The old snowblower...

[Mr._Graybeard]

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Originally Posted by NW-Bound Snow? It hits 96F today where I am. Nuf' said.

Ninety-six degrees?? Eew.

[rayinpenn]

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Originally Posted by Jack_Pine You would love the new Red.

The evil things you say.

[applewoodsb]

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Originally Posted by Livefree My 20 year old Ariens wasn't great on the ice/snow either. But I'm reluctant to upgrade as it's got the original Tecumseh engine and has never broken down. My neighbors new 15 HP Ariens sure does look nice though..

Well tecumseh has been out of business for some time. Parts are drying up. Some things are available aftermarket.

[applewoodsb]

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Originally Posted by JoeDreaming I also had 5" of ultra heavy snow. While using my Ariens 2-stage snow blower, one of it's 2 augers stopped spinning - the shear pin on that auger broke, but fortunately it's a simple do-it-yourself repair. Could that be the problem with your blower?

I recommend a Honda two stage. I can blow snow up into utility wires. Much better performance than the platter drive snowblowers. Be prepared they are in a different price range. As always you get what you pay for. Mine has just turned thirty years old. Blows snow twice as far as others.

[applewoodsb]

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Originally Posted by rayinpenn The predicted snowfall was 8 - 15 inches - "snowmegeddon". The night before I dutifully pulled out my trusty twenty year old Toro 'Red' to the front of the garage. I set up the extension cord, turned the gas line to the on position, checked the gas level and set it to full choke and turned Red over. A couple of tries and she kicked to life. I ran her 5 minutes and I figured all set. - the trick I learned was gas stabilizer and turning the gas line to the off position while Red was still running. Then when the machine stalled there would be no gas in the carburetor to gum up. I even pulled all the shovels out. Red and I have been through 2 houses and lots of storms together. The wife and I bought her at the Toro dealer for over $1,000 right after we bought our first house. Bam 15 inches became 4 or 5 inches of the heaviest snow known to man. I went out at 1pm, opened the garage door, fired her up and went 2 feet when I realized the auger was barely spinning! Another foot and it was totally clogged with slush. I pulled red back into the garage and checked her belts: good- the suspected culprit is the auger transmission. Yikes my poor red. Over the next few hours this 62 year old man was then reminded 1. I have a long driveway 2. Slushy snow is very heavy 3. I have a good wife 60 who helped me with my son clear the driveway for the next hour and a half. 4. It is not uncommon to have pain in your arms after shoveling heavy snow. 5. People with a metal knee fear falling on the ice and snow. Call me crazy but I am hesitant to abandon trusty old Red. I'm not sure we will be in this house too much longer. I plan on retiring in July and look forward to some Florida sun. A suitable replacement with lights and heated grips (snowblower bling) would be about $1,200 but it just won't be good old Red. I think ill investigate if they can repair my old gal and what it will cost....

When your engine shuts off from "running out of gas". It has not really run the carb out of gas, just to a level that it can no longer draw fuel. Only way to get all fuel out of carb is to open drain screw on float bowl. Highly recommend this.

[Ronstar]

I had a Snapper snowblower several years ago. It handled almost every snowfall we had. Only the wettest, deepest snows caused it to bog down a bit. But it was time consuming doing our 800' driveway. So I bought an atv with a plow. The plow is faster and more fun, but the snowblower was great because it blew the snow away from the driveway. The plow takes a while getting the snow off the driveway when it builds up snow banks along the driveway edges.

[GravitySucks]

My snowblower is whatever the green ones Home Depot sells.
12 years and only had one repair - had to free up and grease a spindle.
DW bought it for me after a neighbor 2 years younger than me was found dead at the end of his driveway.
Best $400 ever spent.

[Jack_Pine]

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Originally Posted by NW-Bound Snow? It hits 96F today where I am. Nuf' said.

Helpful.

[Fedup]

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Originally Posted by NW-Bound Snow? It hits 96F today where I am. Nuf' said.

Not to pile it on but it's purrfect weather here. It's 70 degree at 1:00 pm.

[Jack_Pine]

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Originally Posted by Fedup Not to pile it on but it's purrfect weather here. It's 70 degree at 1:00 pm.

Even more helpful to the discussion.

[jimbee]

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Originally Posted by Ronstar I had a Snapper snowblower several years ago. It handled almost every snowfall we had. Only the wettest, deepest snows caused it to bog down a bit. But it was time consuming doing our 800' driveway. So I bought an atv with a plow. The plow is faster and more fun, but the snowblower was great because it blew the snow away from the driveway. The plow takes a while getting the snow off the driveway when it builds up snow banks along the driveway edges.

I would consider a garden tractor mounted snowblower for an 800' driveway.

[rayinpenn]

Great news ... Red lives again $220.00 it turns out it was a valve that wasn't seating hence no horsepower and the slow spinning auger. "These are great machines.. we've seen that problem with the Tecumseh engines before"

God is great!

Edit: just came home from work and Red was waiting for me in the garage. I turned her switch to the on position, primed her with that rubber plunger, set her power to half and yanked away. It started - it hasn't started without the electric start in years. I cranked up the revs and put her in gear.. my god faster than I ever remember.. I turned the gas to the off position and let it run until the fuel line was empty. This weekend it is stabilizer or empty the tank for sure...

Good ole red it's good to have you home.. hey home depot looks like your going to have to wait a while longer!

You know it occurs to me the thought of putting Red to curb was so painful because Red is like me, past his prime, banged up, old but not quite ready to give up the ghost...

[Walt34]

Sweet! A lot cheaper than a new one.

[travelover]

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Originally Posted by rayinpenn Great news ... Red lives again $220.00 it turns out it was a valve that wasn't seating hence no horsepower and the slow spinning auger. "These are great machines.. we've seen that problem with the Tecumseh engines before" God is great!

I put my self through college fixing lawnmower engines. The Tecumseh engines typically had bad valves - just an inherent design defect. OK, with me though - paid my college tuition.

[rayinpenn]

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Originally Posted by Walt34 Sweet! A lot cheaper than a new one.

Amen to that...