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

Guys,

I may get to go check out some SS's. One is a Yardman 21" 5hp 2-stroke. The other is a Toro CCR2000e 2-stroke.

I am leaning towards the Yardman, based on boratification possibilities. I'm guessing/hoping it has a 5hp Tecumseh, maybe the HSK850. The Toro would have a 4.5hp Suzuki engine, from what I understand. I don't care about electric start. Any reason to avoid the Yardman? I realize it's probably not as solid/durable a machine as the Toro. But if it could be ramped up more in the power department, I could live with that. Thanks for any feedback.

Borat,

   I"ve actually been looking for better string like a tight braded nylon but thin. 

   I had set a few of the machines to have a base rpm higher than normal and the string to max it from there.  Running it like a chainsaw seemed a good idea so I lowered one way down and ran it like that for a while.  Funny stuff as it is like using a chainsaw and gives the engine a break so I set the other machines the same way.   

   It's 40 here in the shade today so will probably get to the low 50's.  It'll be in the 50's next week also.  It's looking like no possibly snow here at lest into March.  Very frustrating.

Nice mount, trouts! I thought about using sheetmetal, but I didn't really have something like that handy. So, ironically, making it out of aluminum was almost easier. It was more fun, at least, I got to machine it

I'm on board with what you found, in terms of raising RPMs. I haven't yet gotten to play with my string setup any more. But I did pick up a spring to add to it, and a turnbuckle for easier adjustability. I want to add them to the machine, then maybe I'll try to get some pics. I have the string going to the bail, so as the handle gets close to fully squeezed, it raises the RPMs. I haven't yet lowered my governed-RPM speed, but that's on my list. I took the governed speed from 3900 to 4500. I will probably lower it back to 3900 (stock), maybe even lower. And try to adjust everything so that squeezing the bail is enough to crank it up to a feisty operating speed.

I'm using general purpose braided nylon string. Excuse me, Ultra Performance Turbocharging RPM Adjustificator Space Age Polymer Cabling. My string is just white. But if I dyed it red, that would add another 0.25 hp and 1" of cut width right there. You did have me wondering what 7hp MTD you were referring to, until you listed the part # and explained the upgrade And borat, you're probably right, the mono line will give you better fuel economy vs braided, as it reduces weight, and will have less wind resistance. If you polish the line, that will also help reduce drag as the machine is moving forward. +10 points for bragging rights, however, if the line you're using has a tensile strength greater than the weight of the machine.

I found that adding NOS stickers at the appropriate places can increase torque or horsepower.  You just move it around until the engine feels right for your application.  It's kind of cool to tune the engine by just altering the placement. 

Early last year, I put in application  with the Canadian Federal Government to purchase a piece of "militarily sensitive" Spectra space tether.   Putting that on the Craftsman would make it deliriously awesome......

The package finally arrived and I was quaking in my boots to see this stuff.  I feverishly tore the box open only to find that they sent me a piece of binder twine? 

I think they're testing me to see  how much I know.

I've been so dissatisfied with how the bail handle doesn't engage the auger as crisply as I like it.  While the bail lever effort is very low, there is way too much slack.  I get no action until the 1.012" slack is taken up.  And when it engages, it feels very mushy, like there's a lot of wasted slipping going on.  It should be instantaneous without slipping or jerking.  Is that too much to ask Toro to design a positive, crisp engagement bail systems?  What good is all that power if it doesn't get down to the rubber?  Also, I get no feedback from the bail lever, feels the same auger is engaged or disengaged.  I wounder if changing out the cables and adding some precision pulleys would help. 

The Toro SS would be such a perfect machine had the engineer spent a few hours revising this power delivery system.  I mean they got a great Power Curve auger, don't stop there with just some low cost steel cables.  This is 2012, we got high performance cryogengically treated teflon impregnated oxygen free copper cables that would add pennies to the machine. 

