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

I've only had the opportunity to use my snowblower twice, but here are features I already miss.

• Coffee Mug Holder
  I bought a two-stage snow blower, so I can go in a straight line and walk behind it, but I have to hold my coffee. 
  
  
• 7" LCD TV w/Headphones
  Sometimes you HAVE to go out and blow because you have to drive somewhere.  I already missed the morning news once, what will I miss next, a re-run of ALF.
  
  
• Laser Guidance
  You've seen those laser levelers to make sure you go in a straght line when hanging pictures on the wall.  Why the hell don't we have one of those on our snow blowers.
  
  
• Snow Ball Attachment
  Sure we can shoot snow 50 feet in the air, but why can't they make the snow pass out in little snow $#%*.  The kids would love it and you'd never lose a snow ball fight.
  
  
• Automatic Mode
  You've all seen those little vacuum cleaners that just keep going around the living room until its all vacuumed up.  Why not on our snow blowers - turn it on and check on it after an hour.  Sure you'll waste a little extra gas, but give that sucker enough time, and the whole neighborhood will be cleared.
  
  
• Remote Start
  Our cars have it, so they can get warmed up, but not our snow blowers.  Start it up while inside the house and come out 10 minutes later when the engine is nice and warm.
  
  
• Small Pet Detector
  How many times has a small cat or dog been caught in the augers.  We put little sensors on the back of our minivans to see if a small child is behind it, but the thousands of small animals that get chewed up are neglected.  PETA will be on this soon!
  
  
• Blue-Ray headlights
  If you buy the BMW of snowblowers, why do you get a standard halogen bulb. Those super bright blue ones should be standard
  
  
  These are just a few of my complaints.  I'm certain as time goes on I'll find a lot more.

--SnowRemover

Chrome.  Lots and lots of chrome.

LL

Stainless Steel like a Delorean.....and how about a twin cylinder engine made by Briggs and Stratton

Yeah.....Baby!!!

                                                                                    Dan

SnowRemover wrote:

<snipped for brevity>

Ok, I'll bite....what make this subject   **productive** ?

I'm all in favor of free speech, but for myself only I wish I had the ability to send

this subject to **Ashcanistan** so I wouldn't have to see it again.  Is that a feature

that could be built in Abby's, I wonder?

Open headers !!   - Kris

  Chris S and Marshall,

           I do not hope that you call this a productive thred, but I'm sure you will!!!

Henrich Himmler would love it!!!

                                                               Fred

Sigh.....

Productive?  No.

Allowable as yours was Fred?  Yes.

C

• Coffee Mug Holder
  Beer holder for me... It'll stay cold too !
  
  
• 7" LCD TV w/Headphones
  Video camera... show off the snow action to family and friends !
  
  
• Laser Guidance
  Nahhh.... let go of the handle bars... and see where it goes !  More interesting !
  
  
• Snow Ball Attachment
  Sure we can shoot snow 50 feet in the air, but why can't they make the snow pass out in little snow $#%*.  The kids would love it and you'd never lose a snow ball fight.
  
  Agree on this one !
  
  
  
  
• Automatic Mode
  You've all seen those little vacuum cleaners that just keep going around the living room until its all vacuumed up.  Why not on our snow blowers - turn it on and check on it after an hour.  Sure you'll waste a little extra gas, but give that sucker enough time, and the whole neighborhood will be cleared.
  
  Excellent idea !
  
  
• Remote Start
  A cooperative significant other can do the job...
  
  
• Small Pet Detector
  How many times has a small cat or dog been caught in the augers.  We put little sensors on the back of our minivans to see if a small child is behind it, but the thousands of small animals that get chewed up are neglected.  PETA will be on this soon!
  
  But... can it detcet frozen squirrels ???
  
  
• Blue-Ray headlights
  If you buy the BMW of snowblowers, why do you get a standard halogen bulb. Those super bright blue ones should be standard
  
  Or... get a Simplicity... wih the yellow beam...
  
  
  Dave...

Chris S,

          Mine was more productive!!

                                   IMHO

                                                                      Fred             

I respect your opinion Fred.

