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

Finally got some snow here so I took out most of the fleet to have some fun and put the machines to use.   Beautiful weather.  Crisp, clear with a bit of a breeze but not too bad.   First up is the Craftsman SS then the Toro 221 and finally the Simplicity.  Not too much snow maybe 5 or 6 inches but nice consistency. Fine, fairly dense and dry.  Here's a link to the video:

http://youtu.be/p7U9Jk8s8VM?hd=1

Nice video borat! I liked seeing what the Craftsman can do.

How are the paddles on that? I don't know the exact gap, but as I recall, I have a decent gap between my paddles and the thrower housing. Unfortunately, the Ariens paddles seem rather expensive (I think I was seeing ~$35, and it seemed like that was for *1* paddle). And they're molded into this funky shape, they're not simply flat pieces of rubber. I saw a video of how to shift your Toro paddles in their mounts to get some more life out of them. I can't do that. I wish the whole rotating paddle assembly was in a slot so that as they wore you could shift them closer to the housing.

It's interesting you mention the vibration issue. I've noticed that my little HSK600 must be trying to vibrate pretty hard. You don't see the engine moving (though I could sure feel it in the handles when I tried blowing without gloves). But when I engage the paddles, the idler pulley is shaking back & forth rather violently. Everything that can be tightened is snug. I think it's the pivot for the idler that's helping to allow the movement, but I wasn't going to try and tear it apart further to check that. Just snugged everything down as best I could and left it. As the engine gets larger (and even higher RPM's; I'm only at 4600) I'd imagine the vibration issues must become more significant. It would be funny if your cranked-up engine was putting out near 10 hp; you'd have a little machine with more power than my "big" 2-stage I'd expect power won't scale up linearly with RPM, the engine presumably runs into some breathing issues as the revs climb, so I'd guess torque may drop off somewhat. But it's still going to be a lot more than stock.

Do you know of other machines that use the HSK850? The Ariens SS522 uses it, not sure what else. Do the Toro CCR2000 & CCR3000 use Suzuki engines? I know those machines seem to have a good reputation.

Pretty much all the MTD/AYP/Murray/Craftsman/Yard Machines etc. used the Tecumseh two cycle engine.   I've got a 2005 MTD that I picked up used/cheap just for the engine.  The whole machine is like new.  It's got a Tecumseh two cycle HSK850 in it.  They're 139 cc engines and certainly capable of making much more than the rated 5  h.p.  

I have a 140 cc Suzuki two cycle powered lawn mower that I cranked up to 6500 rpm.  I found a formula to calculate horse power for two cycle engines.  It took displacement, compression, rpms etc. into account and calculated the power output a various rpms.  The stock engine was rated at 4.5 h.p. at 2800 rpm.  When spun up to 6500 rpm, the calculations revealed close to 12 h.p.   So, estimating close to 10 h.p. for a similar engine running at the same speed isn't to hard to believe.    Torque is another matter.   If kept in the power band, a two cycle will produce some serious torque.  However, once the torque demand exceeds the engine's ability to produce it, a two cycle engine's torque output will drop off quickly.  Unlike a four stroke that will slow down a bit and start to bark but keep making respectable torque until the load becomes too excessive.  When that happens, the engine will just stall. 

Borat,

    Discounting power differences how would you rate the throughput and distance of the two SS's?  Going by the video it seems the 221 is about the same as the Craftsman or slightly less potent at least on distance but it's hood was at a lower angle.

I'd say the Craftsman throws the same amount of snow about 20% further when cranked up.  If used at stock rpms, it would be about 75% less than the Toro.   The Craftsman gives a lot away because there's not a lot of rubber left on the paddles.   If it had fresh rubber, it would be much better.  I kind of like it the way it is.  The Toro pulls too hard going down hill and can be a handful to hold back if the driveway is even a bit slippery.  With the worn  paddles, the Craftsman is easy to control, up and down the hill and moves snow good enough.  Hard machine to beat for the amount I paid for it.    

Borat - Check out this one for sale down here....You scored BIG time!

Snow Thrower - $325 (Lexington)

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Date: 2012-01-26, 9:37AM EST
Reply to: sale-n5ahu-2813942352@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

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PostingID: 2813942352

If it's as lame as the machine I bought, it's going to be tough to sell. 

I remember the guy I bought mine from didn't want to give me a display of the machine's ability.  Remember, it was in stock condition with a cracked engine mount and questionable belt.   I got the guy to fire it up.  Started and ran well but shook quite a bit.  I asked him if I could try moving some snow with it.  He said "Too late.  I already did the driveway."  So I said "How about we try the snow  bank?  It's fresh snow right?"  He paused, looked at me for a while then pushed the machine into the snow.  It was truly laughable.  I swear that machine was barely throwing good snow eight feet.   I looked at him in a curious way and said "How much are you asking for it?  He said $125.00.  I offered him $75.00 and he jumped on it.  

I'd say the price I paid was pretty good if you consider what a Tecumseh HSK850 engine alone costs.  

I''d like the ex-owner to see how it works now.   Limp Dick Willy turned into Jack the Bear by adding a piece of string!

Nice video.  Nice machines.  Nice neighborhood.  Are those Sasquatch tracks I see on your neighbor's lawn across the street?

manjestic wrote:
I wish they were sasquatch tracks. 

Unfortunately, they're the tracks of the "world's tallest rat".  The white tail deer.  The deer population has gone right out of control.  Their numbers are so high that they've achieved "vermin" status.   The upside is that the wolves are on the rebound and their numbers are increasing as well.  Once the wolf/deer numbers reach a balance, the deer numbers will come down.   In addition to that, after 500+ auto/deer collisions annually within City limits,  the municipality has also implemented necessary control methods to assist in getting the deer numbers down. 

You cannot imagine how much damage and disease high deer concentrations can cause.   We never had ticks in our area when the deer numbers were reasonable.  Now, you'll be infested with them if you take even a brief a walk into the woods any time after April.  Lyme disease is also on the rise due to deer ticks becoming more common.    

Here's a picture of a wolf "getting it done" in a neighbour's back yard, not too far from where I live.

Borat,

   What’s the paddle shape on the Craftsman?  I can’t get an exploded view for that model.  Is it flat right under the chute or the smooth curve type of paddle?

    What are you tossing there?   Most of the time the EOD big or small here is very difficult for any machine to toss.  I don't think any Toro 2000 or 2450 I've had would do as well by quite a bit. 

trouts2 wrote:
Yes.  Flat across the center with curved edges fastened with rivets.  In case you're interested, I'm using a $7.00 belt that I bought from NAPA rather than the $53.00 belt that Sears sells. 

Yes that's the EOD that was piled abough 18 to 20" high.  Lots of slush mixed with normal snow.  As you can see, I was leaning into it pretty good to keep forward momentum. 

It's amazing what doubling the horsepower will do for a machine's performance. 


Here's a pic: