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

Well, I figured 5" of very light snow warranted use of the snowblower since I have been looking forward to trying it out.

I went w/ a 24" wide model as it fits in my garage much better and is easier to maneuver between my cars.  I did not think I was going too fast - maybe speed 3 or 4 - but snow seems to escape around the sides of the cage.  So several times I had to double back over the trail I left behind.  I don't remember that happening w/ my 29" Craftsman.

Also, my second reverse gear runs just as slow as the first reverse gear.  Can I adjust that myself or should I have the dealer do it?  I am sure they will but I have to borrow a truck to bring it back to the shop, so if it is easy I would do it myself.

Lastly, the snow was not going near 40'.  I figured 9.25HP over a 24" width would be a monster.  I think this was because the snow was so fluffy, it seemed to disinergrate in mid air.  I guess I will wait for a heavier snow to evaluate that.

Gotta say, the automatic traction control worked great.  The machine is extremely easy to turn.

I appreciate any input you guys can provide :)

As a follow up question to the snow trails, is it possible that the impeller is not spinning fast enough to get rid of the snow before too much accumulates in the cage?

Pick up a shovel full of light fluffy snow and throw it.  Do the same with heavy snow.  See which goes further.   Don't worry.  When you get into some heavier snow, it will fly.  If snow is escaping the intake scoop, it could be that the spinning of the auger is blowing it out due to the snow being so light.  If the snow was heavier, I'd be looking at the auger shear pins.  With really light snow like that, I usually shovel or sweep it to one area.  Once accumulated it will consolidate and become heavier,  After rounding it up, I'll use the snow thrower to move it.  As far as reverse speeds go, I think all of the new machines have pathetically slow reverse gearing.  I doubt very much that it is adjustable.  I wish. 

Is your machine an Ariens or a Simplicity?  I get confused with the model numbers. 

Thanks for the reply Borat.

My machine is Ariens.  It ran great.  Even the Tecumseh impressed me... it ran much smoother than the older version my Craftsman had.  I wanted to go OHV, but if and when I make that switch I want it to be a Briggs like yours.

I had not considered your point about the snow being so light.  I had my wife hold down the auger so I could take a peek.  It was spinning fine and the impeller was rocking.  Perhaps it was blowing some snow out.  It really was light and fluffy.  Ordinarily I would shove that but wanted to try the new machine.

Just as well though.  I noticed I need to adjust the scraper a bit lower as I was leaving a little too much behind.  Hopefully a heavier snowfall will come soon so I can re-test.

I've also noticed that it is possible to run the machine at too slow a speed. The throttle is almost alway full on and sets a sort of high idle. At that point the governor actually controls how much gas is going to the engine. If there isn't enough load then the engine is just at a fast idle. Once you have enough load the governor feeds in more gas and the engine starts to roar. What I basically try to do is go as fast as possible without overloading the impeller. With deep snow the auger can feed more snow to the impeller than the impeller can throw away. At that point the blower starts to snowplow and snow piles up in front of it. Thats the point I normally slow down by one "notch". You also get a noticeable increase in how far the snow is thrown, assuming it sticks together.

nibbler wrote:

Good info Nibbler... thanks for the input :)