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

I bought a 2 stage Craftsman snowblower from a friend of my wife's for $200.  It seemed to work well last year  and the year before for the most part.  This year though, clearing snow has been an adventure.  This machine's engine bogs down going through as little as 4 inches of somewhat heavy snow and doesn't throw the snow more than 8-10' and doesn't clear the mounds of snow collected at the edges of the driveway with the chute extended all the way up.  It is a self propelled model and I couldn't even run it in the slowest gear more than 6" at a time for fear of it dying on me.  The chute clogs easily because of this, although today once I cleared it, it stayed clear.  I seriously think I could have shoveled my driveway faster than what it took using a machine.  Can anyone tell me what is wrong?

Depends on what you mean by bogs down.

1. Is the engine slowing down - old gas, needs tuneup, new spark plug, turn the choke off after warm up;
2. Do the augers keeps turning? If not shear bolts, auger belt tension or busted auger belt;
3. Do you hear the engine reving up when you put it under load? If not you might be going too slow or the governor ( automatic throttle) needs service;
4. Wheels spin blower doesn't move - height of auger housing is too low and your digging into the ground and/or hitting ice or some other immovable object;
   

Basically we need a full description of what is happening and how you have cared for the machine. Loss of power due to not draining the gas tank at the end of the previous season is very different from a loose auger belt but they can both show up as "bogging down".

The engine slows down under load.  Once it clears the little bit I feed it, the engine revs back up.  I can't run it faster; it will die on me.  The gas is fresh; I bought fresh gas yesterday.  The auger and impeller keep turning.  I can't speak to the maintenance prior to when I bought it, but I have not changed the plug and the tank is dry when I put it away for the year.  It is possible that my ex-wife put an oil gas mix in the tank a few times because she didn't know any better.

My old Snapper did the same thing. I fixed it by adjusting the idler pulley for the auger belt. The belts stretch with age so you need to tighten them up. After that she threw snow like the old beast she is.

Oil gas mix would just cause some smoke, It might also foul up the plug. Pull it and have a look, if its all black and dirty replace it or clean and regap it.

If you can't put the throttle in the "fast" position then it sounds like a carburetor problem. It might be time to take it in for service unless you want to learn the fine art of small engine servicing.