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

Curious...is it tarplike/tentlike material ? Pics online suggest that ? I'm inclined to buy a Toro or Ariens cover which is more along the lines of heavy canvas.

Honda website says its made of urethane coated polyester fabric.

I'm curious about those genuine Honda covers too. Here in Quebec, they go for $115. + tax,,, roughly $132. They're much cheaper in the States, so I'd order one from there, and have it shipped. (roughly $85. +tax). Problem is, I've never actually seen one, to see if it's worthwhile. I presume they'd be similar to the Honda motorcycle covers, so I'll see if I can find one of those locally, to check out the fabric, and the construction; especially the seams. Cheap covers generally use single-stitched seams, and they fall apart within a couple of years. They also tend to fade or discolor,

I recall comparing these EON's ago....and the Toro and Ariens were better covers. FWIW, I bought a Toro cover for my Honda SS. Very heavy poly canvas material, almost 100% waterproof on the cover, very robust. It was not fully enclosed....think of the back like a womens dress. It has 2 snap buckles. This was moreso to let it breath but the top/front was fully covered.

Drifer..... let me know if you need a neighbor from the south to help ship you something from our side of the border...

   The chain discount stores have OPE and grill covers which workout well.  There use various plastics and some are felt lined and run 6 to 10 dollars.  The cheap ones crack and rip easily when outside covered in snow and frozen.  The better ones which are lined, have stronger plastic and more flex so survive a winter.   It seems the sun affects the cheaper ones.

  

   I use a generic OPE lined cover on a riding mower which is outside.  The cover fits the whole machine and has elastic on lower edge so wraps around the bottom of the wheels.  Its survived three winters.  The same cover is used on a chipper. 

   For snowblowers the grill covers work better.  For most smaller machines the covers fit and work well.  For bigger machines two covers work out. 

 

     The shortcoming with covers is they reach to the ground but not fully so hard rains splash dirt onto the lower sections like skids, bucket sides and wheels.  A large camo tarp over the top and tucked under the bucket and wheels works to keep out the splashes.  It also keeps the covers on in high winds.   The camo tarp is thinner plastic but with the better liners underneath covering pointed places like handles and chute the thin plastic does not rip. 

FYI - I have been using a PO box in Champlain NY for a while to get my stuff from the US, cost about $60/year. Started using a freight service also located in Champlain,
http://www.freeportforwarding.com/
No need to register for any shipment via any of the regular carriers, except USPS. Cost is $3 per package for anything under 30# and they keep it for up to 30 days no extra charge.
I imagine that there exists similar facilities near every major border crossing point.

Cheers

chefwong wrote:
That sir, is VERY kind of you, and truly appreciated. What a great community this is. I doubt I would ever allow myself to  inconvenience anyone, just to save a few bucks, but just the fact that you offered, speaks volumes. Thank you VERY much.

That said, may I extend the same offer to those who need anything from Canada. Yamaha owners for example, who might have trouble getting parts in the U.S.A., might have an easier time up here, since Yamaha has started distributing again. There's a dealer not more than a half-hour from here.

The Grill Covers are similar in that some of them are canvas.

Maybe it's one of those you need to see/feel in person but the Toro one I purchased was VERY heavy in weight....I thought it was a great value for the cover given the build of the material
I just took some 303 that I use for for my vert top, and maintained it by just giving it a heavy dousing.

I have a Weber grill cover and it's not holding up well.  There are some cracks and the plastic seems to be broken down from the sun's UV.  I think if you're storing inside, it's not as critical.  But outside, I don't know any cover will hold up well.

aa335 wrote:
I have a generic cover for my motorcycle. It must easily be 15 years old. The cover itself has never ripped, but the seams are another story. The unit was single-stitched, and the seams have let go in a few places. It did dis-colour from UV.radiation,  but that doesn't alter it's effectiveness at keeping dust and dirt away. I would imagine the higher-grade covers have either triple-stitched, or thermo-fused seams..

Drifter. My Toro cover came in. Similar to my other one, it's VERY heavy....Think Klein Canvas Toolbag 3X in cloth weight...

If you are searching/looking to buy a cover, I would check out the Toro or the Ariens as opposed to the Hondas on this type of product...

Any idea what they sell for? $?

I'm not that worried about cloth "weight" per se; it's the seams that I worry about on these covers. As long as the fabric is breathable, water-repellent, and reasonably free from UV discoloration, I'd be satisfied. I would tend to think that Hondas' "silvery" finish, would tend to absorb less UV radiation than a black cover.

I could not bear to store a 1132 outdoors -- as it out out outdoors ;-)

I'm using mine just as a cover. In my experienace with the same make, just single stage model, I have left it outside in wet heavy snow conditions. The cover was hard as a bear to remove due to snow becoming ice on the top fabric, but it was dry underneath. But it only was outside somewhat limited in the winter season...never 24/7/365.

Let me actually check out the seams later and report back......You could contact my one of my favorite manufs. up north that I love....Arcteryx, and have them special make you one with their laminated seams.

drifter wrote:
Thanks for the offer.   While I'm not in need of parts I would be most interested in your opinion of the new Yamaha snowblowers should you happen to visit the showroom.

In short, I think the Yamaha YS928J is an incredibly well designed unit. I came within a hairs' breadth of buying a brand new one, just a few weeks ago. It's a well-mannered lil' bulldozer. Had I not found such a great deal on a 2 year old HS1132TC, I would definitely have bought the Yamaha.
 
Everything you touch, gives you the impression of superior quality and very lonnnnnnnng term durability. With its' insulated motor-shroud, it's very quiet, so you can run it without fear of disturbing the neighbours. There are no shear-pins to deal with, (Shock-Protector auger system) The chute and impeller-housing are teflon-lined, the electric joystick chute motor and control looks like it's designed to last forever, and it's very responsive. Even a small detail such as the chute-deflector cable, is VERY beefy. There are also nice touches insofar as the motor servicing is concerned. Oil-drain extension-tube is one example. I believe there's a fuel-drain as well, but I don't recall the specific details of that feature. It also has a 12v starter and battery.

Another small detail; around the outside edge of the fuel-tank, there is a spill-catching device, which has a drain on one side, to divert fuel away from the motor cabinet. There's not much that these Yamaha designers haven't thought of.

Would I buy one? You're darned tootin' I would,,,, in a heartbeat. It's a superb machine.

Edit;
I forgot to mention that a drift-cutter is standard equipment.

http://www.yamaha-motor.ca/products/images/generators/2011_SB_YS928J_l.jpg