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

After 37 years of using various 2 stage machines, I finally got around to buying a single-stage…..NOT intended to replace the 2 Stage, just to “compliment” it…

 As one gets older, it becomes a tad more difficult to handle the bigger machine ALL the time, even when there are lesser amounts of snow.

 So, I spent many hours searching thru this forum for help, advice and information on the pros, cons and capabilities of the SS.

 You guys may not even realize just how helpful a forum like this can be…..

 The various contributions that y’all have made over the years with your posts sit there like an encyclopaedia for anyone willing to do the research.

 From your posts I have learned a lot about a SS blower, and now feel more comfortable with my decision to buy one. They appear to be a much more capable machine than I had thought – this I learned from all your links to YouTube which enabled me to see various models “in action”.

 Which particular brand I bought was not a big part of my decision making – features, warranty, & price played heavily into my decision – all coupled with my own personal circumstances and how I plan to use the machine…..

 The machine that I bought has a 205 cc B & S Snow Series OHV engine with a gross torque of 8.0 T.P @ 3060 rpm. It has both the recoil and electric starters, an on-the-go chute rotation lever from the operator’s position and the quick adjust deflector. The clearing width is 22 inches, the intake height is 12.6 inches and the auger diameter is 10 inches.

 The machine has a 4 year warranty – repair only. I paid $500 + tax (Canadian $s)

 Just bought it on the weekend and have yet to use it - - here’s hoping that it works like some of the ones I saw in the videos !!

 I’ll post some pictures in a follow-up....

 Just one question at this time about using a SS – I noticed in a lot of the videos that the operator would release the auger start lever when they were backing up to make another pass – then restart the auger when going into their forward motion…and it seems like most operators did this ALL the time….is there a reason for that ?? Can one not back up while the auger is still engaged ?? (Other than for safety reasons)…

 Seems to me that the continual engage / disengage of the auger is unnecessarily hard on the pulleys / belt etc. etc. On a 2 stage, with the auger lock down feature, the auger runs almost continuously…

 As I’m anxious to learn the best way to use the SS, and the dos & don’ts, I’d appreciate any feed back on this question.

 Cheers = Roger

engage is up to the user. When going forward blowing your up over the handle bar with the engage lever pulled up. Backing up you would be pulling at arms length maybe a little unnatural wrist action holding the lever up and pulling. Never thought that much about it but sometimes I do sometimes I dont but when you hit the snow again its blowing. The belt last a long time either way you do it I  have a 93 on the same belt

Doesn't really matter if you release the auger drive or not. 

Sounds like you bought a Murray.  Looks like a nice machine.

Thanks for the advice on the auger.

Yesterday I was able to use and get used to the new machine….

As a very long time 2 Stage user, I’ve got to admit that I was both very surprised and impressed at this SS…for a machine of its size, it packs quite a punch !!

I was particularly impressed at how it “cleans” right down to the asphalt…no tidy-up was necessary.

We had a smaller than normal snowfall, about 1 foot of snow, with some drifts up to 2+ feet.

The EOD had about 3 feet of compacted snow.

Following the advice of many member SS users, I got out early to deal with it.

In places where it was only about 1 foot, the machine just walked right thru it, sending the snow “flying”…

In the higher drifts, I went slow and let the machine do the work at its own pace…no problems !!

The EOD was a tad slower again, but it did the job nicely.

I cleared 2 (4 car) driveways, a long walkway and a deck. I spent about 2 ½ hours with the machine and feel than I have a fair sense for the technique of using the SS now and will get better with more practice.

I did notice that when transitioning from one level to another (slight variance between the sidewalk and my driveway) the machine sent the snow out from underneath back toward my feet. This also happened when I kept the auger engaged while pulling the machine backward.

The machine was fun-to-use (perhaps a first-time novelty) but more importantly, no aches and pains in the shoulders or arms when I was finished (you younger fellows don’t have those problems !!).

Borat suggested that the machine might be a “Murray” and he may well be right……from what I’ve read on the forum, it seems that a lot of Manufacturers have joined and put machines out under various names….it can be confusing….

This machine, with the Briggs & Stratton engine, is actually under the B & S Brand Name…it’s the only machine that I have seen labelled as such. I bought it at a Canadian Tire Store.

As promised, below are some pictures.

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WOW! That's a great looking machine and sounds like it's very capable as well. The older I get, the more I appreciate a single stage machine. I love my 2 stage and would never part with it because many storms do require the power a 2 stage brings to the fight. I got to use my new to me Honda 520A single stage this past winter and am truely impressed with the performance of these single stage machines.

