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:

No snow here, not a speck.. Pretty warm today actually, think the weather was holding off for me to get my snow cab.  One more day now and all I will say then, is bring it!

borat wrote:
Too bad your blower doesn't do steps !

Paul

I was in mid southern Ontario last weekend for an electrical inspection. Friday night it was -22C ( 20F) with about 2/3M ( 25") of snow. I'm now close to Toronto, its about -5C ( 29F) and I see mostly grass. It was about +8C (36F) on Monday. The weather is really weird.

Now that is a snow fall.  Cool, you were able to play with your toys.  You might as well try and enjoy it, because it isn't good between your ears if you try to fight something that you can't change anyhow.  Get the blower out, with your nice deluxe snow cab enclosure and go enjoy yourself.  Maybe even help out a neighbor or two.  Maybe some young mother will come to the door in her nighty to thank you for all of your help.  Well a guy can dream can't he????

Rick

Yeah.  I was out with the snow thrower dark and early.   The snow was letting up but the wind was pretty fierce.   Conditions like that make the cab a welcome piece.   It's all cleaned up and ready for the next blast. 

Getting some snow right now, I knew it was waiting for my cab to be installed.. LoL.  I hope its enough to blow tho as its only calling for 10cm right now and rain tomorrow. :(  I have seen these reports many time tho be totally wrong and the rain end up being snow and getting 40+ cm.  There is a winter weather warning in effect, wing up to 40km hr and 10 cm calls for this I guess.  looks to be pretty mild right now, fingers cross for more tho :)  haha

We must be the only fools in the world that look forward to a storm and enjoy
clearing the snow afterwards.  I got to blow about 8" this afternoon, nice pure
white light snow.  No wind, just a bit below freezing.

Paul

pvrp wrote:
lol, yes I am sure we are a rare breed.  I never got enough to blow, little at the end of the driveway. Probably go out and run it for kicks.  This winter is such a downer so far, wheres the snow? haha..

I have a 110' by 20'  driveway with a 35' x 35' turn around area at the top.  The driveway has a ten to one grade so I pretty much have to keep it clean.   What I don't like is the p!ssy ass one to two inch sprinklings we often get which I do with a shovel.   And it looks like we're getting one now.  I'd rather have a foot of snow than two inches. 

We are expecting about 12" of snow overnight here in the Chicago area. I have used my new Simplicity 924 twice so far this season on 3"- 4" snowfalls and it went through the snow like a hot knife through butter. Tonight's snow will be a real test. I did observe that the 9 hp Briggs & Stratton sputtered a bit when I plowed the wet, heavy, salt-laden snow at the end of my driveway (courtesy of the city snowplows) so I need to go more slowly and carefully in that area of the driveway.

A few observations for you snowblower veterans on this site...the owner's manual says to change the engine oil after 5 hours of use. I assume this is the same principle as changing the oil in a new car...as the new engine breaks in, tiny metal shavings could collect at the bottom of the oil pan? I have Texaco Havoline 5W-30 oil. Do you recommend synthetic oil?

In an earlier post some folks suggested that the B & S motors are more quiet than the Tecumseh. I agree...the B & S in my 924 runs smoothly and is quieter than my 5 hp Tecumseh lawn mower.  

I completely agree with Borat about the Simplicity product. Even though my 924 is an "intermediate" model with a 24" scoop, it is built like a tank. All heavy-gauge steel. The only thing I question is if I should have bought a 28" or 30" model...it would clear the driveway with less passes. But the 24" is more manueverable and takes up less room in the garage. So it's apples and oranges, I guess.

I am still thinking about attaching a headlight to the snowblower. I thought about using one "fog light", typically installed as an aftermarket product sold at auto stores. The 924 has the alternator output wire so it should hook right up. The question is, how do I turn the light on and off? Connect a toggle switch?

Do you guys wax the metal portions of your snowblowers to protect the finish? My neighbor said that waxing the inside of the chute helps prevent clogging. Sounds good to me. By the way, I offered to drag race his single stage Toro...he declined.