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

I was getting tired of all the conflicting info on the Honda 928TAS so I called up Honda directly

American Honda Power Equipment Division

Customer Relations
Tel: 770-497-6400
Fax: 678-339-2519
Mon. - Fri. 8:30 - 7:00 EST

I spoke with Denise at the above number. She told me that side skid shoes were for commercial use and that some 928TAS models were designated as such and that you could tell this by looking at the side of the bucket and seeing if there were indents where the side skid shoes would go. If there are then you can add standard skid shoes if no indents then you have to use commercial ones, either way you have to drill holes in the side of the bucket to add them. The side skid shoes according to her and she double checked are for commercial use and are an option you pay extra for. They make the 928TAS easier to turn and protect any bedding or concrete and they prevent the auger from scraping the ground.

I explained that my dealer had told me differently and she explained that perhaps the dealer has heard from a customer that the snowblower was easier to turn without them but Honda maintains that it's easier to turn with side skid shoes and that it does not in any way affect the operation on the snowblower even in it's fully lowered position except that the auger will not scrape the ground.

Since I had her on the phone I asked when the first oil change should be and she said at 20 hours not before or after. She said all this is available in the owners manual. She did mention that you should check your oil level each time before using the machine.

So that's the offical story from Honda America easily verified by calling up Honda and speaking with Denise or someone else in customer service.

"Of course maybe the Honda techs and customer service people are psuedo- experts. "

More than likely just a bunch of wannabe Yahoos.  Like the rest of us.

Steve,

Great post again.  Did you ask if we should use regular (87) or premium (92) gas?  I am just kidding and do not wish start another mindless discussion with NJDavid.

borat wrote:
I kinda like the sound of Yahoos.  Much easier to say the hooligans. 

  Every day people OPE user manuals like snowblower manuals for average people who are not on average too mechanical.  They keep the procedures simple, something that with effort can be understood by someone who might look at the manual.  They probably assume most don't but those that do would breeze through it and occasionally a limited number may read it to understand what it says.  Given the audience then they are not going to "tech" things up. 

  For example oil change.  They probably keep it simple and say first at 20.  That's probably not the exact best time determined by their testing but they probably made it an easy round number.   There's probably better things a techie can do with oil changes on a new  motor but to keep things simple they say the first in 5 and the rest in 20 or first in 20 and 20 thereafter.  Depends on the company.  If they got more complicated their customer service phone would always be busy.  

Thats always been my take on a lot of stuff in manuals.  They can't get complicated and if something makes things in general workable or "better" for everyone then that's what's going to be written of course within reason.  Appeal to the manual has to be taken with a bit of slack.  What Honda has blessed in their manuals is not necessairly the best procedure but certainly safe for them and the customer for a satisfactory (not optimal) result.

Oil - Do what you think is best with input from the factory.  If you are non-technical then the best thing is follow the manual to the letter.

Skids - Do what you think is best with inut from the factory.  If you are not-technical then the best thing is to follow the manual to the letter.

trouts2 wrote:

Well since I returned my 928TAS and got the Toro I am not worried at all. I was curious since a lot of spurious information was being passed off as gospel. The skid shoes are interesting info and the oil change is probably best done before 20 hours. But it's nice to see what the actual company says when you call them up. I do agree that they keep it simple. My Honda car has a light and when it hits 5% I get my oil change. Generally I'd get 12,000 miles or so between oil changes according to the light. I however go based on the mileage. The dealership changes my oil about every 7,000 miles.

These are my Honda OPEs resting pretty in a warm garage. 

I know a lot of you guys do not like GC engine, but my HRX lawnmower is a fairly good mower.  I had HRR216 for 10 years before I upgraded to HRX217K2VKA in 2010 summer.

As you can see I did not have to do anything special on my HS928WAS as the side and back skids came standard with the snowblower.

I had to laugh when I read. "Since I had her on the phone I asked when the first oil change should be and she said at 20 hours not before or after".  Like it would really matter if you changed it
a half an hour before or after the 20 hours.  I laughed because I'm sure someone out there, somewhere, shut there blower down in the middle of their driveway to have the oil changed. Really who keeps that close a tract on run hours.  Unless you have a hour meter on your blower (which I would like to have myself).  But she said not before of after.  I wonder if New Yorker knows that.
Bad thing to say I know.  Lets not start things up again.

I though the skid shoe information was interesting. Seeing that they actually have different side panels on different blower housings.  Or maybe it's different on different model years. Not models within a model year.

Knee_Biter wrote:
NO NO NO! This is a HIGH PERFORMANCE snowblower. You have to inflate the tracks with nitrogen, not regular air! 

I would personally fill the track with Argon gas since it is one of the noble gases and you will have a royal snowblower.

jrtrebor wrote:

Well that is her exact words so I just typed them as she was speaking. She was very clear at 20 hours. I did ask her if 2 hours or 10 hours would be ok and she said Honda reccomends 20 hours not before or after. She said the bucket side panels differentiated between commercial and consumer models. I didn't pursue the questioning as to why they would be sold differently yet as the same model. She did not mention different years just said to look on the bucket sides for the indents. I said to her but commercial or consumer you'd still have to drill the holes and she said yes, but the indents help line it up for you.

That's all I've got.