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

I moved to a new house, top of a hill, with farm land across from my driveway.

This is our second winter, and my MTD is not up to the task of clearing the packed snow that blows into my yard, sometimes daily.

I have been looking for a couple weeks, and had made up my mind to get the Honda. I had been to the Yamaha dealer previously, but they were not willing to deal.

Well today a new twist, I went back to Yamaha, and was offered the YS928J for the same price as the HS928TC.

Specs are very similar, with some different features. The Honda has full Joystick control on the chute, and is 100 lbs lighter.

The Yamaha has plastic coated chute, manual up/down. Has no shear pins, which may be a bonus, if the 'Shock Protection' works correctly. Also the Yamaha is quiter.

I have been reviewing this site, however, there is limited information on the Yamahas, likely because they just came back to Canada in 2009 (15 year Hiatus) and I am not sure if they are available in the U.S.

Has anyone out there used these models? Can you offer an Opinion?

That thing is the cats az* ! Lots of luck with it.

Underdog wrote:

Yeah! I wish, I had to barter just to get the same price as offered in Regina. Once the Saskatoon Dealer knew he had the last ones in Saskatchewan, he wasn't too eager to deal!

My Dealer in Regina tried to see if the Yamaha Rep could transfer one from Saskatoon to Regina, but no go, guy knew he could sell it.

I am not sure if I will get the cover, any experience with them??? It will be stored in the Garage, in that situation I usually find that covers tend to trap moisture in, adds to risk of corrosion. Also attracts critters.

  Never knew they put in a fan housing liner.   What is the clearance?

Very nice rubinew.  Congrats!

I noticed that it has a three vane impeller.  That's a bit unusual for a high end modern machine.  Most newer domestics seem to be going with 4 to 6 vanes.  Not saying there's anything wrong with three vanes.  Just a little different.   Yamaha obviously make a very sophisticated, advanced machine.  I'm certain they know what's need to get the job done.

borat wrote:
The Honda is a 3 vane also.  The blades are identical to the Yamaha.  Maybe number of vanes is dependent on impeller speed.

trouts2 wrote:

Hmmm, just a quick check, sorry, didn't measure, but I say the thickness of a quarter at the bottom, but widens to about twice that at the exit chute.

rubinew wrote:

I'd rather have 3 vanes that work and throw the heavy snow very far than a snowblower with  10 vanes that clogs and throws the snow 10 feet.

To paraphrase an old saying "It's not the amount of vanes in your snowblower but how you use them."

Steve_Cebu wrote:

That is the truth!!! These 3 vanes had no problem tossing snow to the other side of the road!

The Plastic Liner is about 3/16 of an inch thick, took a couple of scratches from a few rocks, but looks durable. The liner is removable (2 screws, 2 edge plates held in with nuts), so it can be replaced once beat up!

Hey that gives me an idea. Instead of the Clearance impeller kit, why not line the impeller housing with the plastic to reduce the gap? Two in one

rubinew wrote:

My entire chute is plastic!

Still it must be nice to have a Yamaha. Scratches in the chute and inside the bucket are no biggie anyway. Have you seen any of my videos on YouTube? How does your Yamaha throw compared to the Toro?