Just my $0.02, but the fact that it doesn't engage "all at once", if you will, could be deliberate. If you squeezed just a little, and the bail kind of just clicked from disengaged to engaged, that might cause a lot of undue wear on the belt when it "hooked up". Kind of like on a 2-stage (which is a bit exaggerated, due the additional rotating impeller/auger mass), if you squeeze the handle abruptly you're more likely to make the belt chirp, as it suddenly has to get everything up to speed right now. That puts a big instantaneous load on the belt. Engaging a bit more gradually may make things easier on the belt, like easing off the clutch in your car, vs dropping the clutch.

Now, that said, I'm assuming that your machine is still adjusted properly. When I got my Yardman, the belt tension was way off. If we actually had any snow to move, I have a feeling the paddles would have simply stalled out in heavier stuff, and I would have smoked the belt at the engine's pulley. Likewise my Ariens SS was also too loose. After getting both adjusted properly, they feel better, and do not seem like they will slip. But both initially had only a small amount of tactile feedback when squeezing the bail. The paddles spun, but the belts were not under much tension. Now, after adjusting them, I feel the springs fighting me more, when I squeeze the bails. I've never used a Toro, so I don't know how much tension you should actually feel. If you can't really feel the belt engage, that makes me wonder if the belt tension needs to be adjusted.

Mine do seem to have some unnecessary bail travel, I'll grant. Seems like maybe the bail shouldn't need quite that much motion. But maybe it's to help ensure that the idler is fully disengaged, and the paddle brake has engaged, to avoid having any light drag between the belt and the engine's pulley while it's just running but not blowing snow.

aa335 wrote:
aa335 - One of the reasons there is no feel in the bail is because.  Both the bail cable and the tension pulley arm are working off a spring.  You could do one of two things if
you just wanted a stronger or less mussy feel.  One would be to get a stiffer spring that hooks in line with the cable.  The other would be to get a stiffer spring that attaches
 to the tension pulley arm.  If you stiffen up that one the bail will hard to engage and will be harder to hold down.  Actually once the belt engages in the pulley grooves
more tension on the tension pulley will only stretch or the belt quicker it won't necessarily keep the belt from slipping.  That is if the belt is in good condition to start with.

The function or operation of most blower tension pulleys is kind of two fold. They remove slack in the belt ( which needs to be there).  But more importantly they push in on the belt in a position that causes more of the belt to come in contact with more surface area of the pulley by pushing the belt in somewhat underneath the drive pulley.  They force the belt to bind up on the pulley.
They are actually just rerouting the belt path.  It's that binding position that really causes the belt to hold and not slip.  That is why on a two stage when the belts starts to stretch out.
You can simply adjust the tension pulley to take up the additional slack.  You can keep doing this until you run out of adjustment, then you have to replace the belt and move the
pulley back to it's starting position.  Other wise your putting more tension on the belt than is needed and will stretch it out before it's time.

You could do a quick & dirty check of your belt tension, aa335, without having to remove any covers. Stick something into the paddles to jam them up and prevent them from turning (a stick, wrench, whatever). Now hold down the control bail. With the ignition switch set to Off, try to pull the starter cord. Once the paddles jam up, you should not be able to pull the cord any further. If the engine will continue to turn, then clearly your belt is slipping and should be adjusted/replaced. If the engine does *not* turn, and the belt holds, that's great. Though it's still not conclusive evidence that the belt is adjusted correctly. Just that you're not getting gross slippage.

I am certain that the belt is not slipping. I've used the snowblower on heavy wet snow at the end of drive and the power is getting delivered to the paddles.  I'm pretty tuned on making proper tension, too little introduces belt slip and wear, too much causes more friction and belt stretch.  Although the flat serpentine belt may be less sensitive to higher friction than the v-belt.

Anyways, the soft bail lever is not a big issue that bother me.  I was just making a tongue in cheek remark since we talked about mono filament cables as an performance enhancement.    Thanks for all who chimed in and offering tips.  I was hoping easy solutions like Seafoam or Veilside stickers make everything better.

The Toro SS bail is fine and works as designed, but it definitely has a different feel than a Honda SS.  Kinda like driving a Toyota and a BMW.  Feedback isolation versus road feel.   At the end of the day, the destination is the same, but the experience is vastly different.  I know, it's just a snowblower. 

Tough crowd aa335....

I knew what you were up to.