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

It's been sub-zero temps for the last 24hrs, with blowing and drifting. I went out to clear for the second time today and was unable to push the machine outside to start it up. The wheels wouldn't turn. When I released the Easy Turn, that wheel would turn, but not the other. With enough fiddling of the traction lever and prodding of the wheels, it loosened up.

Any tips on how I can avoid this? A specific location to lube? (I lubed everything, per the manual, between seasons.)

And, more importantly, I was concerned about starting it. Was the drive frozen in the engaged position? Would the machine have lurched if I had started it?

It's possible that melting snow dripped down into the housing onto the friction disk and drive wheel.  The engine will retain heat longer than the lower end components.  So if there's snow on and around the engine, water could be dripping and freezing onto the cold components inside the housing.  If you had stared the engine and put it in gear, I doubt that any damage would have occurred if was just a matter of ice on the drive system. 

The cable seemed fine, but I gave a once over to double-check. Today, it was only a little sluggish and eased up after a revolution or two. Given the wind and blowing we had the other day, ice was my suspicion -- just wasn't sure where and what that meant. My biggest concern was the safety issue with starting up a frozen piece of equipment. Thanks for the replies.