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

I struggled to get my Ariens 8524 through the 10" of snow on my driveway yesterday here in south Jersey.  The engine would start right up either with the electric start or pull start on full throttle and full choke.  But if I tried to take it off choke at all it would stall.  This was after letting it warm up a little too.  Initially it was very hard to start and keep running.  This is a 1 year old snowblower that I used 3 times last year and this is my first time this year.  I kept stabilized fuel in the machine and had test fired it back in Novemeber and the snowblower started fine and I was able to get it to run off choke then.  I was only able to run the blower on full choke and only short distances before it would repeatedly stall out.  I drained the gas and put in fresh gas.  No improvement.  I am very frustrated and aggrevated over this Ariens.  Now I bought this machine last year new and had a belt problem that required dealer repair.  Then the blow by problem with the chute and baffle kit!  Now I have this engine stalling problem.  This Ariens has been the worst piece of power equipment I have ever owned!  Any other Ariens owners with similar problems?

***I just got my snowblower back from the shop.  They said the problem was a "sunken float" in the carburetor, and they replaced the float under warranty.  So it's repaired,  for now.  I just finished reading the 37 replies to my post and I am now wondering who to blame?  Ariens, Tecumseh, or the carburetor float manufacturer??  The Ariens website says that they use Tecumseh Snow King engines built to Ariens specifications.  So does Ariens specify the carburetor float?  Who knows.  What I do know is that I have a 1 year old snowblower (used 4 times) that's been in the shop twice in a year for repairs.  NOT a very good track record.  My snowblower for me is not a toy.  I need it to clear my driveway to get to work.  So far this Ariens has not performed to my expectations and I regret my purchase.  If I could get my money back I'd sell this Ariens in a second and buy another manufacturers machine.  Anyway, that's the update.  Looking forward to warmer weather.

bbwb wrote:

Could be either adjustment or water, somehow you're not getting enough gas.  Water can freeze the pin up in the gas inlet, or just take up too much space in the bowl.  At the beginning and end of every season I pull the bowl off and clean it out (just don't let the plunger/pin fall out).

I would also pull the plug and clean it or swap it, as if there is water in the gas it will foul up the spark plug too.

-Dave

This isn't an Ariens issue, it a Tecumseh issue.  Please don't blame Ariens. 

Whitedog,

When you say blowby are you talking about what comes out of the rubber breather tube? If so, I noticed that on my Tecumseh engine the other day while it was running, not to mention some of that white goo dripping from it that I heard someone else mention.  Then I noticed the same goo on the upper part of the dipstick.  I only have about 30 minutes use on the Mobil One oil I recently switched over to. But it looks like condensation contamination to me.  I just keep wiping it off. 

Hi Tico..

your problem is with out a doubt a gummy carb.

this would be possible to Adjust out on an older carb.

however on your unit (1 year old) you have an emissions carb.

there are no adjustments.

it will need to be cleaned to be able to do its job.

i know you mentioned that you use stabilizer but many kinda of that just arent ment for small engines.

there are so many different kinds of metal in those carbs and the fuel that we now have has up to 10%alcohol in it.

the alcohol is very agressive and it also absorbes moisture right out of the air(hydroscopic i think is the word).

anyway it needs a good cleaning.

if you feel thst this is somthing you can do with a bit of help then lets get at it,you may have snow coming.

i can help you with it here if you like.and so can some others here.

let us know.

later chris

SnowRemover wrote:
Who else are they going to pick for a snow engine besides Briggs?

SnowRemover wrote:

The fact is, the engine companies make the engines and the snowblower companies make the snowblower, period. No getting around that fact.

Also, you are assuming that the snowblower companies do not hound the engine companies regarding problems, I strongly imagine they do!

The other fact is, all engine companies are going to have problems, that's why they have warranties. Yes, Honda too.

Fact three, since you are playing pretend, if there were no Briggs and Tecumseh, you would $#%* about the price being too high.

Fact four, Tecumseh snow engines have been around forever and day, they have performed fantastic for the most part and have a very good track record. There are a ton of old snow kings still plugging along.

Point being, everytime there is a small engine problem, I don't think blaming Toro, Sim's, Snapper, Ariens, etc. is the answer.

""WRONG! Manufacturers must take responsibility for the final product that they are selling the consumer.  If you want to argue otherwise, why not start a new snow blower company, ask some startup small engine manufacturer in sunny Vietnam to make the engine, watch the engines collapse, and tell your customers "Hey, the engine is warranteed by the manufacturer, don't blame us, call them.
You'd be out of business in a couple of years, because consumer do, and rightly so, blame the company name for all their problems."

But that is not happening is it? Your point is not holding water, only in a make believe scenario can you make your point hold up. The real world, people are buying these products and have continued to do so despite who warrenties the engine. And dats a fact jack. 

No, your point in this thread is that consumers should blame the manufacturer. I disagree for all the reasons I have stated and you agreed to.

Now that I have you back on track for the real reason you are debating this, we're speaking of OPE, snowblowers to be specific, not cars or trucks. Stick to the subject at hand man.

Consumers should not care who is responsible for engine problems. Why? Because when a repair is needed, it is covered under warranty and should be seemless to the consumer. You take the product to an authorized dealer and you get it back fixed, he deals with the warranty issue. Sure as I am sitting here, if Ariens was totally responsible, the first time something didn't go right, someone like you would be saying Ariens sucks, why can't we deal with the company that actually made the damn engine and calling that ludicrous and blaming Ariens for standing between you and the engine manufacturer.

Again, fact is there is Briggs and Tecumseh, they manufacture and warranty their own product and by doing so accept responsibility when their product fails. You are the one trying to make it an Ariens problem even when Tecumseh says it's their own problem.

Richie wrote:

I haven't used those filters though they do look cool.  I use ISO-Heat and Sta-Bil in all my fuel (mix and pure) for my OPE, and have never had a problem.  And I clean the bowl at the beginning and end of every year on the devices that have them.

I typically put both as soon as I get gas, mix it gently (swish and slosh with cap on), then leave the cap off the gas can for 10 mins to let any moisture escape from the ISO-Heet.  Not sure if this really does anything but it makes me feel better :-) 

-Dave