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

Given Situation: Engine has been fully warmed up and the throttle is set to fast.   

Scenario: My Honda snowblower surges when it comes out of the load.  If I blow the snow with the throttle at either low or medium speed then the engine does not surge when the load is light but when the throttle is set to fast, the engine will surge when the load is low or minimum.  As soon as it gets a full load, no surging.   I took the blower to the dealer today (since no snow for few days and the wait is not too long) as I felt this was not right.  I had this problem since it was brand new in Dec 2010.  I will let you know what the fix is or if this is normal.  Any similar experiences from Honda snowblower owners?

that is the exact description of how my blower behaves coming off a heavy load.  It settles down but it is kind of annoying.

I would say the engine is running to lean.Thats 1 good thing about the old tecumseh and brigs adjustable carbs.You can tune that sort of thing out of them on a case by case basis.Are the Hondas adjustable at all? or do they have fixed jetting?

relics wrote:
That's what I thought too.  I heard that Honda have different jets installed depending on the area altitude. 

MN_Runner wrote:
Maybe the machine is annoyed and trying to tell you to stop slacking around and feed it some more snow.  

I don't have the same surging issue with my 1132.  But it does spool up aggressively when it senses heavy load. 

I thought you be busy waltzing with your 441Q and saving your HS1132 for a really big snow storm (like a storm of the century).  Trust you are having fun with 2' of  snow.

aa335 wrote:

High altitude jets are available through Honda distribtutors. These are fixed jets that are sized so the engine runs richer. The only other alternative is to use a jet ream and open up the one you have. It was a standard practice on the pre fuel injection Kehin carbureted Harleys. It sounds a lot more complicated than it is. The trick is to have a complete set of jet reams and the pita is to have the discipline to go up one size at a time taking out the jet and reinstalling it until you find the sweet spot.With a snow blower you would want to do it when the temperature is approximately that at which you use the machine. You wouldn't want to jet the carb in July for use in January.

At best it still would be an average and unless the engine is so lean it is back firing I think you should just learn to live with it.  

Marc

MN_Runner wrote:
Nope.  Big boy HS1132 is coming out to play today, it is taking care of two foot drifts and EOD, plus the neighbor's too, and 250' of sidewalk to the park.  The 421QE is taking care of the my walkways.  And the HS621 is taking care of the my sidewalks.  Woo Hoo!  :)

aa335 wrote:
Bonus points - you get to use all your toys in one storm!!!!

The altitude kit is to perform the opposite.   As altitude increases, it causes the mixture to run too rich thus the requirement for smaller jets at altitude to lean it out.  An altitude kit would make the jetting worse in an already lean mixture.   Here's an interesting link:


http://www.iwt.com.au/mikunicarb.htm

FrankMA wrote:
Unfortunately, the wind is still blowing so strong and the plow hasn't come around yet.  I'd have to wait until this afternoon.