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

I figured with this being the first snow storm on the EAST coast reaching far and wide, maybe we can dedicate this thread for some good pictures and video clips.

  Not much worth snapping here.  The front walk is bare in spots with winke 5 inch drift at the door.  The grass in the front yard is showing throgh.  The driveway is 1/4 bare and the rest about 6 inches with drifting to 8.  Hardly the blizzard anticipated in 20 miles west of Boston.

I purchased a new snow blower this year and it did its job.  They got 18" on either side of us, but in about a 10 mile strip just around our house, we got flurries.  

The totem effect of a Honda is very powerful! ;)

Got about 15-20 inches here in New York, just finished the 400' driveway with the new Toro 826, had so much fun did my old neighbor's driveway too when I saw them with the shovels :)  Will try to post some pics/videos later.  This was my first time using a blower, so it was a learning experience.  Think i need to adjust the scraper bar a bit down to try to get down to the pavement.   Also, it seemed to leave overflow trails down the side that I had already blown, so i ended up having to do a second pass in sixth gear to pick all that up.  Maybe some kind of bucket extension on one side to keep that from happening?  Good luck everyone else!

-Dan

daniel wrote:
If you have snow spilling out the side you should try to either slow down or not take quite as wide of a pass.

Shryp wrote:

This was the first thing I thought, I was in first gear, taking as little as half a bite, and it still seemed to be happening. I guess it was just too deep.  It wasn't major spillage, just a line ranging up to maybe 2 inches high, 2 inches wide, but it made me do the second pass on the whole driveway.  I was thinking maybe just a six inch extension that could swing out on either side depending would take care of it? 

Uploading those pictures now, will try to attach them here for more pointers and judging :)

-Dan

On Eastern Long Island we had hurricane force wind gusts, and the snow was about six inches to maybe a foot.  Lots of snow drifts because of that wind.  I live on a road that the county plows like the President lived on it.  I counted a daisy chain of 7 plows in a row Saturday night .  The new Honda HS 928 TAS spit out the salted slush pile at the driveways end with no problem.  I discovered that turning the machine was really no big deal, it maneuvered easily enough for me, but for someone smaller it could have been a chore.  The reverse speed is much, much faster than it was on my previous friction wheel machines, and that made turning much easier.  I even managed to clear everything without any sheer bolts breaking.  I am delighted with my choice of snowblower, and would recommend it to anyone who isn't too small.

Here is a look at my driveway before the honda kicked booty

Dang picture didn't work   I give up!

You mean this picture?  You must be u sing a Mac with Safari browser.  :)

Ok, here goes.  The "embed image" doesn't seem to be working on my browser so I am adding the links too:

Getting started with the Toro 826 at the bottom in front of the garage:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/s7sTt1NBv9t3Rc-QLa2HiQ?feat=directlink

Getting started on the upper driveway proper:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MbjcrOZxIHrRZfIaj7p5Rg?feat=directlink

Driveway done with my 3 and a half year old (this is up around the bend from the other photos, you can kind of see the "leftovers" tracks I am talking about to the left that I had to come back and do in the main drive, didn't bother with the side)

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6mChMm6qYOsSpAnPqM36Ag?feat=directlink

So, is that as clean as it gets with a two stage?

Thanks,
Dan

This spot intentionally left blank.

aa335

Thanks ! I tryed 3 or 4 times and gave up..

There saying we got 30 inc. ?  The honda ran great.

Now I feel really embarrassed about having such a big snowblower for my small driveway.  You guys got some serious sized driveways. 

Yeah, daniel has got a driveway the size of my neighborhood block.  :) 


Or is he clearing snow for the whole neighborhood?

I will need to find a nice neighbor like Daniel and buy him a case of nice German beer everytime my driveway is plowed.  I think I can buy a number of beer cases for $2500 (at least 100 cases from Costco).

Ok here is my submission. My wife focused mainly on Videos. This is a shot I am happy with. Enjoy.

[IMG]http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q19/SteveCebu/Toro1028Dec27thStorm.jpg[/IMG]

aa335 wrote:

Nope, that's all driveway!  Ends down past the boy in a cul de sac.  I have 4 x 100' extension cords going down to the mailbox right now for some Christmas lights, but there is some slack.  The snow was a breeze, it's the leaves that kill me.

-dan

Steve_Cebu wrote:
Nice picture Steve.  I always like seeing the snow flying

Catt wrote:
+1  .  Great composition.

Thanks guys, I'd have like to have had a few more stills but my wife was really into doing Video and even yelling at the top of my lungs she couldn't hear me from 30 feet away. More storms means more pics and videos.