C

Hydrolic skid shoes and I recall someone on this board attached a valve to his machine to make oil changes easier.  That should be standard on all machines.

plugger wrote:
Plugger,

With all due respect, we're trying to keep this topic as unproductive as possible.  Now if that valve was a hot cocoa dispenser, I think I'd buy one machine for each of my kids.

--SnowRemover

PS: I try not to put in smiley's because I hope my humor is obvious, but sometimes people don't get it, so insert a hypothetical smiley after the first sentence.

krislu wrote:

With 3 foot zoomies.

My vette engine would fit nicely.  400 ft-lbs of torque should toss the snow pretty far.  The guy a few houses down has a pool, good target practice.

-Dave

OK.  I really like the ideas I posted originally, but in keeping with the spirit of the thread, I'd like a griddle on top of the muffler so I can cook sausages.   I tried cooking them on the heated handle grips but they kept rolling off.

Features

To do "A hundred and forty  at the top end floored"

"a competition plus shifter"

" a flat head that will walk a T-bird like it's standin still"

"an one more thing  "It's got to have a big slip daddy" dana rear end

Ok put a set of wings on it cause no one gonna be happy till they know it can fly.  

P.S. That blue headlight idea is great.  for the reason I can drive my neighbor (especially his wife")  crazy.  She is already half crazy.  I'd probable be able to hear her "flip her lid" over the sound of the snowblower.  

I'd add an ipod dock and wireless headphones..........
Also, a calcium chloride dispenser for the walkways, and a flame thrower for dealing with any ice patches.

I love the snowball idea.........

Come on guys....the diversity of the forum is what makes it good.........to take a moment in our busy day and have a one minute escape with our imaginations thinking of funny options for our snowblowers........hey, it was fun.

Frank D.

jubol wrote: Do I have a dog in this fight?


Seeing as how I am thrown into the ring, I'll try to offer some sense of reason here.

I, as many of you, have been on many different forums, some related to OPE and some not. Inevitably, when a thread is made with the intent of setting up one brand against the other in a negative light or not, the threads go south in a heartbeat.

Jubol, your thread was one of those, here is part of the question as you worded it:

"Let's count and see how :"Junky MTD" does !!, compared to Ariens great QC ! ! ! 

                                                                 Fred            

Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist Fred to know what you're doing and also to know what your intent is. I know you, we've been friends on this forum, and off, for quite some time now.

Now, I didn't jump on your thread because I knew how it would turn out. I knew there were not enough MTD owners to make it end up with any results that meant anything at all. I also knew it could potentially start flame wars but figured, hey, lets let it roll and see what happens here.

I have to believe that all Chris was saying is what I am pointing out here. Terrapin mentioned the same thing, he knows what these kind of threads potentially bring. And Fred, you do too.

As for this thread? Come on, this is a good natured, fun thread. There's nothing wrong with it and it is on topic. This is the kind of fun we should have.

On a separate note......

Personally, I have come to the defense of about everything made in OPE land, at one time or another on this forum. From Tecumseh engines, to Honda engines and from Ariens snowblowers to Craftsman tractors and everything in between. I don't like to see any OPE run down on purpose just for the sake of being run down. We have people that come to our forum that have an agenda, 99% of the time they are easy to spot. We have readers, lurkers and potential new members that are trying to read honest posting about OPE and they are planning on spending a lot off pocket change on something soon. I hope to see you members watch out for the name callers and newbies that arrive talking blow too.

All I want to try to monitor, is that no manufacture is run down purposely. I have treated other moderators with the same scrutiny as I do members, you know I am talking about. I don't like seeing any one manufactures product solely pushed in every single post by a person just because that is what that person happens to have a bone for. I don't like like seeing the reverse as well, a negative beating in every post.

Fred you asked, I answered. I have no agenda, I don't even own a damn snowblower. I have already told you my preference in one if I were to happen to ever buy one too and, it's not the brand you're suggesting is in bed here. There is no sex in this bed, with any manufacturer, period! I give you my word as a man on that!

Now, everyone have fun and lets talk about helping people that need some OPE.

(Forgive me in advance for not proofing this, probably left a word or two out somewhere.)

I wanted to put a garage door opener on my snowthrower, but it would get full of snow. 

    So I would add a sealed garage door opener holder to the option list.                            

