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

The technician arrived at 9 am on a September day and acted very nervous and shaky when he worked on the machine.  I asked him if he was ok and he responded that he had too many recall type service calls and not enough time in the day.  He kept rushing and scattered screws and parts all over the place.  I gave him a plastic container to hold the parts while he worked.  When he put it all back together and was ready to leave, I asked him to start the machine for a test run.  He ran it for thirty seconds or so, shut it down and I assumed it was ok.  I should have test run it again in November but took it for granted that all was ok. 

I have only used this machine ONCE.  It was last February 2007.  Purchased in February 2006, it sat for a year unused in a snowless winter.  I have a feeling the troubled technician's bad day is now haunting me.  Sears can only send a tech out on January 2, 2008 so I'm stuck with a machine sitting out half the winter.  (I did have the urge not to have Sears do this fix but they were fairly aggressive with mailings, etc.)  The machine is also under the extended warranty I purchased. 

Anyone else out there who had Sears call on them for this so-called fix?

I tried the pull start first with choke on full (primed with two shots as required).  After waiting several minutes, I then tried the electric start after I walked through the owner's manual check list with everything in place and it still won't start!  I returned 30 minutes later to try again and still no start.

The tech who replaced the carb the other day (the good tech) shut everything down properly which included shutting off the fuel valve.  After he left, I turned on the fuel valve as part of my start-up checklist and did everything according to the book.  I treated it just as I would have with my former airplane.....all by the book.  Keeps one out of trouble.  As I explained before, the engine ran for a very short time, a minute or less, and then it stopped and would not start again (not even a pop).

I firmly believe the problem is fuel starvation and/or not getting fuel into the engine.  I also believe the carburator and the techs are the problems.  There is no ice, no bad or old gas, no water in the gas (previous tech drained small drops of water), and no gas cap problem.  I also believe if I had the "good tech" visit today, the machine would either be running or he would have ordered another replacement part and it would run another day.  The "good tech" said he grew up with small engine repair helping his father and he enjoys the work and the challenges it offers.  I hope he returns.

After the above visit, I called Sears and described the problem with the tech.  I asked them NOT to send this guy again.  They agreed and would see that he would not be back.  The next day I called Sears again to verify if there was a "stop" placed on this bad tech and they said yes, there was.  I had this tech's employee number and it agreed with my Sears service record file according to their "help desk".

Today, January 18, guess who showed up?  The same tech who screwed up!  He rolled down his window and I told him he shouldn't be here.  "Oh, did you get it started?" he asked.  I said no, reminded him my machine was under warranty therefore I'm not going to tinker with it, and that he forgot to turn on the fuel valve when he told me there was ice in the fuel line, and I also mentioned the sloppy parts mess he left behind.  I told him because of this, I had called Sears and asked that he not go near my machine.  I told him "I don't want you here", then turned and walked away. 

When I called Sears again, they were sympathetic and the help desk guy was getting pretty angry about the whole episode.  He kept apologizing and hoped I would have a better day and a wished me a good and peaceful weekend.  (actually he was getting more pi**ed-off by the minute)  The next step is another appointment and he expressly requested the "good tech" to work on my machine.

I've now had FOUR visits by Sears field service snowblower technicians in sixteen days!  If the next visit (visit number six) requires a new part to be ordered, then another visit (number seven) will be required to install the part.

 Stay tuned!

I would request the supervisor in charge to authorize an exchange machine and have it delivered ASAP. They have had ample opportunity to make repairs and it is obvious they ruined the unit when doing the recall. I am sure that a competent tech could repair the unit but it is obvious they can't provide competent service.

Marc

Thanks for the compliment Marc, however, being retired helps. . . sort-of.  If I were working, this would require taking time off for every technician visit and that would mean a loss of personal income bigtime.  I worked as a free-lance consultant and charged according to real-time while on the job at the customer's location.  No work - no pay. 

At this moment in my life over age sixty, shoveling snow can be deadly and that's why I bought the machine.  Getting snowed under with a sparkling new snowblower that doesn't work and is parked outside is a real pisser!  I refuse to shovel snow (my health is good by the way).  I am getting shoveled out by a younger person, however.

