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

Two videos I saw on youtube were very interesting.One was brand new machine out of the box, shiny and all.You can see the cardboard box the machine came in the background.The other one is on the job. The second HS621 has a throttle?That I had not seen before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IllKHB8Cwls&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEPtwuRLryk

The first video is an HS621 for the European market.  They come with the chute guard and the muffler guard, as required.

The throttle control is a user retrofit.  I don't see the need for it on the smaller snowblowers.  The engine operates full throttle during snowblowing.

Even if you worry about wear and tear running at full throttle with the engine cold, keep the choke on longer.  The engine naturally runs rich and slower.

I see, user retrofit.

What size spark plug socket do we need to replace spark plug on these?I have 2 different sizes, 3/4 is too small.5/8 almost but I could not fit it in. I do not have the Honda supplied tools.

I changed the scraper today.One rusted bolt took me a long time to unscrew.Also I forgot the way metal holders lined up, hopefully I did it right.

The new scraper (original Honda part) is touching the ground, is this how it should be?When I gently push the snow blower it does not roll.

I got aftermarket paddles but they do not feel the same as OEM paddles now on the machine.Not changing them this winter anyway...

I used WD-40 to clean and lubricate the machine.Is WD-40 harmful for the rubber paddles?

When I changed the sparkplug on my Honda blower I had problem with the 5/8" socket. It was just too thick so I had to use the factory provided tool, which came with the blower.  I would like use the standard 5/8" so I can use the torque wrench but it was simply too tight.  I think the issue is the angle.  My Honda lawn mower is not an issue with a standard 5/8" but the snowblower engine was too tough.

You may try to use 12-point 5/8" socket.  These have thinner walls and smaller outside diameters that may fit in the sparkplug recess.

blumonster wrote:

Since the scraper is new, position the scraper up as high as possible, find a closest hole that fits the one on the metal piece and tighten.  Over time, the scraper will wear and you need to lower it so that the scraper hits the ground first and keep the sides of the bucket off the ground.

If you do it right, the scraper should always touch the ground first, when you tip the machine forward, the auger will then touch the ground and pull the snowblower forward.

aa335 wrote:

I pushed the scraper up from the bottom before tightening it.I will go and check what pattern the holders are.

Can we screw the bolt in any of these holes?I thought one hole was for the bolt.

blumonster wrote:
It doesn't matter what hole you use now since it's a new scraper.  When it wears and you have to lower it, use the hole that allows the plate to align closest to the lip on the backside of the scraper.  This is to keep the scraper from sliding up, it's Honda redundancy design.

I just replaced the paddles and scrapper bar on my new to me HS621AS yesterday. The cost for the (2) Rights, (2) Lefts, (2) Middles and the Scrapper Bar was $ 142.18 - all OEM. I got a chance to use it for the first time last week on about 8" of heavy wet snow. It did not work well because of the worn paddles and the scrapper bar was completely worn away. I knew I had to replace all these items but to be honest, I never expected 8" of snow this early in the season.

The removal and replacement of the paddles was a tediious, straight forward job and I can easily see how these will make a HUGE difference in the performance. The scrapper bar removal went well (thought I'd have more trouble with the nuts & bolts) and the lip of the bucket that the scrapper bar mates up to required a bit of rework in order for the new scrapper bar to fit properly. The lip at the bottom of the bucket was curled over in a couple of spots so I had to bend these areas back into position and everything mated up very nicely once completed.

I bought the HS621AS to replace an HS520A (will be selling this off soon) and it will mainly be used for clearing the snow off my 12' x 40' deck and occasionally for driveway use on the smaller, early/late season storms. Still working on an old Toro CCR3000 that I picked up earlier this year as a back-up/driveway machine if I can ever get the carb issues squared away. Have'nt had any time to work on it since last spring.

A lot of my neighbors have Honda HS520 and they like the way it performs.  It starts well and moves snow efficiently so I am not sure if HS520 is a dud.  I have looked at HS621 for sale and many times the sellers are asking too much (around 350-450) with a lot of rust (rusted auger) and worn out peddles.   Heck, people are asking $200 for HS35.  So these units are for sale but they do not find new homes unless sellers are reasonable.  Just curious on how bad HS520 was for FrankMA?  Were the rubber peddles worn out on HS520 or just did not have the extra hp and torque of GX160?

FrankMA wrote:

FrankMA,

I have not replaced the paddles yet, they look like they would do the job this year.In case they do not I bought aftermarket paddles for 29 dollars in total. (one seller was selling it for $29 with free shipping).They look sturdy as the OEM paddles.But I see cords in the middle.OEM either does not have cords or I do not see them.

OEM paddles,scraper and belt are being sold as a set on ebay for $125 including shipping.But I did not want to pay that much.Just got the OEM scraper (from Boats.net) and a spare belt -Gates powerated belt. ($11 at amazon)

I also got aftermarket paddles for my other used snow blower HS35.These paddles look flimsier than HS621 paddles.Again visible cords in the middle.

I could not find the scraper kit for HS35, they say it is discontinued.There is a scraper bar only part which can be used on later VIN than mine.I hope I can use it on mine on the existing metal part of the scraper.

Honda user manuals say we should install paddles with the symbols facing us or they would wear faster. NON-OEM paddles have no symbols.I hope they will be OK.

What is wrong with HS520A? The lowest price I saw for the basic model was 600 dollars for these.

When changing oil do we really fill it up so much that they drip when the snowblower is level?Manual says so but I     did not fill that much.Only the amount it said there.