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

I FINALLY decided. LOLOL! I bought the Toro 221Q. :) Now for it to snow so I can try it out!!
What 2 stroke oil is best? It came with Toro's oil mix. I try to use a synthetic blend in my other 2 cycle OPE.
I am sure there will be a learning curve on how to use it.
Thanks for all the advice.

Kelly

Wow, that sucks Steve. Ice-dam formations can allow the backwater to get quite deep,,, well over a foot in some cases. This allows water to seep under the shingles, and down into your walls, rotting out studs, and causing mildew problems. Not good. I certainly hope your roofing contractor applied a membrane along the edge of that roof.

One cheap solution would be to use heater-cables along the edge of the roof. These heater cables should be zig-zagged from the edge of the roof,,, and back to a point behind the wall below that part of the roof. The heater cables provide just enough warmth so that any ice forming around the cable melts, allowing drainage. Unfortunately, this will not eliminate your heat-loss.

http://www.heatersplus.com/roofs.htm

Well everything looks tight. Now to fire the bad boy up. I have decided on staying with Toro brand 2 cycle oil until after warranty. This way I can show I did exactly what laid out in the manual. Keeping the receipts as well.
It does say use a TCW-III oil but I can't find any in the 2.6oz bottles.

drifter wrote:

Yeah it did suck but supposedly they have it all fixed now so we shall see in another month or so. No way to run cables we used to have them but the ice tore them down. The roof is insulated but that is where the sun really beats down. So hopefully we will not have any more huge ice.

I hate to say this Steve, but unless you eventually get some sort of ventilation, between the top of the insulation and the underside of the roof, you're going to have the same ice situation. It's unavoidable. Snow lands on the warm roof,,,,melts from the bottom,,,water flows down towards eaves, and once that water reaches the eaves, it refreezes because there's no heat-loss to warm those over-hanging eaves from underneath. Water keeps coming,, , freezes,,,builds up the ice dam until the back of that dam reaches the warm part of the roof, and everywhere behind that dam is standing water. Sunshine really has very little to do with it.

Without proper ventilation, the only ice-prevention "fix", is to shovel the roof frequently, and not let the snow build up..

The next time you're up on the snow-covered roof, have a look at the granular ice-layer at the bottom of the snow-pack. That's where the snow has melted from contact with the warm roof. Snow "reflects" sunlight on top, while the blanket of snow traps heat underneath, melting from the bottom.

kellyinkc wrote:

You can buy them at Ace Hardware or your Toro dealer. If not, buy the bulk size and those kits with the measure tables. Squeeze and dump into gas tank. No mess.

drifter wrote:

The roof itself is vented with holes under teh eaves, it was built that way. This is why we wanted a metal roof but way too expensive about twice as much. The thing is there is very little heat in that part of the house and it's almost impossible to get to it in the winter but yes if I had designed teh house it would not have been built like this. However after 20+ years from the last roof repair there was virtually no damage underneath the roof and no inside leaks. At least not until the 2 trees landed on it during the ice storm. Then we had a ton of leaks.

aa335 wrote:
All he has was Stihl Ultra and the one in the orange bottle. I will order a 6 pak online.
Ace had none on the shelf, they carried Lawn Boy, their brand and Echo Syn Blend.

With a 141 CC engine versus 205 to 305 CC engines I hope you got it for use on a side walk and not a driveway. Remember to wear an old coat as with the 2 stroke oil/gas mixture your clothes are going to smell gas/oil and some people get very sick from the fumes. The 4 stroke engines do not mix gas and oil and the better ones met the EPA emmissions guidelines. Just another point to make that people don't consider when they look mostly at price and not quality and getting 10-15 years out of a snow blower instead of a few.

To prevent straining  that little motor, when you get to the street where the plow packs the snow and often the salted snow turns to ice, use a garden hoe to break up and pull down that high banking. The snow blower will then be able to handle it quite easily. I know because I helped an elderly man the other day do exactly that because he couldn't get his toy blower to do anything against that hardened wall.

If you go to a chainsaw dealer you can get the small can of oil if you don't own a measuring cup or measuring spoons used in cooking. I buy the smokeless oil for my chainsaws. You may want to try that. 

Remember to buy only 89 octain for snow blowers and chainsaws. The manufacturers warned everyone that now they put methanol in the gas you have to up to 89 octain. Be sure to drain out the gas at the end of winter because the new gas is corrosive and will cause the carburator to fail.

To save money you can usually find good deals in the off season on nearly new snow blowers as people move, You can also save at the dealership as they have preseason -sales and places like Lowes and Home Depot have year end clearance  sales. What they do is move the surplus to a designated store which may not be the store nearest you, so you'll have to inqure. Stay safe.

drifter wrote:

Hi Drifter, I don't know if you're still here but wow do we have mega icicles on the roof. I'll try and get some pics. The guy that put of the roof says there is nothing he can do and that we have proper insulation. But in a few weeks we will have greek columns by our from door. No idea how to fix it if the roof guy is clueless.