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

drifter wrote:
WHEW!!! Thought you were going to go with the plow guy there for a while. Once you start using your new toy, you'll be praying to the Snow Gods for a good 12"+ of accumulation - Welcome to Club Honda!

drifter wrote:

Congratulations on your new Honda!  Nice machines i'm sure you'll enjoy many years with it.

Thanks FrankMA and Steve,

We just off-loaded the machine from the truck, and I'm going to get out there to polish it up a bit. It's been sitting in the guys' garage for almost two years, and it's a bit dusty. There a bit of rust on the augers and the impeller, and I'm not certain that it would be worth the effort to re-paint them. The paint would probably come off anyway, the first time I go through some EOD. The rest of the machine is pristine. The paint inside the chute, as well as in the bucket, is perfectly intact, with no scratches or exposed metal. There is one tiny dent on the top-rear of the bucket, and that's about it. The tracks look brand-new. The crank-handle "sleeve" for the chute is missing however. The crank itself is fine, it's just that black "sleeve" on the handle that's missing. It starts first pull, and runs smoothly.

I might add a few things to the machine, but I'll read the manual first. I was thinking of adding an oil drain-extension-tube, like the new Yamahas have, but I'll have to give that more thought before proceeding. An extension-tube might be vulnerable to damage.

I'm wondering if I should run any fuel addatives through it as a precaution. The guy says he stored the machine in his heated garage, and because of that, he felt that adding Stabil was unnecessary. He said he stored it with the fuel-tank full, then he shut-off the gas-line, and let the machine run until the carburetor was empty and the motor stalled.

I'm also thinking of buying a cover for this machine. Any recommendations on where and what to buy?

drifter wrote:

Sure thing, happy to help. I run Stabil in mine and I think it's great. We probably get more thaw and freeze than you do but so much gas today has water in it because of the 10% ethanol that I wouldn't run my snowblower without it. Stabil is great stuff and you don't use much. I just dump som into the 4 gallons I get and 4 gallons easily lasts me the entire winter. I might go 3 gallons this year.

Also when you get it hot and then it gets cold you get condensation so you do get water in it that way. I paid $10 for the Stabil at the local Honda Dealer and I have plenty of it left for this year.

No idea about a cover since mine is stored indoors in an unheated garage. I'm sure you can find one on Craigslist or for $$$$ at the local Honda dealer.

drifter wrote:

The rust on the augers and impeller is going to happen no matter what you do. I usually spray either furniture polish or WD40 inside the bucket and chute before I use it to keep snow from sticking to the metal. This also helps to keep any rust at bay. I would drain that 2 y/o fuel out of the tank and add it to the almost full gas tank of your car or truck. I would not use any fuel over 3 months old that has not been treated with some sort of stablizer. Stabile or Seafoam are 2 great fuel stabilzers that work very well. The tank only holds about a gallon and a half so adding it to the fuel tank of your vehicle won't hurt anything.

Where are you going to store your new toy? If inside your garage or shed, I'd just use an old sheet or something similar that can breathe. I've seen some weather-proof Ariens snowblower covers at Home Depot that are breathable and designed for outside storage situations. A tarp or sheet of plastic can trap moisture so I would not suggest going that route. I store my snowblower in my garage so I can't comment either way on how the breathable covers perform.

FrankMA,

I'm probably going to store it outside, next to my back door, at least for a little while. My garage is crammed FULL with woodworking machinery, and I'd have trouble squeezing another drill-bit in there. I also find that snow is less prone to stick to metal, if the blower is the same temperature as the outside air. I'm probably going to build a storage shed for it, as well as my other OPE, patio stuff, tires, etc. I've been procrastinating too long about that already.

If I don't build the shed this Fall, I'll probably park the snow-thrower on a wood pallet, to keep the machine off the ground slightly, and promote air-circulation, while avoiding water accumulation / puddles, etc. I'll keep looking for a cover. My dealer wants $115. plus tax for one, yet I've seen the Honda covers on eBay for $61.99 and shipping. Problem is, they advertise shipping only in the lower 48 states, and I'm in Quebec. I'll contact them to see if they'll consider shipping here. In the meantime, I'll find something to shelter it from the elements. A generic cover should do for a while.

Go to a krown dealer and buy a can of the stuff and spray the metal down with that before the season, and you can re-coat it during the season as well. Then after the season clean the machine up and krown it again and throw a cover over it, this will keep the rust as bay for sure. My brother's 6 year old Honda literally looks brand new doing this. You could also use rust check which you can buy from crappy tire but krown is supposed to be better.

Thanks GIOCAM, there's a Canadian-Tire here in town. I'll look for that spray, and they may also sell covers. I'm sure I also have some tarps somewhere in the house.

Rust check is good but if you can get krown go for that. There are dealers everywhere in Canada so there should be one near you.

http://www.krown.com/#products/aerosol/

I think I'm going to assemble a parts and service kit, so it's handy if I ever need it. The previous owner gave me two shear-pins, and I'll get some oil, transmission fluid, and was thinking of getting some lubricant for the cables. The chute-deflector cable is a bit "stiff". The previous owner says "don't lube the cable, because you need a certain amount of resistance when the snow hits the deflector" He said the force of ejection would tend to lift the deflector. Hmmmm.