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

I know most of the time that we discuss specs of one unit vs another unit.  I wanted to start a thread about the actual use fo the various machines.  How  to use them effectively.  I thought that we could all put some tips together on the application of removing snow quickly and efficiently.  Many of these tips will be common sense but I am amazed at how many people really fight their machine and do things in a way that seems to add time not save it.  I'll start and ask you to chime in with ideas that you have found work well for you.

Start on the windward side of your property so that when you throw snow it will drift onto the parts of your property that have not been done yet.  I see many people trying to blow snow into the wind.  Use the wind to your advantage.

Make the longest forward path that you can.  The less that you turn or have to pull the unit backwards or put in reverse the quicker that you will get done. 

Again, curious as to what are some of the time saving tecniques that you use when doing your property.  If you are a pro and do snow removal as a business I am sure that you have developed many techniques to speed up the process.

Another one for me was that I use to clear the path around the mail box first, only to throw snow back into the street from the side walk and then have to go do infront of the mail box again.  Now I try to do the remove where I won't have to go over an area twice. 

Some things that I've learned the hard way over the years ...

Already said but worth repeating: Know which way the wind is blowing. Plan accordingly.

Plan your route. If you have a side that you can't blow to (neighbors driveway, garage, your house, whatever) start on that side. You don't want to clear an area only to have it get re-covered by a gust when you're trying to blow over it.

Keep the machine working, the more time you're moving from place to place or backing up, the more time you're outside. Go the long way down the driveway, turn and come back up. If you start down the middle and work to alternate sides, you won't even have to move the chute unless it's real windy.

Let the machine do the work. If it can crawl through the big hard pile at the bottom of the driveway in low gear, let it. Don't go pushing and trying to force it through if it can go by itself, you'll only strain the machine and yourself. That said, don't be afraid to push if you're on ice.

Mark your edges! One thing that always bites me is not getting my stakes in before the ground freezes. Stakes are a necessity if you have a long driveway, especially one with a border. Wives don't like it when you go through the shrubs. The lawn doesn't like to be scraped clean. Your machine doesn't like it when you attempt to go through those big rocks that outline the border. Nobody likes it if you cut through a big drift and find yourself going down into a ditch because you're 3' off to the side of where the driveway really is (don't ask). I like the fiberglass bright orange ones, they last forever if your relatives don't drive over them and are easy to see. If there's any leftover at the hardware store in the spring they're much cheaper. If the ground is frozen you can drive a hole with a steel bar with a point ground on it, then just drop the stake in. Better to push them in while it's still soft.

If you have a slope: Clear a place for runoff. One side of my turnaround is downhill. I have to clear a little of the area off the edge so when the sun hits, the melt can run off the paved area. Before I started doing this I'd always end up with an ever-thickening slab of ice on the downhill side.

Keep a spray can of light oil (WD-40 or something like that) just for the snowblower, right next to where you park it. Hit scratches, unpainted surfaces, seams and welds periodically to help fight rust. When my machine gets iced up really badly, I have a rusty old garage sale electric heater I use to melt it off as soon as I come in. Be careful of where you place the heater, remember you have a gas tank on that thing.

Sometime before you have to know, look for where your shear pins are. They seem to break more often on dark stormy nights. Have spares.

During the Season

1. Spare pins if you have a pin lock system;
2. Spare shear bolts and the correct wrenches;
3. Keep a set of spare belts, one for the auger and one for the traction system. Make sure you have a record of the part numbers
4. Check the oil level before you start for the day;
   
5. If there is no wind and you can blow to both sides go down the centre and continue to widen the gap, you don't have to change the chute or stop;
6. Start on the up wind side, mother nature has the biggest blower and will always win;
7. Clear 2-3 swathes at the garage door to give you a good turning area;
8. When I come to the end of a swath I release the auger clutch and make the turn, I re-engage the clutch as I start the new swath. This means any snow that didn't get blown at the end of the first swath does not get dropped before starting the second one;
9. Sometimes going in the opposit direction will give you more control over where the snow is going. For example going forward you can blow forward and left. If you were going backwards it would be backwards and right..
   
10. Hot air coming out of the muffler can be your friend but be careful;
11. I try to go as fast as possible, if I start to snowplough then I slow it down by one notch;
12. If the machine throws snow when you start a swath and then starts dribbling you have a loose auger belt, tighten or replace;
13. I have one pair of driveways that are right next to each other and on a corner, its best if I do the second driveway first since some of the snow ends up on the first. Try to plan your work so you don't have to redo anything;
14. Before stopping for any period of time or when you are finished, run the auger system with no forward movement, to clear out as much snow and slush as possible. A frozen auger is a pain;
15. Use the snow clear out device if possible. Be very careful when putting anything soft and fleshy into the areas where moving parts are. I block the auger with a 2x4 and try to use pliers or some other tool, hands are the last option and never if the system is under tension;
    
16. Check your engine manual and change the oil as specified;

Before storing at the end of season:

1. Change the oil;
2. Drain the tank;
3. Run the engine dry;
4. Turn off any fuel cut off valves
   
5. Squirt oil in the spark plug hole, replace spark plug, turn engine over by hand;
6. Clean and repair paint work;
7. Adjust controls;
8. Check bolts.
   

Before the beginning of the season while it is still warm:

1. Check all bolts, replace any that are corroded;
2. Check and adjust the skids;
3. New spark plug every year or so;
   
4. Put in a bit of gas and fire up the engine;
5. Run the beast through its paces making sure all is well, you want to do repairs when it isn't freezing out;
6. Drain and run dry;
7. Hope for snow.
   

I found this topic very cool that,s why I will stick it here for a couple of days.

Thanks Dennis, the ideas presented so far should save someone that isn't that familiar with a snow thrower some time.  Might even open the eyes of some salty dogs too.  I know that there are more ideas by the experienced users on the board, I can't wait to read what else they post.

At the End-of-Driveway, the snow is always packed and is sometimes higher and the housing height which is 24”.

To attack this amount packed snow, I use two techniques:

When the machine does not move forward anymore because the sides of the housing are blocked by the packed snow,

I start to move the snow blower left & right using the handles; this maneuver cuts the snow with the side of the housing,

and this is enough to advance one or two inches to help the serrated auger make its job.

When the engine starts to slow down, I release the traction while keeping the auger engaged until no more show comes out of the chutes.

I then engage the traction until the engine slows down again. I will repeat this has often as necessary to get through the EOD snow bank.

Hope this helps.

For the EOD (End of Driveway) pile, around mailbox, or curb side, snow blow those first or at least in the middle of your snowblowing session.  The snow here is usually is the dirtiest with dirt, sand, and salt compiled by the snowplow.  Afterwards, blow snow from the sidewalk or driveway which is cleaner to flush out the auger, impeller, bucket, and chute.  This way, you're not bringing the snowblower with dirty snow to melt in your garage.  

Brush off as much snow as you can before putting the snowblower away. 

Park the snowblower with the bucket off the ground if possible.  This allows the melted snow to drain out of the impeller housing and prevent rust spots between the scraper bar/skid shoes and the ground.

very good tip double aa about having the bucket off the ground to prevent rust  thank you