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

I purchased a 24" Arien Deluxe Platinum snowblower in October.  We just recently had our first snowfall.  The machine started up great but when I went to shut it down, 2 things happened:
1. The engine began to backfire.  A loud bang occurred and a flame came out of the exhaust.
2. When I tried to restart the warm engine, it would not start.  I had to re-open the choke, prime the unit, and then pull about 4-5 times before it started.  In addition, a thick cloud of white smoke came out of the exhaust then.

I emailed Ariens about the problem.  They told me to let the unit idle at low speed before shutting it down.  I did that but the same problem occurred.  So, they told me to take it to the dealer, which I'm going to do this week.  I did add some fuel stabilizer into the fuel tank.  Would that be causing the backfiring?

Figuring that I paid $1500 Canadian + 13% tax on the unit, I'm kinda of disappointed to see this happen.

Any ideas as to what is happening?

This might seem stupid, but do you have the choke all the way open, during normal running and before shutdown?

Just a thought.

I've seen mine back fire Just once. Although, it seemed like a good second after the engine had stopped. I might be wrong but mine seemed as though it just ignited unburned fuel that had accumulated in the exhaust and not in the cylinder.