Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hi to all and thanks for all the help & direction I've  recieved from the board

My machine is an Ariens 926le.  As I get the machine  dialed in, I sitll have a few questions about performance. We are getting our second big dumping here in MN as I type this.  This time, the snow is very wet--almost slush.  In conditions like this, how far should the snow be flying?  I'm trying to make sure nothing is slipping.  When I hit about 4-5 inches this morning of very wet heavy snow in 1st or 2nd gear, it was traveling about 10-15 ft with the chute on a 45 degree angle.  We are expected to get up to 15 inches by tomorrow.   Everything is turning correctly and I hear no squealing belts or runaway, revving engines, so I think that things are all in alignment spec.  There were also times at EOD when the snow would litterally "bubble" out of the chute and begin throwing after about 2 secs.  Does this sound right?  I just don't have the experience with the snow and blowers--I'm from Texas  :)

Thanks again in advance.

Ok,  so, I am a total idiot.

I did do all the break in-procedures and adjusted everything, but apparently I forgot that after about 7 hours on the machine total, the belt might stretch a bit.  So, I pop the belt cover (engine off & safety precautions in place) and with the auger control engaged, I try to move the belt on the drive pulley to check for slippage.  And, well, it slipped like it was buttered.  SO, a quick check of the manual for clarification, mover the idler pully about 3/4 of an inch, check clearances again,  and boom,  I"m now throwing 6 inch deep snow about 40+ feet in 2nd or 3rd gear.  Drifts of 12-15, gears 1& 2, no problems.  EOD 18" of slush,  well, it's only going about 12-15 ft, so I'm ok with that. 

I bow down to those who knew the ways and power of the Ariens.  Now that it's been re-adjusted, I'm a believer.  Only thing is it is still dang hard to start.  Even when hot, it requires 1 click of choke to start it manually, or maybe I"m just not enough of a man,  nah, I got an Ariens..............

One other thing occurred to me as I also had to deal with a lot of wet snow and sluch. All the two stage snow blowers that I've seen have the impeller turning clockwise when you look at it from the operator position. That means that it throws to the right a lot better than the left since the chute isn't forcing the snow to do a "U" turn. I had wet heavy snow almost dribbling out to the left and flying about 15 feet to the right. I also have a hunch that its time to adjust belt tension again.

Yes, that adjustment after run-in can be important.