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

I did a search and found a few references to this machine but no answers.  Any one have one of these?  15.5 snow max engine, heated hand grips, 30" wide.  I can't find a listing for auger diameter or impeller diameter.  I called John Deere and the guy that was suppose to be the snow thrower expert didn't know either. 

What is the Easy Steer drive system?  The literature says: 

Easy Steer® drive system giving continuous power to both wheels and auto speed adjustment

Is it similar to the Ariens auto differential? 

I've heard that the units are built by B&S which translates to Simplicity.  They do have cast iron gear cases like the Simplicity.  The chute control is different than the simplicity and so is the turning method so they are not exactly the same.  I'm trying to compare the Simplicity L1530E to the JD 1130SE.  Any help would be appreciated.

Rick

I'll check out that plastic for the chute.  Where did you buy it from?  As far as silicon on the cab, I tend to "extra protect" everything that I like....such as this snowblower.  I plan on using this snowblower for the rest of my life and I love going the extra mile to keep it nice.  I just get a lot of satisfaction by taking good care of it. 

I have an hour meter coming and plan to mount it on the underside of the handle bar control panel.  I had considered an hour meter /  tachometer combo,  but I see many of these use an internal battery to keep time.  Some are not replaceable.  I didn't want to take a chance of losing the hours once the battery went dead and I couldn't tell if they were using EE memory to retain the hours.  I ordered it from ebay for $12.99 with shipping.

I have a Tiny Tach to keep track of hours and watch engine rpm. Not only do they have a battery, it cannot be replaced. So, effectively, I paid around $50.00 for an instrument that might only last me five years. We'll have to see how long it holds up. Stuff like this really aggravates me. Why not make it so the battery can be replaced? That's pure b.s. When it craps out, I'll probably go to a straight hour meter. Not that it's essential either. The machine seldom sees over 25 hours of work/year and gets an oil change after the end of every season so I don't really need to know when to change the oil. It would be interesting however to know how many total accumulated hours are on the engine.

Ebay has some new old stock dial-type hour meters that might be a good choice.  Some of them are the small 2 - 2/1/4" diameter.  It would be cool to get an old NOS John Deere hour meter that was supposed to be in a tractor. 

I took off my lower housing cover plate from the bottom of the machine and sealed up all of the extra engine mount holes and put the stick-on foam on the front part where it seals against the housing.  I also siliconed all around the edge of it once I mounted it back on. 

I just ordered the fuel gauge/cap that Catt recommended.  I ended up ordering it from Jacks Small Engine.

Catt,  I think we're going to end up with the same machine after we both get done with the modifications.  Let me know what you're going to do next :)

I saw where borat put a plastic liner in his snowblower chute and decided I would like to add this to my 1130.  The problem I had was getting plastic to curve in two different planes at the same time.  There is a curve going up/down and a "U" shape from side to side.  I also wanted the plastic fairly thick to protect from rocks as my last blower had a couple of dents in the chute.  I decided on a compromise where I would target the back portion of the chute but would leave the sides without plastic. 


I bought a plastic trash can from Walmart.  The plastic was very smooth inside and the thickness was .068". 


I cut two pieces of plastic from the trash can.  One for the chute and the other for the chute deflector.





I really don't like drilling holes in my equipment unless absolutely necessary.  In this case I decided it was needed to keep the deflector plastic in place.  I put masking tape on both the inside and outside of the deflector before drilling to avoid scratching the paint with burrs.  I used a stainless steel bolt with a round head.  The lower plastic is held in place with an existing mounting bolt.


I used a round phenolic knob with a metal insert on the top side of the deflector.  The knob looks fine, but I'm sure there would be many other options.


Mounted on the 1130.  I'll test it when the next snow comes.

Looks great!  Very innovative.  Guess I have to get myself some plastic :)  By the way, I just got another LawnBoy Mower.  That makes 4.  It's not running, but I figure it will be a good Christmas project when I have family over. 

Well,  my drivetrain is starting to slip.  A few days ago I lost 1st gear.  Today, I lost both reverses and 1st gear.  It wouldn't work when I pulled the cable either.  I could smell rubber burning as the friction disc slipped.  It started working a little while later after letting it sit.  I brought it to the local John Deere store here in Elburn.  I have not put the water seal parts in yet for around the belts.  Hopefully the John Deere dealer will do this for me.  Before Briggs told him they wouldn't have it done when it wasn't slipping.  Well, it's slipping now.  My dealer also mentioned the clutch update.  The new 1130SE he had on the showroom floor did have the seal parts on it from the factory.  

Catt: That should protect most of the chute. The sides don't see the abuse that the back does. I used one of the plastic sheets that kids use to slide down hills. I think they're called Krazy Karpets around here. Picked it up at Canadian Tire. I managed to put an entire insert into my chute by forming the piece inside the chute and clamping it in there with a piece of 2x4 in order to draw the lines to cut off the excess. Once I had the shape inscribed on the plastic, I trimmed it accordingly. After that, I took the plastic and bent it over the same piece of 2x4 holding it there with clamps. Then I heated the corners with a torch to get them pliable and take the shape of the 2x4. Once cooled down, it retained the shape and fit nicely into the chute. I didn't drill any holes in the chute. I used the holes that were already there. For the deflector, I drilled and riveted a piece of stainless steel to the underside. I thought that the deflector might take more of a hammering than inside the chute hence the stainless steel. My insert has held up nicely now for two seasons. It has a bit of scuffing in around the centre portion but far from wearing through. I'd say it's probably good for ten to fifteen years.

Swoods, I sure hope this gets resolved for you.  I'm pretty confident that if these updates aren't on the machine it will slip.  They should be doing a 100% recall.