump this again since snowaggadon is approaching

Grtechguy wrote:

fasted58 wrote: Buy the biggest, baddest machine you can... and it will ward off any significant snow accumulation for the foreseeable future.

This is the bare minimum needed:

And screw that pathetic little blower......

my dad bought a 7 horse John deer 2 stage in 1976. I recieved it when they retired 15 years ago. every year that thing amazes me, it starts first pull and hurls snow out of the way. I also have a 14yo operator now that make snow removal painless.

Snowblowers are interesting machines. I fired mine up two weeks ago to see if they would start.

For the past 2 years, I had an old circa 1969 Yard Man Snowbird 22" cut with an old 5hp Tecumseh. I need to post pics of this thing because it is weird, very cool, and dangerous. The auger is ALWAYS turning. There is a rod that engages the wheels. It has forward and reverse on a T-handle shifter, and a spring-loaded aluminum crank for the chute. The chute turns via a chain drive, and the ENTIRE center barrel rotates. As it rotates, the chute angle changes. This machine is now 45 years old, and it is still going strong. The owner's manual for the thing says to remove all dirt, debris, and BONES (yes, BONES!!!!) from its path prior to use, so I call it the Zombie Auger.

Pic of the machine (not mine):

I picked up a 2nd machine this pact spring: a 1987 Bolens 8hp 24" cut with an electric start. My dad and my uncle bought identical machines back in '87 for over $1k apiece. My uncle lives right on the ocean, and his driveway would only get a little bit of snow due to the wind, so it got very little use and stayed in the garage. My dad's machine got used hard and put away wet, and rotted into a rust nugget which is still under his porch. My uncle's, aside from minor surface rust, looks like it's about 5 years old. His son has a plow truck, so he hasn't used it in years, and he gave it to me.

Looks like this (minus the lights):

The Bolens actually runs worse than the Snowbird. The carb was gunked up, so I cleaned it with some carb clean, but it surges. Any clue why it would do that?

Woody wrote: Machines with tracks are nice for going straight, but they can be hard to maneuver, especially when you are just trying to move it around when there is no snow on the ground.

I have one just like this up at Moms. The treads are really nice in those cases where you have a depth deeper than the inlet, you can float it over the snow and do a high pass, then a low pass.

I had a REALLY easy time clearing snow compared to my neighbors during snowmageddon a few years back.

Yup, you have to use a bit of bodily force to maneuver it.

Also, I have found the plug-in electric start to be REALLY nice for an engine that goes long periods unused and I do little to no maintenance on. Think about how much of a pain the pushmower can be to pullstart first time in spring, now think about a really really cold engine that you have to get started in order to get out and get more starting fluid.

I'm kind of rebuilding my 72 Gilson 2-stage now. It started off as a new engine, then of course there's belts, fluids, adn grease. Now I'll be doing shear pins, tires, and my 7-year old was sandblasting the chute pieces for powder coating....

With the winter we are expecting, I have decided to take a step out of the box and make the snow my neighbors problem. Well, actually, my neighbors three streets away that is.

silver fleet: does your carb have jet adjustment screws. If so try adjusting. If it is fixed jet, do a thorough cleaning, making sure all the little holes are clear.

I think the tread thing has died out. I haven't seen a new one for sale.

As some one said, they have a problem with ice traction. That's what chains are for.

Well, I kinda solved my driveway problem with a 4WD RAV4 and General Altimax Arctics from (GRM Advertiser) TireRack. Next summer, I'll work on the 3rd Gen 3SGTE swap for it. Because, you know, you really need 300+HP for the winter roads.

I have a 86 deere 26", it has a fun power Briggs on it now and is a complete pile Of crap. I keep saying I'm going to buy a new one but I would rather spend $50 a season in parts than $750 all in one shot.

Time to bump this thread up, considering my town is expecting 3 FEET of snow over the next 36 hours. I am working from home today, so that means that I will be performing a lunch break tune up on both my machines. In the Fall, I had them both running, but my 1987 Bolens was having a surging issue. I'm hoping a fresh spark plug and a little fine tuning will help it out.

I tried to fire up my snowblower yesterday. No dice. The electric start isn't engaging and the pull start rope has been MIA for years. Ugh.

After having mine fail a few times last year (all due to lack of maintenance, I won't lie) and bodging it back together it got the full treatment in the off season, new scraper, belts, control cables etc. I thought I had appeased snow gods but nope, here it comes.

Mine is a big orange box yard machines unit we bought 8 or 9 years ago. Co-worker dropped dead shoveling and the wife said, that it, and drove me to the home depot to get a blower. We didn't have much money so we were aiming for one of the cheap little snow throwers but those were all sold out so they had the big 6 speed Yard machines marked down to $350 so they had something to sell. Deal. Its earned it's keep.

Bumping it back up... because my Bolens broke.

Since I got it running, it has run terrible. It would hunt and surge, and eventually, it started just dumping fuel out the throttle body. Throttle control had no effect on it, and neither did the choke position. It was bizarre! Sheer luck would keep it running. I just used it because it threw snow better than my Civil War-era Snow Bird, even when running weird.

Yesterday, it finally quit, and it wouldn't start again. To add insult to injury, the pull start cord snapped. It has an electric starter, so I can fix that later, but it needs some carb help.

So, where on a 1980's vintage Tecumseh 8hp engine would the casting numbers be located? I either need to order a carb rebuild kit or just order a new carb. Oh, and a new pull cord.

In reply to SilverFleet:

sounds like needle not seating or bad float holding needle open

pinch fuel line off and pull fuel bowl

In reply to fasted58:

I pulled the bowl and the needle, and sprayed carb cleaner up in there and put it back together, and it had zero effect. Float seemed to move freely.

if the float no longer floats you'll have problems

SilverFleet wrote: So, where on a 1980's vintage Tecumseh 8hp engine would the casting numbers be located? I either need to order a carb rebuild kit or just order a new carb. Oh, and a new pull cord.

Maybe this will help:

http://www.rcpw.com/rip/how-to/model-id/ariens/where-to-find-the-model-and-serial-number-on-an-ariens-snow-blower.html

Hand crank for the aiming if at all possible. Other options are either less reliable, more expensive, or both.

last night, I looked for the engine ID stampings, but couldn't find them. I decided to just pull the carb off and find the stampings on there. It's a 1099 carb, and they make cheap replacements.

With TWO more storms coming this week, I bit the bullet and bought a new replacement carb and pull start cord. Hopefully it shows up by Friday like Amazon says it will.

I went new over rebuilding the existing one for two reasons:

-The machine had sat for 10+ years before I decided to put it to use, so sediment and residue is probably stuck in places that cleaners can't get to.

-I suck at rebuilding carbs.

Hopefully I can have it all buttoned up and ready for the storms.

Clean the carb. Drain the carb. Clean the card. Drain the carb. Use the stabillllllsssssss and run it dry every time.

We could turn it into a mantra.

In reply to SilverFleet:

Replace every fuel line, clean the tank and new filter.

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:

Oh, I use Sta-Bil on all my machines every season. Works fantastic.

This one was passed down from my uncle to me, who put it away wet about 10 years ago when his son got a plow for his truck, and he had not used it since then. I was frankly surprised it ran at all!

It's going to get fresh lines, a filter (doesn't have one at all) and a new shut-off valve as well.

And double dumbass on me for not being prepared for the winter. We were having a snow-less, mild winter up until a week ago.