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

Last year I bought a John Deere 1130SE snowblower and for the most part I was extremely happy with it's performance. I love the hand warmers, electric chute rotation, easy steer and the front end weight just to name a few.  The only problem I had, which was pretty significant, was the intermittent transmission slipping.  After sealing the transmission housing with silicone and some weather stripping, the problem was completely gone.  The remainder of the winter was very pleasing and I always looked forward to using the 1130.  I also had a second snowblower that I'm trading for a new 1330SE.  So now I'll have the 1130 and the 1330.  The 1130 will be for my business parking lot.  Some of the interesting features of the 1330 is the addition of an electric deflector control and dash area integrated headlights.  So now the chute is totally electric (both rotation and the deflector).  The slipping transmission should be resolved from water getting into the rubber/aluminum disc drive.  To fix this problem, Deere added a rubber gasket between the engine mounting plate and the transmission housing.  I'll try to post some pictures in the future.
BTW, my second choice would have been an Ariens since they seem to give people on this website support from at least one poster.  I wish Briggs, Simplicity or Deere would give the same support.

Chxbeachva wrote:
I'm probably running about .125" of clearance.  It most likely depends on your surface and how uneven that surface is.
I'm thinking of making new skids in the future because my sidewalk has an edge that I catch quite easily.  I'd like to have the front lift a little earlier when arriving at that sidewalk edge and keep it raised a little longer.  If I weld a strap under the existing skid it will accomplish this.  Then I plan to adjust the clearance with the blower sitting on that sidewalk edge.  I'm running modified skids on my garden tractor snowblower  and it made a big improvement reducing catching uneven edges.

Here are skids I saw on the web that somebody modified. 

Catt wrote:
Here's one you can purchase.  Check this one out.  It is very stout and should hold up to abuse very well.  It has longer leading and trailing edge which is what you wanted to achieve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtYR0xbFSsk

aa335 wrote:
Thanks aa335!  I just placed the order.

Catt wrote:
You're welcome.  I met up with Bob, the person in the video, about 2 years ago.  Good guy.  His product has improved markedly since then. 

When I read your post, I knew he had exactly what you were looking for.  Let us know how it works for you.

I recently added a chute liner to my 1330.  I used plastic from a trash can and the deflector liner is aluminum.  I have one on my 1130 that I installed last year and it's been working great.

Everytime I see this green machine, i want to go out and get one.  I just don't have the space for two 2 stage snowblowers.  If only my neighborhood allows building a shed, I'd rotate between the snowblower every winter.  :)

aa335 wrote:

My wife says I need snowblower intervention.  My excuse is that I take care of my business snowblowing and my home.  I don't think she's buying the excuse.

Here's my list.

Two Toro Power Clear 180 (One at home and one at work)
One John Deere 1130SE (work)
One John Deere 1330SE (Home)
One John Deere 322 garden tractor with 46" snowblower


Next year I think I'll sell one of the Toro 180 machines and try a larger Toro single stage.  Maybe a 221QE or I guess I'll go with one less snwoblower.

Catt wrote:
It's a little premature for intervention at this point.  I don't see any Honda, Simplicity, Ariens, Yamaha, or Toro on the list. 

The PC180 doesn't count as a Toro.  :)

aa335 wrote:
You're right!  I had Simplicity until just recently, but I may need to try out a few other brands.

I made a set of skids like that a couple years ago.  Depending on the thickness of flat bar added to the bottom, adjustability will be compromised.  You may not get the scraper bar as low as you'd like.  On the  other hand, you will get far more wear and as the flat bar wears, the scraper bar will slowly be lowered.  For some reason, the added footprint of the modified skids seem to cause handling issues.  The machine seems to want to pull more from side to side.  I suspect it's due to added resistance/friction when one skid hits bare pavement and the other isn't.  The stock skids have a much smaller footprint and don't grab as much on dry pavement. 

Catt:  Please let me know  if you experience the same handling issues.