I have always used a 2 stage blower for the past 35 years and I'll have to admit I did not feel that a single stage had any place trying to do battle with a typical New England winter. After using my Honda single stage this winter my view point has changed and I am now on the look out for a decent Toro CCR 3000 if I can find one on CL. My second choice would be a new Toro 221QE or 421QE. While I like the Honda, I do not like the chute control handle that always seems to get in the way - particularly when close to a vertical structure like a wall or wood pile, etc...

I gave my sister a Toro CCR 2000E that I refurbished for a Christmas present this year and she calls it "the little snowblower that could". It handled every storm and kept her from having to shovel the many storms we had (my sister is 65 y/o). I decided on a a single stage because she is not able to handle a 2 stage machine.

In particular, I like the chute control handle on the Toro CCR series in that it allows the operator to adjust the direction of the chute without getting in the way of a wall or other vertical obstruction. A very simple design that is also very practical. I'll sell my Honda during the fall and will be keeping my eyes out for a nice CCR 3000 during the coming months on CL.

That snowblower looks good! 

I've seen the Snapper, Simplicity, and Sno-Tek version of this same snowblower.  I like that B&S paint scheme the best.  The worse was the all black Darth Vader Sno-Tek.

FrankMA wrote:
I was in the market for a CCR3000.  They were a rare find and command too high prices.  A used 221QR with the Quick Shoot sells about the same price as a CCR3000.  I haven't found any mint CCR3000.  Suzuki engine or not, I rather have the convenience of the Quick Chute and more efficient design of the 221QR.

Yeah, I used to have attitude about SS machines.    Never used one and never saw one work. 

They're not really prominent in these parts.   If you're looking for a used one on Kijiji for instance, you'll see 20 or 30 two stage machines for every SS machine. 

I bought the 1998 Craftsman SS machine just to play with.  Got it cheap, and tried to move snow with it.  It was very anemic.  Best it could do was throw average snow maybe eight feet.  I took it apart and saw that the two cycle Tecumseh engine was in great shape but the rear motor mount had cracked almost completely.  I fixed it, cleaned the carb, pulled the exhaust  to inspect it and check out the engine internals.  I put a piece of string on the governor lever and fed it through a hole I drilled in the plastic housing so that I could over-ride the governor.  With that little modification, it's now a serious, light weight snow mover that's actually fun to use. 

I was so impressed with it that I  went out a bought a brand new 221QE.   I can't remember the last time I used the Simplicity two stage.  We haven't had enough snow to challenge the SS machines and I doubt there's enough winter left to do so.  I hope I'm wrong.

 

Nice Photos.

I was looking at that (in its sno-tek version) as a potential machine for my in-laws so i'm interested in your  experiences with it so far.

I read one reviewer mention something about it burning through two belts the first season.

I believe you said you had only used it one time so far, but if you have any issues pop up i would appreciate it if you would let us know.

Thanks

For FrankMA:

Like yourself, I will ALWAYS have a 2 stage - where I live we can get some "massive" snow storms, with very high winds that create drifts like most folks wouldn't believe.

BUT, we do get some "lesser" amounts and it appears to me that there is a place and time for a SS. I'm very glad I made the move to have both horses in the stable and will call upon each to do "their" job when required.

For me, at my age, I find that the SS treats my body with much more respect than the 2 Stage !!

For Oneplay:

You're right about my limited use of the SS to date, but I will continue to share my experiences as things evolve.

There are 2 things that I will mention right away. You'll notice that I took the belt cover off and took a picture of the belt and how it is wound around the various pulleys.

That was not because I had any indication of potential problems or was aware of any from my reviews on this machine.

The reason was that the owners manual does not provide any instructions for replacing a belt nor does it have any illustrations. In the absence of any illustrations, I thought it best to have a "record / image" of how it goes on for when it inevitably breaks a belt. BTW, it looks relatively easy to replace...

The other item that I will mention is "vibration". At first, there was more vibration than I had anticipated but I attributed that to my lack of experience / knowledge of the machine.

After about 1 hour of use, I heard some "rattling" noise that didn't seem right to me - so I shut the machine down for a visual inspection......

I'll insert a picture here to illustrate the problem that I discovered and explain thereafter:

The 2 black objects that have the white rectangles around them are actually "screws" that keep a cover in place (you have to remove this cover to service the spark plug). I had taken the cover off for a look--see when I first brought the machine home and was quite sure that I had replaced them tightly....perhaps not !!

Apparently the "vibration" had allowed them to work loose and come right off !! I was VERY fortunate to find them both just a few feet from where I stopped the machine !! Replaced them and keep checking them from time-to-time and no further problem.

That little experience caused me to look further into the "vibration" issue. From what I can determine thus far, it appears that the auger may have been hitting off the housing. I read in some other posts on the forum that some folks had found a "high" spot on the auger rubber and had filed it down...

