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

Long time reader...first time poster.

I would appreciate any help.

Last year I purchased a Toro 221 QE.  The machine has a problem that is driving me crazy.  After every use the (*I Think*) carb freezes up.  On the next start, it will exhibit a lean condition (super high idle/revs).  The only way to cure to this appears to be pointing an electric heater at for an hour.  I find this rather annoying, to say the least.  Am I expecting too much for a snow blower to work properly in the snow?  I've tried using my Google powers, and no one appears to suffer from the same problem as me.

We're not talking crazy cold temperatures here, maybe -20 or so.

Anyways, I wrote Toro a polite letter stating my problem- in the hopes that they would be able to provide a cure.

Here is what I received in response:
__________________________________________________________________

Dear XXXX,

Thank you for taking the time to contact The Toro Company.  We are sorry to learn of the difficulty you have experienced with your snowthrower, and appreciate you bringing it to our attention.

 

If a linkage such as the choke linkage is frozen it will not provide the engine with the correct air/fuel mixture. Putting the Snowthrower into a heated area or heating the carburetor with a blow dryer will melt the ice in the carburetor. Since the snow is in the air when clearing the snow it can be drawn into the carburetor. If you shut down the engine immediately after use, the snow will melt in the carburetor and eventually freeze when it cools down. Also when you pull the Snowthrower backward through the snow it can force the snow through the air vent located at the bottom of the machine.

 

To prevent the Snowthrower speed controls from icing up:

 

After clearing the snow, let the engine run for a few minutes to prevent moving parts from freezing. Shut down engine and remove all ice and snow from the machine.

 

We sincerely regret the inconvenience this has caused you and appreciate your taking the time to notify us.

__________________________________________________


Any thoughts on possible cures- besides dragging the thing inside or pointing a heater at it for an hour?

Thanks in advance!

 

Is the carb fairly accessible?  Is there any way that you can put a hair dryer on the carb after use?  If you can, try drying it and any dripping water off of it and surrounding area.

Another thing that might work is spraying the linkage with lock de-icer (alcohol). 

Oh yeah, the carb is easy to get to.  It's just a pain in the a@@ to always have to "prep" it.

saskwinter wrote:
Try squirting the linkage with lock de-icer after use.  Go to CTC and buy a large bottle of isopropanol, put it into a spray (Windex) bottle and blast the carb linkage when you're finished.  See what that does.

Why on earth Toro would put the air pick-up inlet 2 inches off ground on a snowblower (mind you) remains an engineering mystery to me.  This one design must of came out of their California studio.

borat wrote:
It's a helpful suggestion, but then I am left with a carb full of alcohol.

Wow, the 221QR has been in production for quite a few years now.  This is the first time I heard of this problem.

By the way, is the air pick up tube really 2 inches above the ground.  Just the cast aluminum engine mount is at least 4 inches above ground already.  Toro has been making single stage snowblower for ages, I'm sure this is not an oversight that is likely to happen.

saskwinter wrote:
I said spray the linkage after use.  Not to pump alcohol into the carb venturi.  Even if you did get alcohol into the carb, it wouldn't have any effect because it would evaporate before you use the machine again.   Just give the linkage a few blasts to get the water off of it. 

aa335 wrote:
I'm not sure what you mean by "tube", but the air inlet isn't more more than 2 inches from the ground.

borat wrote:
Looks like I will have to resort to this.  Still a pain, though.