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

   New to the stable is a wounded HS828.  The base, drive, gearbox, augers and controls are fine.  The bucket is in horrible shape.   I think the open part is not just from rust but from stones rubbing.  The edges are pointing out like stones and snow were forced out bending the edges away from the housing.  It seems the thing was used way after the tear started.  The bottom edge of the bucket is in bad shape also i.e. chewed off.  The guy must have used it in the weight forward position on a gravel drive or uneven cement stones. ??  Surprising is the bottom of the sides are in good shape. 

A new bucket lists at $860 so that's out.  I paid half of what the GX240 is worth.  How can the bucket be fixed?   Rivet a circular plate in there?  Cut out 1/2 inch back from the open parts say a long 2-3 inche wide section the length of the worn through part and have a piece welded in?  I can probably come up with an old bucket I could cut to make a filler strip.  What's the way to go about this?  I don't have a welder and don't know anything about welding or riveting.  The metal on either side of the tear is strong and could be welded.   Is there any new miracle product like improved fiberglass that would hold and wear?

trouts2
You do have kind of a mess there don't you.  There must have been a lot of salt in the snow that was being removed and obviously the steel was never rinsed off or treated with anything.  Another issue was probably that the steel used in the blower housing was "cheap" steel. My brother does business in the Asian markets and has said that their company has to constantly keep an eye on the quality of the steel they use or they will slip in some real junk. 

Having said that, the housing could be repaired with a new band of steel around the outside plug welded to the existing steel. And then possibly relining the inside of the lmpeller housing with another piece.  Problem is, that unless you can do it yourself it won't be cheap and you'll need to make sure you find a competent welder / fabricator to do the work.  I had a HS928 with similar problems with the bucket, but not quite as much rusted out areas. I ended up parting out the blower.  Selling the pieces on Ebay.  Used parts are hard to come by for the HS blowers.  So you can do pretty well selling the parts (sold about $800.00 to $1,000.00 worth).  Most HS parts are interchangeable between the different models. Just a few thoughts.

I think to use an angle grinder as a cutoff you will need a cutoff wheel on it.  I don't remember ever using one so don't really have experience in that area.  Mostly all I have ever used are sanding discs on a drill.  I have never done any kind of fabricating work like that, so I was just making up ideas.

If nothing else, would you be able to use the housing from one of your other non Honda machines?

Unless you are in a hurry, I would just wait for another parts machine.  The 828 is at a age where they are going to start dying in numbers.

Many will have rusted augers snap or hydro transmission that go and are just not worth the price of sending to a repair shop.  You might also scroung something up at  local Honda Power Equipement repair shop. Rest assured, if time is on your side you will eventually win out.  An 828 front end recently came up on CL for $80.  So they are out there.  Its just a question of how much effort you feel comfortable putting into it.

Couple of 828's trax in my area. ranged on average $1100 to $1500.
It's kooky what the running rate on these things are.

I can't even fathom spending $250 on a used HS621 of possibly 10 year vintage....taking into accounts belts, paddles and or possibly new auger.
They run as high as $475 which I think is insane for a used machine of that vintage.

Ha. I guess the + side is they command a pretty good resale value, so if you have a good one you got for a decent price, flipping them over is not that
hard of a decision.

chefwong wrote:
I've seen Toro CCR2450/3650 in very good condition that goes for around $3-400.  It's not that uncommon.

Another angle to look at that $475 for a used HS621 is that has all new paddles, scraper bar, belts, some TLC, new wheels, and miscellaneous hardware to bring it up to near showroom spec in operation and cosmetics.  Compare that against what you can get new or slightly used for $475 and it might reasonable.  If replacement parts were cheaper, it doesn't costs all that much to restore it.

I just am almost finished repainting, decal, and replacing worn/rusted parts on my HS621 and would never part with it for $475, perhaps for $600. 

Wow, that HS828 bucket looks like a goner.  I can't imagine anyone would treat their equipment like that.  I'd go for a donor bucket instead of working on that rusted and cracked rustbucket.

