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

Looks like a guy across the street from me traded in his old Toro for a tracked Honda.  We were all out clearing at least a foot of snow from our driveways.  End of driveway pile had to be a good 30" to 36" high & dense.  I watched the guy with the Honda.  He looked to be struggling quite a bit.  The machine seemed to want to climb the pile rather than dig into it.  The guy's a little goofy though.  He kept pushing it until it would stall.  Restart it and continue.  The guy directly across from me was using an 8 h.p. 24" Troybilt and he was doing much better than the Honda.  My Simplicity chewed through it quicker than both of the above mentioned machines.  I suspect that would possibly be due to a power advantage.  Can't say what the Honda's power is.  Once it was away from the e.o.d snow, it was throwing snow pretty good.  At least as well as the Troybilt but not in the same league as the Simplicity.  Neither in volume or distance.  However, from the looks of the Honda, it might only be around 7 h.p..  Looks kind of small but that could be due to the tracks making it look lower to the ground.    

I suspect that operator error might very well be a significant factor. 

trouts2 wrote:

There was a mention of the Yamaha YS624 in a Yamaha forum which outperformed the bigger engine Honda 1132.   He said it ran circles around the 1132, for what ever it means, it doesn't say much.  That's about as useful information when someone bash by saying "Ford Sucks, Chevy's Rule".   That's just blind brand loyalty .  However, your description of the Yamaha indicates that this is very nicely spec and designed machine, even if it has modest hp (or underrated) for its capability, allows it to put most of the HP produced to do actual work.   Is this YS624T a new model or is it the one discontinued for sale in the US many years ago?

Did I read this post correctly?  The Yamaha L head motor runs at 400 RPM? 

I think the US, there are regulations on how fast the impeller/auger speeds can be. 

borat wrote:

I would think the operator was not aware of how to operate his machine in most efficient manner. 

By the way, was his old Toro a 2 stage machine or single stage?  If he's going from a single stage to a 2 stage machine, there's some learning curve/adjustment in methods involved.

Never mind, I don't think Toro or any manufacturer made an 8 HP single stage, yet.  it's highly likely operator related issues.

>>There was a mention of the Yamaha YS624T in a Yamaha forum which outperformed the bigger engine Honda 1132.  

 

   I’ve used an 8hp Honda track and the first few times I though it was an 11 because of its performance but later found out it was an 8 and amazed.  A YS624T will not come very close to a Honda 11 in anything performance wise.  The quality of the Yamaha is a tad better.

   A guy brought over his YS828T today and we tested together.  It’s was an impressive machine but also would not out perform a Honda 11.  His 8 beat my 6 in distance by about 5 feet. 

 

>>However, your description of the Yamaha indicates that this is very nicely spec and designed machine, even if it has modest hp (or underrated) for its capability.

 

   My guess is it’s honestly rated which would be tough to compare to US ratings because of fudging and fibbing.  (Yesterday I was at Lowes and asked about engines on the MTD’s knowing very well who made them.  The sales guy assured me they were Tecumseh engines made in America.  I pressed and he assured me that the info was direct from MTD people who came to the store.)

 

>>  Is this YS624T a new model or is it the one discontinued for sale in the US many years ago?

 

   It’s a 1987 model and has not been for sale here for many years.  Parts are still available though.  I got it from an owner who was the only owner.  He garaged it, took care of it well, and it looks to me did the maintenance.  It’s tight, paint in great shape, everything works and outperforms larger machines easily.   Its got a very well built engine and plenty of power.  The key I think partly is the crank is on roller bearings. It may have a cast iron bore but I’m not positive.

 

>>Did I read this post correctly?  The Yamaha L head motor runs at 400 RPM? 

   No, I fat fingered 4000 RPM.  It’s run speed is high and sounds nice. I’ve asked about the impeller and auger speed but have not found out yet what they are.  Someone has suggested the impeller runs at 2000 rpm but I don’t think so.

   Whatever the impeller and auger speeds are they are obviously higher than US makers speeds.  There equal to or higher than a Honda.

 

>>I think the US, there are regulations on how fast the impeller/auger speeds can be.

  Never heard of a limit on this. ?

borat wrote:

Speaking of BS hype, I had a car salesman told me on a test drive to just go ahead and drive the VW Jetta around a corner in wet pavement without slowing down.   He said the car electronics would take care of me.  This was in downtown traffic with pedestrians on the crosswalks.  I told him that I've have owned 3 cars and driven for a total for 200,000 miles and that is the stupiest thing I've ever heard.  I told him to get out of the car, stand on that corner and I'll do what he suggested.  He didn't say anything after that, which was good, because I can actually concentrate on evaluating the car instead of hearing him boast and bash other cars.

trouts2 wrote: 

I was looking into getting one of these older Yamaha snowblowers.  The older Yamahas, while well built, are aging machines and needs more maintenance and attention.  I need something that I can rely on to clear the driveway and sidewalks without thinking about it.  At the end, I settled with a Honda, after much going back and forth between an Ariens/Simplicity. 

Thanks for clarifying the engine RPM at 4000.  For a moment I thought Yamaha went over the top and put in a direct injection turbo diesel engine purring at 400 RPM.