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

First ingestion of the year!!!

I've got just a few hours on my Cub Cadet SWE930. I had just started to clear the parking pad near my side door (engine was at only 3100 RPM). Started moving forward when things bogged down and quit.
I looked in to see what had gone wrong. I have, or used to, one of those spiral wire and bristle door mats for cleaning out the tread in my boots and shoes. It is unrecognizable now. A wad of twisted wire and a few bristley bits.
The augers didn't stall the engine, the wire of the mat getting pulled into the impeller did. It took about 45 minutes with wire cutters and a crow bar to get everything out. 2 shear pins later, all is in fine working order.Oh, and the extra shear pins that are stored in the handlebar panel were the wrong size. So I had to get more. I just ran up the road to the Cub Cadet dealer and picked up a set of 4. Pins and clips, $25. However, after doing a little thinking afterward. I looked up the Sears part number for their 33" Professional blower (88835). They're based on the same MTE chassis as my SWE930. a set of Sears shear pins (all 4) is only $6 including the clips. So I order a few packs.

So what are some of the things YOU folks have unintentionally treated as snow with your blowers?

Steve_Cebu wrote:
Why pay a buck for a shear pin when you can buy a handful of low grade steel bolts at a hardware store for the same money.  AVOID DEALERS WHENEVER POSSIBLE.  You'll save a great deal of money.