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

Hi all. I am very new to using things such as snow blowers, and so I have definitely never fixed one! (widow for 2 yrs after 35 yrs) Yesterday, while clearing the snow from the patio, it ate my dog's "rope toy". (A heavy rope with large knots at each end.) The rope is jammed in behind the blades (which scare the life out of me) behind a piece of metal, blocking the snow chute. Are these things easy to take apart, do I need to hire someone, or get a new SB? My son will look at it after he finishes work, but in the mean time I'm trapped in the driveway. I've been told to take out the shear pins (not sure what they are) and rotate the blades. Any suggestions? I've already considered moving to an apt.

if you don't know what a shear pin is, you're probably not comfortable taking this apart.  you can your son take a crack at removing the shear pin and rotating the rake to release the toy, but be extra careful as there could be some tension on the rope and releasing it could allow the rakes/impeller to rotate slightly.  you might be able to use tree pruners to cut the rope toy apart and remove it that way if you're in a hurry, but be careful.

I don't see the necessity of removing any pins.  The impeller (the part where the toy
is jammed) normally turns fairly easily, with some resistance from the brake pad that
rubs on the pulley on the other side of the rear wall.  It's the auger rakes (the spiral
things up front) which won't turn without removing pins.  You could tie the auger
control on the handles in the engaged position which will release the brake.

First remove a key if there is one from the snowblower then remove the spark plug
wire from the spark plug (there's sometimes a little post on the engine that it can be
grounded to, otherwise just make sure the wire is far from the plug).   Actually, it
would be best to remove the sparkplug as this will let the engine turn fairly easily
which will help with the following.  Then find some way to turn the impeller in the
opposite direction to its normal direction.  Maybe tap on it with a rubber mallet if
you can get one in there, careful not to bend the blades, though they look pretty thick.

A razor knife could be used to cut out as much of the toy as possible beforehand.

If all this fails then split the machine apart in the middle so you can turn the pulley
behind the impeller.

I can't help but think that if one were to design a thing that would be almost
guaranteed to jam a snowblower that dog toy would be it...

Good luck. 

Paul

Get your son to take a good sharp utility knife and make as many cuts as necessary to dislodge the rope.  Cut as close as possible to the vanes.  Once the large pieces of rope are out, when you run the machine,the vanes will eject the small pieces left behind.  Spray a little WD40 on the jambed pieces of rope stuck between the vanes and the impeller housing.  It will reduce friction to let the impeller spin easier.  After clearing the rope, make sure there are no bent vanes  or broke welds on the impeller.  Next tip:  No more rope dog toys outside.