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

Hello,

This is my first post here.

I recently got a used old Honda HS35 snowblower for $80.

It starts and runs with choke 'closed'. The choke knob is loose, moves around with the vibration.And when I put the choke on 'open' position it most of the time surges (up and down). I added some seafoam and noticed that it helped it stabilize on that day. I started it again today and it still surges when the choke is 'open' during the first few minutes, then stabilizes. Is this normal?  To start the machine the choke needs to be 'closed' or it won't start.

 This is my first snowblower, I have not worked on a snowblower before.

Auger's rubber parts are not new, the previous owner said he replaced them 3 years ago.It looks like rubber parts are worn by about half an inch maybe.Because I can see where the tip of the rubber was at one point by looking at the very thin end of the rubber.

Scraper bar is not rubber, it looks like it is made from harder plastic and the edges have 3-5 indents froms scraping. Do I have to replace these this year or will they work for now?

Is the price I paid fair for the machine I described above? Is it too much?

Thanks.

I can't help on price.  As for the augers. you might not be able to tell how good they are until you try it in some snow and see how well it works.

Most engines require full choke to start, then half choke for a couple minutes as it warms up then no choke after warmed up.  Every engine is different and the temperature also affects it.  You just have to get a feel for your equipment.

+1 on what Shryp said about the choke.   I think you got a good deal for that machine.  If there appears to be 1/2" wear on the augers I would buy new ones now and replace them rather than wait until we have snow to find out that they are too worn to work properly.  If they are badly worn the machine will not work very well and you may find yourself pushing it into the snow.  

Nice HS35 at a decent price.  Looks in pretty good shape considering it's probably 20 years old or more.  They sure don't make them as complicated as this model nowadays.  It's a very robust machine.  It still looks good compared to today's new machines.

I'd would get new rubber auger and scraper bar if they are worn out.  You can get them here .  Link.

Shryp wrote:

I think it is normal.I had not had a snow blower before or anything with a choke.After a few minutes with choke 'open' it runs fine after I 'close' it.

carlb wrote:

I downloaded the manual and it tells me to replace the rubber if the measurement from the shaft of the auger to the edge of the rubber is at 8.87cm. or shorter. It is 9-9.05cm. now if I measured correctly.

aa335 wrote:

Inside auger housing and on parts of the auger itself there is rust.I want to sand it and paint it next year if I can.

Thanks for the link, aa335, I checked that website and found out that the 'scraper bar kit' is obsolete.How do people replace it then?I called Honda Power America, they confirmed that that part (starting with 06...) is discontinued.However I saw this part and its MSRP on Honda Power's Canada website.Interesting.

Last night I asked my wife to come with me to look at another snow blower I saw online.150 miles roundtrip.I ended up paying $246 for this Honda HS621.A lot more than what I paid for HS35, hopefully it is worth it. What do you think? Its scraper bar might need replacement, but not sure if I should replace paddles yet.I did not understand how to measure the wear on this one or the manual was not clear.

Below I added a picture showing both.There you can see the rust on HS35's auger and its housing:

The HS35 is an old snowblower and Honda doesn't support this model anymore.  A lot of parts are obsolete, remaining available parts are quite expensive.  Check ebay from time to time.  You may get lucky and find the parts you need.

The other HS621 looks in good shape, almost no rust on the bucket or the fasteners.  Looks like this machine was not used very much.  You determine if the rubber paddles need replacement by measuring how much rubber is protruding from the metal edge on the auger itself.  If it is less than .6 inch, then it needs replacement.  Scraper bars are still easily available.  Make sure that the scraper bar still has enough material, otherwise, the pavement will grind away at the metal bucket.  Make sure you check and tighten all the nuts on the metal chute.  I've lost quite a few nuts falling off at inopportune times.  If you can, replace them with nyloc type nuts.  They have plastic inserts to prevent metal on metal loosening.

Visually, the HS621 still have enough rubber on the paddles to go through this winter.  It's a good machine.

aa335 wrote:

Thanks for the reply.

6 inch from where? When I look at the new part pictures the rubber's width does not look like it is not 6 inches even when brand new.

The manual says:

'Measure the distance from the outer edge of the auger (the metal parts paddles are bolted on or the housing?) to the outer edge of the rubber paddles.The paddles are worn out and should be replaced, if the distance is less than 15mm (0,6 inch).'

Did you mean 0,6 in? Or is it a different measurement?

The scraper bar, the hard plastic part of it has one broken part less than1/5 in in width and 2 in in length at the end of the scraper, not seperated from the main plastic yet.Is this hard plastic the material you mentioned?

Thanks again for your suggestions.

blumonster wrote:
0.6 inches from the metal auger edge.

Thanks.