Abby’s Guide > Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) > Discussions > Bought a new toy. A Toro "Snow Commander"
Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions |
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jrtrebor
 
Location: Michigan - 3 hours north of Chicago on the lake
Joined: Feb 10, 2010
Points: 539
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Re: Bought a new toy. A Toro "Snow Commander"
Reply #14 Oct 13, 2012 11:11 pm |
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borat that's a good thought about the chute freezing. I usually keep a heavy coat of Anti-seize on the chute ring but I will need to check it before using it. Going to mess with the carb tomorrow. Here is a great site for getting information on Toro blowers. Just put in the model # e.g. 38587 Toro Master parts viewer.I've been using this one to get R-Tek parts lists B&S Customer Support Portal
This message was modified Oct 14, 2012 by jrtrebor
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jrtrebor
Location: Michigan - 3 hours north of Chicago on the lake
Joined: Feb 10, 2010
Points: 539
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Re: Bought a new toy. A Toro "Snow Commander"
Reply #16 Oct 14, 2012 8:38 pm |
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I've heard of anti-seize for spark plugs etc., but never for plastic surfaces. What kind of anti-seize are you using? I use the silver type
Permatex® Anti-Seize Lubricant
A highly refined blend of aluminum, copper and graphite lubricants.
Use during assembly to prevent galling, corrosion and seizing and to assure easier disassembly.
Temperature range: -60°F to 1600°F (-51°Cto 871°C).
Salt, corrosion and moisture resistant – ideal for marine use.
It just really seems to keep things coated a long time.
On another subject. I started the SC up today to check the RPM.
It was only running at about 3100.
So I reached in and pushed on the throttle a little.
The RPM went up, took my finger off expecting it to drop back down.
But it didn't, I had to push on the throttle again to bring it back down.
Shut it off, and discovered that the throttle was stiff, not frozen.
But would stay where ever it was move to.
To make a long story short. Finally found out that when I reinstalled the carb after cleaning it.
I had tightened the mounting bolts a little to tight. It has the plastic carb. and if you tighten either
bolt as little as a 1/4 of a turn to tight. It distorts the carb body just enough to either bind up
on the throttle shaft. Or distort the carb throat just enough to bind on the throttle butterfly.
Never run across that before, the bolts really weren't that tight.
Anyway, got that straightened out and the RPM is now set at about 4225.
Also decided to eliminate the stops on the chute ring. Just cut teeth in where the stops where.
So now it will spin 360º either way. And I won't have to be concerned with breaking something by running into a stop.
I can also blow snow behind me if I duck. That would be a strange sight to see.
This message was modified Oct 14, 2012 by jrtrebor
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Loblolly77
Joined: Mar 17, 2010
Points: 32
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Re: Bought a new toy. A Toro "Snow Commander"
Reply #18 Oct 15, 2012 8:51 am |
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Hi- Nice work creating the chute rotator! I have seen both versions of the 141 cc 2 stroke (R*TEK ) internally, and yes these are different: (I couldn't find my older posts I thought I made so sorry if I'm repeating myself) BOOST version: Piston- two square windows in the skirt on the intake side Cylinder- two slot type boost ports to work with the windowed piston Porting - now has 4 intake (transfer) ports instead of 2 Exhaust port looks the same Carburetor- all P/N the same so I beleive the carbs are same CD Pak- same P/N so timing curve the same muffler- same PN crankshaft- different PN due to longer snout needed to fit snow commander chassis. all other PN the same. Per the TORO service manual for the boost version- the idea is to create a larger air fuel charge into the cylinder with each stroke, so the larger charge give more power! |
borat
Joined: Nov 10, 2007
Points: 2692
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Re: Bought a new toy. A Toro "Snow Commander"
Reply #19 Oct 15, 2012 9:47 am |
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If it weren't for the two piece connecting rods on these R-tek engines, they'd probably respond nicely to higher rpms. Not that a two piece con-rod cannot handle high rpms. Modern motorcycles spin at outrageous speeds with two piece rods. However, most of them use plain bearings and high pressure oil systems. My biggest concern about the R-tek and the two piece rod is the needle bearings/cage. Not sure how well that combination can withstand high rpms. The Tecumseh 139cc engines have a similar needle bearing set up but with a one piece connecting rod. So far, the ones I own have responded very well to much higher engine speeds than in stock configuration.
All of the high performance Yamaha two cycle motorcycle engines I've worked on have needle bearings built into the connecting rods. The crankshafts are press fit and have to be dis-assemble to change connecting rods. These engines easily spin to past 10,000 rpm and if used for racing, the cranks are welded to support even higher engine speeds.
I wouldn't have any reservations spinning an R-tek to 4500-4800 rpm. Not sure I'd want to exceed 5000. Nonetheless, the boost version of the R-tek already makes 7 h.p. at 4100 rpm (presuming it's the same rpm as the non-boost engine). As such, another 700 rpm or so would likely gain 1 to 2 h.p. Very respectable for a little 141cc engine.
From my experience with my non-boost R-tek, I've seen noticeable gains in power by increasing rpms by as little as 100 rpm. When I first bought it, the engine was set for around 3700. I set it to 4100 and the power gain was very much obvious but, the machine was difficult to hold back while clearing snow on the downhill grade on my driveway. I cut it back to 4000 or so and it's easier to manage yet still making plenty of power. If my driveway were flat, I'd jack the engine up to around 4500.
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