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

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 I came across this interesting review while searching for info on shear bolts. "Level of Expertise Intermediate", He wrote the following:  I could not find any reference to SNOW BLOWER SHEER PINS in your SNOW BLOWER ACCESSORIES lists. WHY NOT ? ? ? I did do an additional search and your web site did then bring up the Sheer Pins. Sheer pins are a consumable item. I've found, when using my snow blower, that i use approximately two sheer pins per day, sometimes more. These items are essential to proper operation of snow blowers. Lowes should list these sheer pins with Lowes Snow Blower accessories. Thanks for hearing me out.

I will tell you what he needs to buy a Toro! Last season alone I sucked up an huge piece of an outdoor carpet, about 20' off a 10/3 extension cord, a 2lb ash tray nevermind the solid ice piles which I turned into golf ball size pieces and didnt break one sheer pin. I brought the machine in and had it checked out and nothing was bent. I could have sworn they were going to tell me I need to replace the auger, gear box, etc and bang me out with a huge invoice.

I have a neighbor with a craftsman that goes through several sets a season......

stresst wrote:

I threw chunks of granite with my Toro 1028, and it didn't break a shear pin! The dealer went all through my machine and all it needed was everything tightened up, which after acouple of years is normal. Oh I I did suck in that Christmas wreath that was 98% wire and it was Big one! It was wrapped tight around teh auger and I blew snow for like 20+ minutes with it before I noticed it was down in power.

Still it didn't snap a shear pin, good thing becase I can't remember where I put them.

I've used one shear pin in five years on my Simplicity.  Reeled in a big piece of landscape fabric.  Other than that, nothing.  I bet I haven't used more than a total of six shear pins in 21 years. 

I'd suspect that a person busting two pins a day is using it for commercial reasons and is unaware of the land mines hidden under customer's snow. 

Maybe he is over tightening them?

Shryp wrote:
Very likely.  I've done that before.  Broke a pin when I wasn't hitting anything hard.

Shryp wrote:

I have a feeling he its a bad batch, these things one way or another get heat treated and are probably way to brittle. Dealer probably purchased 100pc box and he keeps going back, IMO he should buy from another source and see what happens. I bet its a differant outcome. JMHO

Maybe hes got a rock driveway. I used to go through a few pins a year on gravel until a few years ago. Then rust locked the augers to the shafts until the gear box sheared. Now I'm putting in grease zerks.

The person referred to in the OP bought a machine from Lowes (Troy Bilt, Deere, Husqvarna) but buys shear bolts "made for an Ariens"....? The X-reference indicates these are also for many other brands (they are abolutely not compatible, unless the fact that they fit in the hole is considered compatible). Also "Made to the manufacturer's specifications" like the OEM snowblower manufacturers hand out part blueprints on the streetcorner. I would not recommend anyone buy these for any machine. No wonder this person uses 2 per day.

Ariens OEM shear bolts are not only manufactured with specific geometry with materials, but every manufactured lot is sampled and shear tested in volume to guarantee they will shear at the intended load. Aftermarket parts are a crap shoot and are purely guessing at materials and process. They could shear like butter or blow the gear case. The OEM bolts are worth every penny. If you use the correct OEM bolts and pop them too often there is usually another problem causing it (runners and scraper set too high or badly worn, bent augers or housing, improper usage).

Snowmann wrote:

SNOWMAN, would you consider a stens part as good as oem or not ??

I'm having a bit of difficulty accepting the the notion that a shear pin is designed to such specific tolerances that only one machine can accept and use them.  After all, we're talking snow blowers here.  A machine designed to perform work in an environment that will occasionally cause the auger to break a pin.  

The idea of using "only" the manufacturers pins sounds more like a cash grab for dealers than anything else.  I've heard of some ridiculous prices for shear pins.  Some as much as $1.25 a piece.  Not a chance that I'll pay that.  Not when I can get a suitable bolt from the hardware store for  fifteen cents.

 I've used low grade bolts on old Craftsman machine augers that worked just fine.  Never broke a lot of them and when necessary, they did break.  My Simplicity uses a non-threaded pin with a clip in the end so there's no chance of over-tightening it.  Discussing shear pins is of no use if the auger is rust welded to the drive shaft.  Make the effort to grease the auger shafts at the end of every season.  Take out the shear pins and spin them after greasing.