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

Well, I finally got a chance to do some maintenance on my father's 8 year old Honda single stage snowblower.  I bought it for him as a Christmas present.  This model is no longer available in the US.  The current model is the HS520 which has been watered down and cheapened to a price point that is competitive with the top single stage models from Ariens, Toros, and Simplicity brands.

I replaced all the rubber auger parts, scraper bar, drive belt, spark plug, nuts bolts and nylon washers on the chute, and changed the oil that has been in that machine for at least 4 years.  My father is not too keen on maintaining his power equipment.  The oil was dark and smelled like gasoline.  All of the maintenance was fairly straight forward and simple to do.  I didn't have a chance to do any cleaning of the fuel systems or carburetor.  I will probably read up on this and do it in the spring before putting the snowblower away.

After it was all buttonned up, I took it outside in 0 degree weather and tried on 18 inch hard packed snow placed by the neighbor's bobcat front loader.  It started up with one pull and there was very little effort on the starter cord.  It took a little bit of work chewing hard packed snow on this compared to a 2 stage snowblower, but this was expected.  It would chew up and throw snow if I could push the sides hard enough to dig into the snow.  But the snow was so hard from the frigid -10F weather for the last two days that I couldn't fill the bucket with snow.

Next, I decided to test out on the 1 foot snow from the patio.  This snow was hard but not as heavily packed.  The HS621 threw snow at least 20 foot away.  This thing have power.  The engine was smooth and had torque even when bogged down.  I was quite impressed for an 8 year old snowblower that had been neglected in maintenance to perform the same as when it was new.  Originally, I was going to test it out to make sure everything was working properly before turning it back to my father, but I liked using this so much I was going to finish the whole patio.  However, it was so cold outside that my fingers were really in pain that I had to put the machine away. 

I really would like this model to be still available in the US.  It is very robust and heavy.  At nearly 90 lbs and quite large, it is not easy to lift by oneself and fit in the trunks of most cars.  So transporting this back and forth is not something you would want to do often. 

My neighbor has the new Toro 221Q and I've been very impressed with this machine.  I have to say that the Toro is the better model compared to the HS621.  It is smaller, lighter, and have the slick chute and deflector controls.  This is the model I'm thinking about getting to complement my large two stage snowblower.  However, I'm not too crazy about the two-stroke engine sound and all the vibrations of the Toro.  That's about it.  It is very powerful and handles nicely.  I think this Toro would be perfect with the Honda GX engine for its quietness and smoothness.

aa,
I would recomend you heat that oil up again and drop it getting out whatever you missed the first time around.
Allan

hirschallan wrote:

Thanks for the tip.  I'm going to let the engine run with that oil for a few hours and then drain and change with synthetic oil.

Any recommendations on what to do with the carb/fuel system?

Deleted repeated post

Deleted repeated post

You don't need a few hours. Crank it up,let the motor reach full operating temp,shut it down, let it sit for ten minutes and drop the oil. As far as the carb goes I would'nt touch it now.If it seems fine let it go because when you tear the carb down you may have trouble with it when your done. Wait till the end of vthe season.

Good idea.  I'm not going to tear down the carb to risk having a snowblower not running.  It's just the perfectionist in me that want to get this thing running in optimal condition.

aa335-Just a thought- The smell of gas in the oil you drained out MIGHT suggest that the float needle/seat in the carb needs replacing. If you choose not to do this I would be very dilligent in turning off the fuel shut off in between uses. If it doesen't have a shut off I would install one in the fuel line. An incompetent float/ float needle/seat will allow fuel to get into the crankcase. This has the potential to cause problems with the lower end and valves of that engine and can be a fire hazzard if the fuel leaks out of the carburetor on to the floor where you store the machine.

Like I said,just a thought,

Marc

mml4 wrote:
You may be right on this one.  I notice a gasoline smell when I tip back for changing the auger blades.  I did shut off the fuel and it was fine.

I found a used Honda HS520 in good condition.  Gave my dad this one and took over his older HS621.  He's happy with a new piece of OPE that I gave him from time to time.  The HS621 has the old school styling but I just love it. 

I drained the summer weight 30W oil out and put in full synthetic Valvoline 5w-30.  The synthetic definitely flows a lot better in cold temp.  I'm not going to mess with the carb until the spring when no more snow is expected.  It's running fine with no signs of any issues.  I didn't smell any gasoline odor in the oil so I think the float needle/seat may be still good.

My area is expecting 5-8 inches of snow overnight.  Bring it on!!!  My snow removal fleet are ready for the snow.  (Honda HS1132TAS and HS621, 24" wide pusher/shovel, and a 7" ice chipper).  My neighbor better not be snowblowing my sidewalk for me or I'm coming after him with my ice chipper.  LOL