Noreaster2003

Want a hovering mower?

I have a HRX217HXA mower that i purchased in 2004.  Its has been a great mower and i love it.    I was wondering if the clip director is adjustable on these machines.  When i close it to mulch there is a small crack that is left open and passes enough grass that if i keep the bag on it will nearly fill it while i mow my half acre lawn.  Is there an way for me to adjust this closed?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Jay

Are you trying this at full throttle or idle? The main jet has nearly no effect at idle, however if you try to throttle up it should die.

I have a 97 ariens 824 Deluxe that has an HMSK80 on it and i hate the carb. I believe i need to replace it since 2 repair shops and myself cannot get a nice smooth idle and power at full, its either one or the other. Best of all the replacment carbs are non adjustable.

That’s a great idea for a gift. But to be brutally honest, a good snowblower is a hard find at under 1k. For the most part the yard machines, troy built, mtd, cub cadet, yardman, and most sears are all the same machine with different paint on them. I would say that those machines are built to last about 4 or 5 years.
Now you are closer to the ocean than I am (Framingham here) so you will have a lot more of the wet slushy snow than I. I would almost say that you are better off going with a Toro single stage. When we do get our occasional heavy storms that pile up over a foot, he will have to go out and take care of the driveway twice or more during the storm. However, the single stage machines handles the 3 inches of slush better than a big 2 stage. (You will see most 2 stage machines come with a clean out tool now, that’s for the 3 inches of slush!)
If you are set on a 2 stage machine, don’t get a 5 horse motor, they don’t have enough power. If you have a 10% off coupon for Lowes or home depot, you can consider a husqvarna, toro powermax, or ariens (in order from good to better) from those stores and will get a good deal.
Like what was mentioned above, the fit of a snowblower is a personal prefrence, it may be worth it to give him a picture of a snowblower for christmas and say lets go shopping when he opens it. Being your area is so small, I really think you are best off with a Toro single stage (link below)

Just my opinion, hope I helped,
Jason

http://www.toro.com/home/snowthrowers/gassinglestage/ccr3650.html

What size is your yard?

I mow and bag 13,000sf of actual lawn and i really appreciate the blade clutch on the HRX217HXA.  I purchased that mower the first year they come out (and the summer i bought my house) and that was the only model on the market at that time with the BBC other than a $900 john deere. I have only had 2 minor problems since i pulled it out of the box and they were fixed 1st year under warranty.  One was the plastic cover for the air cleaner would not stay on and it was replaced.  The other was if i filled the tank without turning the fuel shutoff to the off position then let the mowwer sit, it would start leaking gas from the carb.

Overall i am very happy with this mower, if toro still had the 3 speed super recycler mower with BBC i would have gotten it for less money but am glad i ended up with the honda.