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

We got a pretty good hammering over the last 36 hours.  Looks like about fifteen to eighteen inches of fine windblow, fairly heavy snow in the driveway.  This is a picture of the steps to the house that I took this morning:

When digging into heavy, packed, we t snow, the load on the engine will increase.  The tempo of the engine will change from a steady hum while under light/intermediate loads then start to bark as it takes on a heavier load.  It shouldn't sputter.    Sputtering to me is when the engine misfires and begins to stall.  So, was your engine  actually sputtering or just responding to the heavier load?  If it's sputtering, take it back to the dealer.  It will not cure itself. 

Oil change after the first five hours is as you've said, to clean out any machine filings etc.  I recommend any synthetic oil of the correct viscosity.   Don't forget to lube axles, chains & shafts as per previous discussion and manual recommendations as well.   

A good way to keep snow from sticking to the inside of the chute is to spray it with cooking oil such as PAM.  You'd pretty much have to do it every time you use it.  I lined my chute with a piece of Krazy Karpet.  It's a chore to put in but it's very slick and durable.   I haven't polished my machine.  I just blow the snow off of it before I put it away.  A trick that I've learned is to do the end of driveway snow first.  Get all of the salt & gravel work out of the way then do the rest of the work.  That way, you run clean snow through the machine and take most of the salt off the machine as you do it.   

You shouldn't need a switch for the head light unless power supply is so limited that the engine won't start if the draw from the light takes too much away from the ignition system.  If it does require a switch, make sure you get an outdoor switch similar to one used on motorcycles or ATVs. 

"Sputtering" was a poor choice of words, Borat. As you mentioned, it was the engine responding to the increased load. It was also suggested to me by the deliveryman that I clear the end of the driveway first for the exact same reason you stated.

How often do you recommend I lube the axles? Once per season or more frequently? I have to buy a grease gun...I assume an auto parts store would have them.

I grease the axle once before each season. 

If you're buying a grease gun, just get one of the small hand held units.  They take the small tubes of lube that will probably last you for years.  Get either snowmobile or marine grease.   Buy a flexible extension for it while you're there.  You'll be thankful.  If you can get a 12" long extension all the better.   For the drive chains on the interior of the machine, get yourself some spray lithium grease.  Cover your drive and friction disks before doing any spraying inside the enclosure.  You DO NOT want to get grease on those parts. 

Good idea about the Pam! Thanks, I've used spray silicone but didn't notice a whole lot of difference. I meant to put an impeller kit on this summer and never got a round tuit. No way I want to be out in the garage doing it in 10 degrees weather in the winter.

Got 3" yesterday, expecting 4 tomorrow and maybe 12 on Sunday ... and only 3 more days until winter starts :)

Borat, your driveway sounds exactly like mine ... does the wind always blow in the wrong direction on yours, too?  ;)

I have wondered what pledge would be like, I have put that on hardwood floor before and man it was lethal, dangerous really. The floor was as slippery as a krazy karpet.  Probably no where near as effective on painted metal tho, but probably try sometime.

How about a good hard auto wax? That's made for painted metal and carnuba (sp?) might last a lot longer. But I don't think any wax would be as slippery as Pam.