Fast reverse Original Message Dec 12, 2008 10:57 pm
Today I had an epiphany of sorts. Funny that it took me nine years.
Like a lot of other people I find the reverse on my snowblower to be painfully slow. I've used it as a sort of meditation practice while I backed the machine up for another forward pass along the driveway. I just found it easier to do that than turn around and have to mess with the chute.
So today, for some reason, it dawns on me that I maybe I could just pull the thing back in neutral instead of falling asleep during the eternity it takes to get back to the road. Hallelujah ! My driveway slopes ever so slighly downward towards the road and I can pull the snowblower back quickly with hardly any effort at all. The machine is so well balanced that the front hardly touches the ground.
Now I just have to break the habit of switching it into reverse and engaging the drive. Not easy.
Been doing that since I bought my Simplicity last year. My old Craftsman machines had much faster reverse speeds. My driveway is 110 ft. long and has an 10 to 1 grade with a big flat area at the top. Won't be pulling up the slope but I do pull it rather than use revese on the flats.
If you find the fastest forward speed to fast you sure be able to make your reverse faster. Ultimately once the warranty runs out you could always cut a notch to make it go further down. You would have to remove a hairpin in the friction rod that stops the carrier bearing from moving to far over.