From your pictures it is bad but not unfixable. Go to harbor freight and get a sand blaster. Then give it a real good cleaning. You can then get some sheet metal , cut it to size to cover your holes and tig or braze the metal in place on the inside. once welded get some JB weld. Put it on the outside like body pudy. You can then sand it to look like new. Then you can prime it and paint. JB Weld is very very strong.

Have you fixed that thing yet trouts?

There have been numerous recommendations for repair but have you thought of just getting a piece of say 1/8" to 1/4" tubing that will fit tightly inside the auger housing then having it welded in there?  If you did something like that, all you'd have to do is trim the impeller vanes to fit.   If you're concerned about the cosmetics, you could finish the exterior with fiber glass/epoxy.

borat wrote:

No fix yet.   I picked up an HS55 track and HS70 wheeled and have been fixing those.   I picked up the HS70 as a basket case just to get it's bucket for the HS80.  It turned out the HS70 was salvagable and has an older but excellent G300 engine (the g being the old version of GX).  I've install a new back auger drive roller bearing and both auger axle roller bearings.  The gearbox was opened and in fine condition.  It's getting greased this afternoon and should be ready.   The HS55 had a bad friction disk splined shaft bearing so got a roller bearing replacement and will get three more bearings like the HS70, hopefully today.

I brought the HS80 bucket to a welding shop and got an estimate of 4-5 hours to fix it at around $400.  That's out.  I don't know much about welding so unsure just what would be best.  I've got a friend that could probably fix it but hate to dump it on him as he won't charge me and it would be a lot of work. 

I was thinking of riveting on plates but think the heads would rust or wear. 

I'm unsure if what bus708 suggested would work i.e. putting in some backing plates of sheet metal possibly pop-riveted then JBWeld.  Maybe even fiberglass.  Given the cold and vibration I'm not sure JB or fiberglass would hold. 

jrtrebor did a nice job on his.  He mentioned he plug welding his plates on.  I never heard of that so looked it up.  It is probably the way to go but I don't have any equipment and farming it out is expensive.

I'm not sure what "tubing" is.  I don't think you mean literally a round tube so not sure. ??

I've got a few spare buckets around that are just about the diameter of the fan section on the Honda bucket.  I was thinking that I could sawzall the destroyed sections of the fan area then cut matching but oversized sections from the good bucket to cover the cleaned out and squared up areas of the Honda.  The new pieces would fit over the cleaned sections and welded to the back side.  That would leave long sections of the inside of the bucket deeper than the original.  Some fill of some sort could then be fitted there but I'm not sure what would stay in place - not sure about JB or fiberglass.  

I could hold out until I come across a matching bucket but that will take some time.  It would be nice to get the old one fixed but I'm still noodling it and getting no where. 

What my bucket needs is a job like jrtrebor did on his. 

By the way what the factory number of your machine? 

By tubing, I'm talking steel pipe of sufficient diameter to fit inside the impeller housing.   There's a huge variety of tubing/pipe size and something might just fit.  If it does, all you need is a short piece to fit inside the impeller housing and have it welded into place.  It would be super strong, relatively inexpensive to buy and weld in.

You want to know what the model of my Simplicity is or are you asking someone else about their Honda?    

borat wrote:

Ok, a section of big pipe.  That's a possibility.    I could chop one of the buckets around here for a sleeve insert section.   I'll have to measure the clearance of the impeller to housing.  

I've wondered just what your Simplicity was.  I think it was pre-Briggs and made at one old Simplicity plants. 

Here's the current projects:

The HS55 got some paint and the HS70 rust stablizer and bucket inside paint only.  It's getting cold so paint for the HS70 will probabl have to wait until spring.   I expect good things from these two as in perform like a Yamaha.  They are pretty nice and have stood up very well over the years. They are both friction disk drive and the components in the tractor are quality.  There were some spare wide tires around with a close size axle hole so fitted them on the 70.  I'm not positive but think the size and speeds of the augers and impeller will be the same as new models so these should toss very well.

People say the Hondas are expensive.  They're for poor people who are broke and can't afford a Yamaha.  A poor man's Yamaha.  I can't afford either so bottom feed for old buzzards like these two.  For about $70 each these two will be back in shape and no wear part expected to crap out for several years.