As I'd prefer to keep the rubber auger as close as possible to the housing (for better performance) I decided against that route. I took the machine out to the (concrete) sidewalk which I had already cleared and made about 10 passes back and forth over it. That seem to lessen the vibration considerably.

It is something that I will keep an eye on (expect to use the machine again tomorrow) and something that you might want to flag for the future.

Hope this helps. Cheers = Roger

Just found this on the Sears site...appears to be the exact same machine as mine, but with the Craftsman brand and a different color scheme.... the "specs" are identical.

It's selling for $200 more than I paid at Canadian Tire and it only has a 2 year warranty - mine has a 4 year warranty.....

Word to the wise = shop around for best prices...

Sears are serious scalpers unless you luck out on a sale.  Their parts are absolutely ridiculously over priced.

Regarding the two fasteners that rattled loose. 

Take them off and drill a small hole through the plastic handles.   Attach the fasteners then string a piece of wire through the two holes and tie them off.   They will not loosen and fall out unless the wire is removed.

If you do the above, drill the holes off center to avoid the screw.

Excellent suggestion - thanks for that.

I was surprised that I found them - usually they'd be blown somewhere into space.

Not wanting to loose them, I'll use your solution.

Cheers

FWIW - I was in Home Depot yesterday and they had a couple of Toro 421's that were marked down from $ 699.00 to $ 499.00. It was very tempting but it's coming into "dump your snowblower/snowthrower" season on CL. I decided to pass and wait for a decent used CCR2000/3000, 221, 421, etc... that's more in the $ 100.00 - $ 300.00 range plus I still have my HS520A that I'll be unloading this fall. If all else fails, I'll sell the HS520A for about $ 350.00 or so and parlay that into a new or slightly used machine this coming fall.

borat wrote:

Thanks to Borat for the good suggestion.

Here's the solution as suggested:

No worry about loosing them now !!

There you go. 

Nicely done. 

ParadiseNfld wrote:

If you had run the wire from the cap on the left to the lower portion of the cap on the right, (5 o'clock position), the caps would not only not be lost, they wouldn't loosen. Not too late to drill one more hole.

How are they going to loosen?  They can't rotate.  

I've used similar set ups on the knobs for the quick release windshields on my ATVs.   I just tie off the wire from the knob to the handle bar.  They stay tight.   Prior to doing that, I had lost a couple due to vibrating loose.  The wire holds them in position very effectively.

borat wrote:

   This is an excellent idea.  I have used a simiilar system on my top fuel dragster and all of the fasteners on my Lear are tied  like this.

royster wrote:
Yeah.......

Back in the day working at NASA, we had problems with fasteners vibrating loose on the launch vehicles.  I was assigned to figure out a way to stop it from happening.........

borat wrote:

You probably saves lives  with your idea,  that is really great.

Thank you, NASABoratNJ. Think you can do something about the potholes around here while you're back down here on Earth????

FrankMA wrote:
No.  Can't help with the  pot holes but if you drill and wire every fastener down on your vehicle, it won't fall apart as quickly. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vqUdC-8nFY

borat wrote:
Thank you again NASABoratMN_Runneraa335Steve_CeburoysterNJ for all your assistance!!! Could'nt have done it without you guys....

borat wrote:

I don't bother with trying to stop fasteners loosening. We got pot holes in Chicago big enough to swallow the whole car.

HI ParadiseNFLD,

Do you recall how much you paid for that machine at Canadian Tire?  I was looking at that one as well.  What about spare parts (auger/scraper bar)?  Does Canadian Tire sell them, or do you think they would be easy to procure locally when they need replacing?

I just picked up a Toro 418ZR today from Home Depot, but I'm going to keep it in the box on the off chance I find something else out there.

Regards,
james

Mr_Pacman wrote:

I paid $499 + tax (end of season purchase). They are currently selling for $599 + tax at CTC in my area.

I already purchased a drive belt to have on hand as a spare....got it from a "local" snow blower repair shop BUT they had to order it in from Moncton, New Brunswick.

Cost was about $38 as I recall.

Not sure if CTC will sell the parts BUT they may as the machine is "exclusive" to them.

That being said, I see many other identical machines, with different "branding" and suspect that parts availability won't be an issue.

I am very pleased with this machine and quite happy that I bought it. It worked extremely well for me last year and I expect a repeat performance this year.

Cheers = Roger

FrankMA wrote:

Just what are you implying Frank?

I sure as hell am not from NJand if you doubt that I suggest you ask the moderator.

Not everyone on here is DavidNJ. Heck maybe you are?

Repeat after me: "I am now DavidNJ, I am now DavidNJ, I am now DavidNJ...." Continue this chant until you're convinced that you are DavidNJ.

FrankMA wrote:

You've lost the plot.