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.

@rubinew

I'm really "blue" with envy now.  Nice machine.  I might have to look into his big brother.  :)

I like the lines the scraper bar leaves behind.  Kinda like a groomed ski area.

rubinew wrote:

Oh my wife loves the beach and warm weather. The Philippines never gets below 78F even at night unless you are in the mountains. Most days are 85F-95F Most nights are comfortable enough to go swimming outdoors at any time of night. She also liikes the snow, she's just that way. Many of her friends hate the snow and cold.

It sounds like you get pretty good fuel economy with it considering it's such a big & heavy machine. I'm always at full throttle, too much bother to stop and slow it down for a few seconds to move something.

rubinew,

I am not trying to go jugular here as you are enjoying the honeymoon phase but do you think your Yamaha YS928 is underpowered?  Your description sounds very similar to my HS724 experience when I encountered heavy load, which propelled me to HS928.

MN_Runner wrote:

The Yamaha has a 9 hp motor, similar to the 9 hp in the Honda. So if you take a full cut of packed snow, at average speed, drifted stuff, not light and fluffy, do you not hear the engine start working, slow down in RPM???

I had another member mention his 928 Honda will bog down if he takes a full cut of heavy snow too quickly.

I found if I backed of on the forward speed, probably around 1 on my MTD, then the engine handled it just fine!

I will admit, last night, I was concerned, but then after clearing 3 driveways and 250 feet of road, I am okay with the Power.

Sweet!!! Thanks for the pics!

rubinew,

I had an engine bogging issue on my HS724 but not on HS928.  I had a problem with EOD when we got 8 inches of snow for HS724 (engine did not die but it sounded a bit meek) but with HS928 when we got 18 inches snow I experienced no engine bogging issue at EOD.  I also smelled some engine oil when HS724 was bogging down but not on HS928.  Did you smell any oil burning?  I am assuming your oil level is good.  But I do miss the super quietness of HS724.

MN_Runner wrote:

No smell of oil burning, I checked it today, level still good. Almost 4 hours on it, will likely change it this weekend.

If you look at the first picture, that is about 12-14 inches, it went at a good pace. In the second picture, were you can see the scrapper lines, the snow is higher than the bucket, at full cut, I had to slow it down, or the engine would slow, could tell it was working. If I took half cuts, then I could pick up the pace again.

I would love to drive up to where you are and do a side by side comparison so I know what challenging environment you are dealing with - who really knows may be my Honda will crap out before yours. Too bad as you are more than 4 hrs from where I am.

Sounds like a good breakin.  Give yourself some time to get used to turning with the tracks. There are  nuances.  My HS928 definitely bogs down when making a full cut of 14 inches of snow. No question. I just slow the hydro's progress down to a crawl until I hear the engine running without stress.   Its slow going sometimes, but I keep myself entertained by shooting the geyser of snow over cars, treetops and my neighbor's roof.  

You should be punished in some way for hitting that rock. Shame.

When are we going to get video (HD)?

MN_Runner wrote:

I took a honda 928TCD for a couple test blows, just in stuff pushed around in parking lot. I think your Honda will do just fine. I found them very similar, in fact, I almost took the Honda home.

It was the lack of Shear Pins, the Plastic Liner, and the closed in Body(very Quite) that pushed me towards the Yamaha. Both are excellent units, and could be bought for the same price.

The environment out here is that most of the snow, blows in from a farm field, so it is granular and well packed. You can walk on it, and only leave foot prints a couple inches deep. My 8hp 24 inch MTD would bog right down in this stuff with a full cut, actually stop throwing snow. I would have to back it up, and let it clear itself.