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

This is a Honda HS621 single stage snowblower.  It is at least 10 years old, I think more like 12 years old.  It had been in good service all these years.  However, most of these years it did not receive the TLC it should have gotten considering the caliber of this machine.  I thought it would only do justice it I to take on the task of making it look beautiful and fully functional again.

Things that were done in the last two years:

1. Auger housing completely stripped down to bare metal.  Primed and painted in black gloss.
   
2. Metal auger repainted also in black gloss
   
3. New set of OEM rubber paddles and augers
4. New OEM drive belt
5. New scraper bar
   
6. Replaced missing or rusted screws and various hardware
7. Repainted red plastic top cover and side belt cover with Krylon Fusion red paint
   

Things to be competed shortly, parts on order:

1. Replace wheels, washer, and cotter pin
2. Replace springs on the chute ratchet
3. Replace chute collar
4. Affix new Honda and warning/caution labels

That should pretty much covers it to bring it to full showroom condition and operational specs.  Total costs of parts ~ $200, $30 in paint supplies, and several nights of work. 

And now here are a few pictures. 

Underdog wrote:
I read the label and check the recommendation before using this paint.  It has the properties that I was looking for, "ultra-hard and moisture resistance".  It is hard, smooth, and slippery, perfect for a snowblower bucket.  There wasn't anything else I could find that was reasonable in price and available in a rattle can.  So I took a chance and used it against the recommendation. 

Reading between the lines, I'm interpreting that the paint was not formulated for thermal expansion of the substrate at elevated temperatures (ie chipping and cracks) and/or resistance against breakdown from the sun's UV radiation being stored outside.  Or that it has not been thoroughly tested for outdoor applications.  Neither of these conditions are applicable to my snowblower.  Operating / storage temperatures are 0-100 Fahrenheit with minimal and non-continuous UV exposure.

I will report back how the paint holds up after several years. 

Use it at your own risk, YMMV.  The worse it could happen is that chips and cracks may develop.  You have to strip it down and repaint it.  But it's no worse than any other paint that is on there or rusting exposed metal.

aa335 wrote:

I have been contemplating the GX200 transplant on this machine as well. I put a clone GX200 on a Honda HS520 and I was quite impressed with the end result.  So are there differences in the output shafts (GX160 vs. GX200) that would come into play?

aa335 wrote:

I would agree that the HS35 is a beautiful piece of engineering (sans clutch).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGUq5huKGiE

Underdog wrote:
The GX200 is basically a GX160 engine block with longer stroke.  All the engine mount holes are the same.

The GX160 engine that is in the snowblower has a different shaft than a GX160 / GX200 that you buy off the shelf.  Can't remember the detail now.

Nice overhaul!  Beautiful!    It's a shame Honda (and many) are offering lesser, more economical engines and parts in their present snowblowers.

If Honda offered the HS621 motor in their HS520 model  - I'd buy it in a second.

Underdog wrote:
The HS35 was Honda's first foray into the US market and it eclipses all single stage snowblower, IMO.  The majority of that beautiful engineering is hidden under the plastic top cover that most people will never see.  The engine mount, wheel mounts, handle mounts, and auger housing is one welded piece.  It is more of an automobile unibody  / space frame than a snowblower.

Check out this diagram and you'll see what I mean.  See item #4.

Auger housing.

It has control knobs on the console that is more fitting on an automobile than a snowblower.

Here is a longer video showing how well it handles the heavy stuff.  It doesn't throw very far, but the throughput and the pace at which it moves is quite impressive for a 3.5 hp engine.

HS35 Video

Hard to believe they could engineer this.  I never really looked that closely at the "chasis". I have heard that there is a clutch
that eventually goes on this machine and that this part is impossible to find. These blowers show up on CL
frequently for $70 to $80 in various condition.  Given their age, most are in pretty sad shape. 

U boys got me hungry for mooor power. 24" footprint with a GX270 doable ?

Underdog - was you mod done in a fashion with the cover back on ?
That's the only nuisance I see when doing mods like this....is keeping it looking *OEM*....

chefwong wrote:

The extra power in a small footprint is a nice balance. Any more and I think the frame would start to flex too much.
That and the fact that a single stage is supposed to be light and easy to push and pull around.  Which "24 inch footprint"
machine were you contemplating?
I was never successful in keeping the OEM "look."  I needed an extention for the exhaust/muffler
but I just resigned myself to the fact that I was not going to ever be able to resell it. Because of the narrower
width it will easily keep up with anything (as long as it is not frozen ice).  I liked the power/width radio of the
HS-80 over the HS-928, the 4" smaller bucket was better for that hp (in my opinion).  aa335's 621 is a
much more elegant design.  There are side by side comparisons of three single stage machines (including toro) 
somewhere on the net and the 621 wins hands down in heavy snow. 

My interest was peaked so I called Rust-Oleum just to see what their take was on the different finishing options.
They said not to use "rust metal primer" unless everything is rusty. If there is bare metal then the fish oil (I made up that term)
will not have a porous base to absorb into. This would mean that over time the oils would work their way toward the top coat
and it would start to peel. The tech also said that the "professional" spray cans were "basically the same" as the regular xo-rust
paint but packaged differently with more paint in the can and a more eyecatching display. That surprised me because
I thought the paint went on better.   The tech went on to say that people have good results with all sorts
of applications that the manufacturer never intended. After I hung up I did wonder if I would get the same answer if I called back
and got another tech. I called back anyway and asked about the etching primer. They said there was really no advantage to this
primer over the "clean metal" primer if the surface was clean and free of oils. The "clean metal primer" is available around these parts in
white only. This is a difficult color to use as a base for black paint. The tech said they market a "metal primer" with the
rest of the professional line that comes in a darker tan color but that paint is a little harder to find (although I thought I saw it in Home Depot.
Finally the last  primer I asked about was the "rust reformer" spray (not to be confused with the liquid junk they sell in a botttle).
I have used this stuff on the bare metal on the inside of snowblower chutes and it seems to take a lot of abuse.
But the tech said that it needs a rusty base to have good adhesion. Mine on clean metal  has held solid for a year and I like the result of the finish coat on it. 
I would just take all of this as one more opinion. We seem to have a lot of those when it comes to painting.  And I'm sure there are
that could'nt afford much less find. If someone gets a different story on these paints let us know.