                                                                                                 18 degrees

I've always wanted a set of those things by  me while I snowblowed.  I also always wanted a hot cocoa maker, very practical and easy to install. 

How about a little heated sled that connects to the blower like a trailer? you stand on the heated sled as you snowblow and your feet never touch the ground and stay toasty warm. Your body can take most anything mother nature dishes out but once your feet get wet/cold, you are miserable.

Isn't that called a plow Smitty?

these 2 i would believe are engineerable:

a) a pop up pivot point on the bottom of the blower. u push a button and a rod (like a foot on a hollywood bed frame) lowers. on that point u can swivel the machine 360 degrees.

b) directional hand grips .  when going fwd u twist the grips fwd. in reverse u swist them going back ward. speeds could also be integrated like a bike  or motorcycle

(i am  not the only one, am i, that reverses, moves the chute, acelerates forgetting he is in reverse )

solara wrote: Thats the beauty of my little blower............
    Directional hand grips are standard equiqment on every single stage!

I've yet to back over myself with one either

I didn't back over myself, but I hit myself a few times today when I blew snow.  I really haven't used the blower much and it is a "learning curve" again. 

MAKE MY DREAM SNOWBLOWER OUT OF  STAINLESS STEEL LIKE A DE LOREAN....(BACK TO THE FUTURE)

AND ADD TWIN .45 CALIBER MACHINE GUNS, ONE ON EITHER SIDE,  ALA JAMES BOND'S ASTON MARTIN...(IN CASE I SEE THE DEER HERD THAT EATS MY SHRUBS) 

                                       DAN , DAN THE MAN 

My snowblower already has the most desired accessory I could want, a tractor attached so I can sit my fat butt down while blowing snow. A heated cab would be nice, though.

How about a clear Gas tank and a "Mr. Funnell" already attached.

Maybe a infared, sonar thing to "see" buried newspapers, frozen squirrels, etc.

Frank D.

Adjustable length handle bars since we are all not the same height.  Spin the wing nut, adjust, lock down, your done.

C

ChrisS wrote:

Being vertically challenged myself, this sounds like a winner!
                                                                                                                              Kevin

Vangellis wrote:

Yup, me too lol....

But the Honda bars are almost too short for me....

C

Dantheman wrote:

would the flux capacitor be hort. or vert. mounted?

Dantheman wrote:
Sir, .45 ACP is not very effective against deer. In some states it's not legal to hunt them with it.

You might consider a grenade launcher, it's easier to hit an area target on the move.

But now that you mention it, a meat grinder attachment might be useful to make that ground venison. ....

A funny story. a friend of mine moved to a Boston suburb.A new neighbor moved in, and on learning that this guy hunts deer (he's a fanatic, hunts bow, muzzle-loader, shotgun and rifle in three states - that doesn't mean he gets any, though) expressed concern that he would "shoot Bambi."

That was before he planted his vegetable garden. After the local deer had consumed every leaf in his garden (after jumping over the fence he put up) this neighbor came to my friend and said, "Can I pay you to shoot these d#d deer?" He was dismayed to learn that there was a two week season, and not anywhere near the neighborhood.

I'm glad the new blowers can shut off the augers instantly - that's a safety concern on my old Ariens. All I can do quickly is grab the spark plug wire.

Having larger, optional skids for gravel driveways would be helpful.
And if there is a coffee mug holder, it should be heated....

Garandman wrote:
I thought that's what the augers did! I hope I'm not using my unit incorrectly.

--SnowRemover

Grandman,

While I admit that the .45 ACP is minimal for deer, I once did take a doe cleanly at 20 yds with one shot in the shoulder from a Colt 1917 revolver. I used a 250 gr. lead bullet in the .45 Auto Rim case travelling at around 700 or 750 fps. It was one of the cleanest kills I have ever made.

I did'nt think mounting  rifle cartridge size machineguns on a snowblower would be acceptable due to the size of the actions necessary to utilize a .308 size cartidge. I believe it would make the snowblower to unwieldly. And...while admitting that the .45ACP is a minimal (at best) cartridge for deer...multiple hits from twin machine guns would certainly drop them in their tracks. 

                                                                             Dan, Dan the Man

roflmao