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

Hi all;

After hearing that the Yamaha were great machines, I was doing a little reading and looking at the machines they still make in japan. Wow, these machines look like tanks. With all the details being written in japanese I have no idea what its capable of, but from the images it sure looks hardcore. I have linked to some of the images for what looks to be their top model. You can see more here http://www.yamaha-motor.jp/snowthrower/lineup/index.html



Its nice that they even included a over on top of the engine so that I can cook supper while I am blowing snow.. lol.. Just joking, not sure what this is on top of the engine. Certainly a cool rig to look at.

borat wrote:

Can Teflon (the stuff on non-stick frying pans) be painted on the inside of the chute? 

Teflon won't hold up too long against end of driveway snow, salt & gravel.  That's why I put the liner in.  It's very resilient and nothing sticks to it.

borat wrote:
What's the material of the Krazy Karpet?  Is it delrin in sheet form?  Is this similiar to the self healing cut mats?

aa335 wrote:

Can't tell you what it's made of for sure.  Some kind of durable plastic, 1 mm. thick, real slick on one side textured on the other.  It's flexible but not pliable.  Takes a bit of work to form it but stays in place nicely once in.  Kids use them to slide down the hills in winter.     

borat wrote:

I'm thinking about putting this on the chute.  I have a concern about putting holes on the chute to fasten the Krazy Karpet with rivets or screws as this would expose the metal and creates rust. 

What method did you use to make me material conform to the chute?

aa335 wrote:
I used two existing holes that were at the bottom of the chute and the hole that mounts to bolt to control the arc of the deflector at the top.  No drilling required with mine.  I wouldn't be nearly as worried about a couple of small holes vs. all the paint being blasted off the inside of the chute.  Neither situation would likely cause perforation or complete failure of the chute in a normal life time.  However, if you're concerned with drilling holes, paint them when you're finished drilling or put a dab of silicone on the hole when you do the assembly.  I certainly wouldn't let a couple of holes keep me from putting a liner in. 

Anyone know if the gearcase (in the auger housing) is made of cast iron, or aluminum?  Seems like all the cheaper models are using aliminum but the more expensive ones are cast iron that stands up to shock better.  Also, anyone use one of these babies on hard snow?  I just bought, and returned, a nice looking 1330SE that had the snowhog tires, but it jusy did not have the trAction to get it into hard snow like my old 826 (smooth tire, but with chains) does.

Dr_Woof wrote:
Gear case on what machine?  The Large Frame  and Pro series Simplicity's have the heavy duty cast iron gear case and some John Deer (Simplicity) also have it. 

Dr_Woof wrote:
That's not true.  There are expensive models with cast aluminum gear cases.  I think aluminum gear cases are predominant in most of the current snowblowers.

aa335 wrote:
We are seeing a lot more aluminum used than in the past. But we still see cast iron on the "heavier duty" machines. Aluminum is much cheaper and easier to manufacture a finished part with, but cast iron is much stronger and really has no downside except for the expense and weight. Weight is an advantage on the front of the machine so it comes down to cost.
And as we all (unfortunately) know, a great majority of today's machines are not built to last forever   they are built to maximize profits. I'm not saying profits are bad - we wouldn't have any companies making anything without them - but I am not a fan of maximizing profit by reducing quality.