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

Lots of packed snow drifts, 8 to 36 inches high. -20C

I go into unheated garage, push the throttle forward, turn key, va va va , second attempt, va vroooomm, starts, we are off and running!

I just spent 2.5 hours with this beast, cleared 3 driveways, and the curve to the main road, so about 500ft, by 25ft wide.

Used almost a whole tank of gas. The pictures are from my phone! so excuse the quality!!

First off, at 373lbs, this thing is a tank, and it drives through snowdrifts like butter. No riding up, and very little slip. The biggest problem was I could feed it too fast, and actually slow the engine down. a quick adjustment oh the Hydro Drive, and I found a nice pace.

Having used a wheel drive for the last 14 years, I can say that the track drive is a bit of a challenge, and will take some getting used too. I was able to turn it 180 to make next cut, but definately not as easy as a wheel drive, not terrible, but definately more of a challenge. I found that leaning the auger back to take the weight of the front made it a lot easier to turn.

Were the tracks did work well, was pushing through the drifts, no riding up, once I set a nice pace, just held on with one hand, and let it eat and throw through, much easier than my previous snow blower. I really like the Hydro Drive, makes it real easy to find the speed that you want, anywhere from a crawl, to a brisk walk.

Throwing snow for this Yamaha works very well, I could easily throw to the other side of the road, I would estimate I was getting around 40 feet at times.

The electric direction change for the chute works very well, moves it quickly, without struggle, even after 3 hours, and buildup of snow and ice. The deflection on the Yamaha is manual, cable, 2 stage, and built into the same control for direction.

Unfortunately, when I did my neighbors driveway, he had an area were the rocks were loose, and I did catch a few of them

So there are a couple of dings in the impeller, and a few scratches in the plastic guard, so it looks like there is no returns now

I am very happy with the performance of this Snow Blower. It made short work of the packed snow, easy to start, easy controls. My only concern from using it for 3 hours, was the turning, which got better with time.

Overall though, I am way less worn/tired as I have been in the past with my previous unit. With out a doubt, I know I would still be out there, lifting up on handle bars, backing up, pushing in, etc.

Understood.  But still whether its 8" or 18", hard packed snow is tough stuff.  Most brands of snow throwers would perform the same as your MDT.   Your Yamaha will likely handle anything that winter throws at you, trouble-free for a long time.  And if you eventually get the driveway paved it will be even easier to snowblow. 

Paul7 wrote:

The first 25 feet is exposed aggregate, the rest (about 40 feet) is gravel. This summer I am going to put a couple inches of crusher dust on top of the stone. It should pack and reduce the problems with loose stones.

I had to raise the scrapper bar, because of the exposed aggregate, so even when Auger is leaned fully forward, the scrapper runs about 1/4 inch above the driveway.

Paul7 wrote:

Look at the next video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfPCBulvKx0&feature=watch_response Just the first 10 seconds, Doug and Donnie are changing oil on their snowblower singing "Tom Sawyer". Hilarious.

I think all that time could be better used to demonstrate the capability of the product as opposes to the silliness of 2 hillbillies with a $5000 machine.

I thought it was a good video illustrating Yamaha's strengths and power and somewhat funny.  It depends on your taste - I am a Pabts Blue Ribbon (PBR) beer guy (hillbilly) and not  a California Merlot drinking person.  I really missed that fine PBR - just like the good old college days. 

Yes that ranks right up there with some guy futzing on the snowblower for 10 minutes and 10 seconds of actual snowblowing.

An Update!!!

The Yamaha is running well, about 20 hours use on it since last post.'

It can take 3 attempts to start in -25 weather, but I am very short on starter time, maybe 2-3 seconds per try. I beleive this is a result of Auto Choke, takes a while to get GAS into the carb.

The big news is I am away this week, and we had blowing snow all day.

My wife had to use Yamaha. I had trained her earlier, but this was her first attempt at long term use, on her own.

Started for her on second attempt, then she was out for 2 hours tonight, and prefers it to our previous MTD wheeled unit.

While she finds it harder to turn, she like the fact that it goes were she wants it too, and does not have to fight to keep it straight, or in the snow.

In order to turn she basically pulls it around while track running slow, she does not take time to change tilt. If it does not turn enough for her, then she backs up, and corrects.

My wife is ~120 Lbs, in good shape, but still managed this 400lb snowblower for 2 hours. It is all about technique. She did not wrestle it, or fight it, but used the hydro transmission, and the track movement to make her turn.

Did it take a little longer to turn than MTD, maybe, but then she could blow the entire pass without fighting it all the way.

While I am pleased with my decision, this make me feel even better, the knowledge that my wife can walk up to this unit, turn the Key, and clear herself out.

Looks like you got the same stuff we did.  My new Honda handled it well, started on the first try (once I remembered to open the shutoff valve) but some of the harder stuff required a second pass cause the blower tended to ride up on one side only, producing a bevelled cut sloping upwards to the unblown snow.  The Honda 928 came stock with both rear and side mounted skids and I am thinking that the side mounted ones may be causing it to ride up on one side only since one skid is always riding outside the cut on the higher hard unblown snow.  This only happens when the snow is super hard.  I believe yours just has the rear mounted skids.  I will try removing the side mounted ones and we'll see what happens.  Probably next year - with a little luck maybe this is the last blowing session for this winter.  Give me some time to get the auger off and grease the shaft etc etc.

Well... you have conquered the final hurdle for all snowblowers!  And you are ahead of me in this respect - all I got so far are polite refusals.  What technique did you use to entice her into training?  LOL

Dr_Woof wrote:

I think he did the same thing I did. We both bought snowblowers that our wives could use.

Most guys just buy what they want without involving their wives in the process. Yep you might like that 400 lb. Ariens with a cast iron gearbox, but if your wife is afraid of using it or can't manuever it you're SOL.

I had a Honda, my wife couldn't use it so back it went. She can use the Toro and she does and Rubinew's wife can use the Yamaha.

Maybe the fact it's blue helps too. Many women like Blue.

"Most guys just buy what they want without involving their wives in the process. Yep you might like that 400 lb. Ariens with a cast iron gearbox, but if your wife is afraid of using it or can't manuever it you're SOL."

OR......

You can buy a nice, light, powerful, easy to start Toro single stage that even a child could use.  

It will take a very heavy snowfall to sideline a 221Q.   I haven't used the Simplicity once since buying the 221 and I'd be willing to bet I won't have to pull it out any time soon.