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

Congrats on the new toy. I had one similar a few years ago, loved it. Take a few minutes to verify all the nuts and screws are tight, and everything is well lubed. You'll be amazed at how well that throws slush when most two stage units are dropping ice logs. Also the rubber blades are great for clearing decks and wooden walkways. One hint: if you have drifts or a big EOD pile, instead of killing yourself trying to push into them, it's often faster to just clear up to them. Then take a shovel and knock them down into the cleared area. It seems like more work but it often takes less time and is a lot easier than trying to push through the deep stuff.

billin wrote:

+1 on the Amsoil. I use it in everything.

Bill_H wrote:
Thats a great idea. I''l do that later this week. One thing that made me laugh what I read in the manual. " Do not use on roof". LOLOLOL

kellyinkc wrote:
Actually, a lot of places get so much snow they have to clear their roof off before it collapses.

kellyinkc wrote:
Just normal corporate America CYA disclaimers and warnings, it's going to continue as long as people continue to hold others accountable for their stupidity.

I'm with Shryp on this one. I've seen people on roofs with a shovel. Very old and newer homes have steeper pitches but a lot of 60's and 70's era houses seem to have flatter roofs. I've not seen blowers on any residences, but I have seen them used on some commercial flat roofs. I did see a Toro Power Shovel being used on a house once, so a single stage would be the logical next step up.

There are lots of youtube videos of snowblowers on roofs.  One of them actually has the fire department doing it.  I think all the videos I saw were sngle stage units, but then you have to be careful not to tear the roof off :)

Shryp wrote:

Many houses in my area have switched over to aluminum roofs. sadly we didn't but the cost was really high. But on my house we get icicles that are the thickness of my thigh and run all the way to the ground. The aluminum roofs avoid that. They do have other drawbacks tho. We had such a bad year 3 years back that we had to have people come over and shovel off the roof. Big $$$$ but so is falling off the roof.

I'd probably buy a Toro Power shovel for the roof if I had to do it again and find a way to tie myself to the house. A single stage would be a bear to fit through the window and a ladder is right out.

Steve_Cebu wrote:
Steve,

If you have icicles like that, you need to take a serious look at two things, 1. your attic insulation, and 2, your attic ventilation. You're probably having ice-dam formations as well, and that could cause serious problems down the road.

drifter wrote:

They put on a new roof and I got to see exactly what was under the old one. We have no attic at all, no crawl space, nothing. The roof ends at the sheetrock on the other side. We were having some ice dams but supposedly that's been fixed. It's all on one side of teh house the back side with no sun gets almost nothing. They redirected drainage around the door and we shall see since every year the ice has ripped off the water drain. They used a different method this time. Hopefully it will work this time.