Had an interesting conversation today with a Sears help-desk person and they are taking action.  I can't go into details now because this is too public.  However, I'll try to keep this thread updated so that all who are reading will learn from my experience.  The next tech visit is this coming Friday, January 28.  This is a total of five full days in January I've had to stay home to accomodate Sears 8 am to 5 pm appointment system.  For those who don't know, Sears tells you that the tech will arrive between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm on the appointed day.  You're stuck at home. 

According to my original sales literature when I bought this machine, replacement was also offered as a feature.  It says, "If we can't fix it, we'll replace it with coverage up to $1,500.  No hassles -- you deal directly with Sears, not the manufacturer."

The "good tech" arrived this morning and used ether to start the machine.  He let it run for a minute or so, shut it down and restarted it in a normal fashion.  He then let it sit for five or so minutes, restarted it and let it run for a few minutes.  At my request, he approached an old snow pile to test it with a load, cautiously because the snow had transformed into a hard pile with some powder underneath.

After shutting it down for a moment, I started it on the first pull while he observed.  He (we) never did figure out why it wouldn't start for me shortly after his last visit.  It's now running beautifully and sounds great, nice and loud.  I wear a headset to supress the noise.  He then reattached the "cab" brackets which were removed previously (and unnecessarily) by the other tech.

Borat, I mentioned your comments about this B & S engine series and how the horsepower variables go up to 13hp.  He agreed, and said that it's a mighty powerful engine for snow blowing.  Your shared knowledge on these forums is much appreciated and highly valued by all of us.  We're all lucky to have such a knowlegeable, articulate and highly experienced snowblower specialist with small engine expertise and who just happens to live in a snowy area of Canada; and is SO willing to help!

Thanks again!

There are several valuable members participating in this forum who contribute a great deal of knowledge and experience.  I find that it's the maturity and sharing of useful information that separate this forum from the others.  It's of no value to me to read about why "my machine is better than your machine" or brand advertising in general.  The people who use this forum have genuine issues and are often in need of guidance.  The quality of information provided here impresses me.   Lots of common sense and real life experience to draw from.  I enjoy helping others and appreciate the numerous gems of knowledge offered by others that I had not previously known.  It's a good place. 

It hasn't snowed here for almost two weeks and it's been dangerously cold.  The last week or so the temps have been pretty steady at 20 below F.  With the wind chill it's been between 35 and 45 below.   Too cold to do much outside.         

Yesterday, I received another automated survey call from Sears with the usual five questions.  Press one for poor and five for exceptional.  The first four questions were about the good technician and I gave him all fives.  The final question asked how I would rate Sears service and I pressed one.  Approximately two hours later (coincidence?), I received a call from a Sears representative who asked about my service experience.  She then told me they would extend my home service repair warranty for an extra year.  A warranty which is pretty comprehensive in itself.  This is the original warranty I purchased for a three year duration.  I now have it up to Feb. 2010.

I was dissapointed when I heard their reason for the extension.  She said Sears took too long  -  over two weeks  =  to respond to my first request for a service call.  I called them on December 13th and they arrived for their first attempt-to-fix on January 2.  I believe she said, if it takes over two weeks Sears will offer some kind of ("compensation", my word).  The ongoing soap opera episode which included the bad tech and which began on Dec. 13 and ended on Friday, Jan. 25 apparently did not have any impact on their decision to offer this extension.  If the extension offer was all about a slow response, why did it take so long to call with the offer?  I didn't question them on this. 

She added that Sears has a shortage of snow thrower technicians in the Northeast, especially in the Boston area, and they are offering their customers the benefit of a warranty extension.  Sounds like a committee decision.  I'll take it. . . for now.

Today I ran the machine and it was music for me.  Full choke, started on the first pull, ran it for ten minutes and shut it down.  Started again (no choke, of course), ran it for another ten minutes and shut it down.  Temperature was at 34F. 

Ran it for twenty minutes at recommended full power, reduced the throttle to fast idle in the final minute and then shut it down.  Nice.