Be nice to get her in the shots as she is much cuter than I am.

Steve nice  vidos !

One thing,you need deeper snow!!!

njal wrote:

Thanks and I agree with you we should have gotten 24 inches not a measly 10 inches.

Here is a video of the Toro 826 OXE in action on Monday Morning:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xRs6xqAbsc

It was only my second row with the blower, so I didn't really know what I was doing yet.  Had it angled way down on account of the gusty winds, didn't want it all blowing behind me back into the driveway. 

-dan

Steve_Cebu wrote:

Should I say something about this?

.
.
.
.
.
.




Sorry can't resist.....


Considering the demographics of this forum.  You are right.  

daniel wrote:

Good Vid Daniel, thanks for posting it. I gave you a thumbs up on YouTube. The wind is why in my videos you will see me going through the hassle of blowing the snow with the wind instead of against it.

You can easily crank up the chute height and blow it the other way, you have plenty of room from the look of it. But if you blow against the wind then it's good to have it set as low as possible but high enough to get the snow where it needs to be.

So how do you like the quick chute?

aa335 wrote:

Yep, for sure besides who wants to see a bunch of old fat guys blowing snow.

Even I'd rather see my wife blowing snow (uh wait, that didn't come out right)

Steve_Cebu wrote:

Thanks Steve.  I like the quick chute a lot, but still getting the hang of it.  Wasn't able to "do two things at once" yet, kind of like when you first learn how to drive a standard and have to concentrate fully on changing gears.  I'm sure after a few more storms it will be second nature to keep everything going at once.  Same thing with the steering controls.  I kind of wish the quick stick was on the right side and the speed selector on the left...  Also i need to look into something to hold it in drive for me so i can just walk behind it.

-Dan

daniel wrote:
I have the same thoughts on the Quick Stick and Speed Selector.

The drive and auger levers could use less aggressive springs.  May be perfect for Thighmasters, but way too stiff for fingers. 

You know what I just noticed especially after watching the videos you posted was how good your machine cleared down to the pavement. Mine left around one inch. But to be honest I never adjusted shoes on any past machine. How much do I adjust them at a time. Do you need loctite on them?

aa335 wrote:

Haha, exactly, that was why I wanted to go get a hose clamp or something from the garage, my hand was hurting after a bit.  Felt like one of those spring weight things everyone used to use for their hands in the '80s.  Switching the location of the controls would make a lot of sense, since you have to hold down the drive with your left hand, then reach across with your right hand to operate the chute.  But if you have to change speeds, you should always have your left hand free since you should be disengaged.

-dan

aa335 wrote:

I honestly would love it if the joystick was on the right but remember that if you hold the auger lever down first and then the drive lever your right hand will be free to adjust the chute. The auger lever won't pop back up when you let it go as long as the drive lever is engaged. It works a charm, try it.

stresst wrote:

Hallo,

  I didn't get quite down to the pavement, but I followed someone on here's advice for setting up the skids for pavement.  Forget who it was, suggested to loosen up the skids, then put a nickel or two under each one (depending on condition of your pavement), then tighten everything back up.  then check the scraper bar is just about down to the ground also.  Also at times I felt i had to put a little upward pressure on the handles in some spots to keep it scraping.

Good luck,

-dan

stresst wrote:

Mine cleans down to the pavement because I dropped the skid shoes all the way down. I need a clean driveway and if that means every 3-4 years replacing the scraper bar so be it. You just undo the nuts and let gravity do the rest then tighten them back up. That's what I did. The scraper bar isn't all that expensive.

daniel wrote:

Dan you'll get used to it after a few storms. I have Carpel Tunnel and I can do it with no problem. I think you just get adjusted to it. After a few storms you'll be busy doing other things so you won't notice it any longer. Of course maybe your dealer can put in weaker springs?

Update from most recent storm. Its a Ariens 7524E with a home made impeller kit.

Beautiful!  I'm still waiting for the knee-deep snow.

aa335 wrote:

We've been hammered with storm after storm. I've got about 3' of snow on the ground after yesterday's 10" dumping - some folks south of me got up to 15". This is now the 3rd snowist January on record and I think the 10th snowist winter overall. I may be partially to blame as I got my new to me HS928TA and prayed to the snow Gods for a snowy winter so I could get some serious use out of my new toy.

FrankMA wrote:
Hmm...not sure if you are cursing the storms or enjoying it.  In either case, it's a good trial for your new to you snowblower.

I'm still waiting for a storm big enough to even challenge my snowblower.  So far, I've only use the Honda 1132 to clean up icy bumpy snow at only 3" accumulation.  I could use the single stage, but it would just bounce all over the place.