Snowblowers

johnbryanpeters · Oct 3, 2004

Honda makes quality stuff, the size looks about right, it's twin stage, get it. Get the light kit too. Not so much so you can see where you're going, but so cars see you when you turn in the road.

Tecumseh makes engines, not snowblowers. A lot of snowblowers have Tecumseh engines, for what it's worth.

J

wooglin · Oct 3, 2004

For that kind of $ you can get a 72 4WD F-100 with a plow on it. Much more fun.

splat · Oct 3, 2004

Get an electric start on it !

and for your driveway , I'd personally go for the 8 HP
I have a 5 HP ( thats 20 years old ) and it struggles down at the ned of the drive way , after the plow has come by.

KleinMp99 · Oct 3, 2004

Haha.....yea...

You could choose from a great amount of 4 wheel drive vehicles with plows on them for $1500......one swipe of the driveway and you could still drive to town and get groceries.

RITFreeRider · Oct 3, 2004

Just a thought but have you considered having your driveway plowed by a landscape company. In the end it might work out cheaper to pay to have it plowed unless you are planning on living in that house for a long time, not to mention the easy and conviniece of someone else doing it. Just a thought though.

douglas · Oct 4, 2004

Tecumseh Engine

I Are Baboon · Oct 4, 2004

1) Pickup trucks don't exactly store as easily as a snowblower

2) We are not hiring a plow man (what is it with people around here hiring people to do everything for them?

)

3) Thanks for the feedback, y'all!

jacksonpt · Oct 4, 2004

Good post - I was just thinking about this very topic this morning. I also need a snowblower and am unsure about what to get.

What's the difference between a snowthrower and a snowblower? My driveway is about 300' long, and we live on top of a hill, so drifting is an issue. I need something that can really throw snow.

Ian F · Oct 4, 2004

MtnBikerChk said:
The electric start is the only thing I don't like about the Hondas. I think only the most expensive one comes with it. But really, what's the downside of the pull start?

what models do you have?

My g/f has a Troy Bilt 2-stage snow-blower that I usually clear her driveway with. My driveway(s) and sidewalk are short enough that I clear them by hand.

2-stage is a must for a long driveway.

Downside of a pull-start... Umm... have you ever tried to pull-start a cold 4-stroke in the middle of Winter? It ain't fun, although easier than a cold 2-stroke... When it's 0 degrees outside and you're cursing the damn engine because it won't start and you're late for work, the extra money for the electric start will seem like pennies.

Avoid driving on your driveway before clearing it. The packed snow from tires will often not get picked up by the snow blower and will eventually turn into nice little ice-strips that offer no traction...

If you have a garage that will hold both of your cars, USE IT! Move the bikes... throw crap away, whatever you have to do... but to have a garage and not put your cars in it during the Winter is just plain STUPID. The driveway is MUCH, MUCH easier to clear when there are no cars in the way.

Plowing driveways with a truck & plow rarely works well. The truck can't clear the area near the garage so you still have to clear a lot by hand. And then it's even more fun as it's all nicely packed and heavy as hell... (I know this from experience...)

My g/f's father has a snow-blower attachment that runs off the PTO on his lawn tractor. Works pretty well although it's a bitch to get the thing to turn.

Ian F · Oct 4, 2004

MtnBikerChk said:
SNOWTHROWER: ...This design is almost always used in tractor attachments because of its shorter overall size.
.

Really? Where did you find this info? I've never seen a single-stage thrower mounted on a tractor (PTO powered). Typically, the tractor mounted versions are wider than self-powered types and require the blower stage to evacuate the sheer quanitity of snow they collect.

Ian F · Oct 4, 2004

MtnBikerChk said:
Most definitely!

what's a 2 stroke vs 4 stroke?

The difference is how the engine operates. Rather difficult to explain without pictures.

2-stroke: requires gas/oil mix fuel. Common on small engines like weed-whackers. Not common on larger engines like lawn mowers and snow-blowers. Cheap to manufacture. Fewer parts. Puts out a lot more noise and HC emmisions.

4-stroke: separate gas and fuel. Your car is a 4-stroke. Cleaner. Starts easier. More parts. More expensive.

Ian F · Oct 4, 2004

MtnBikerChk said:
I dunno - some plow guy on the internet - it could be wrong - I was mostly looking at the differences between the two - not the use - sorry.

Maybe he is referring to DOT versions mounted on trucks. I'm not familiar with those as down here we never get enough snow at one time that a DOT truck-mounted plow can't handle.

Ian F · Oct 4, 2004

MtnBikerChk said:
great explanation!

Thanks. I tried to avoid an enginerd explaination... I know it's Monday and early and you're trying to stay awake...

Wumpus · Oct 4, 2004

Ian F said:
The difference is how the engine operates. Rather difficult to explain without pictures.

2-stroke: requires gas/oil mix fuel. Common on small engines like weed-whackers. Not common on larger engines like lawn mowers and snow-blowers. Cheap to manufacture. Fewer parts. Puts out a lot more noise and HC emmisions.

4-stroke: separate gas and fuel. Your car is a 4-stroke. Cleaner. Starts easier. More parts. More expensive.

2 cycle engines produce power on every downstroke of the piston and therefore produce more power for a smaller size. This is why they are used on dirtbikes, jetskis etc.

4 cycle motors have an exhaust stroke and power stroke.

Ian F · Oct 4, 2004

Wumpus said:
2 cycle engines produce power on every downstroke of the piston and therefore produce more power for a smaller size. This is why they are used on dirtbikes, jetskis etc.

4 cycle motors have an exhaust stroke and power stroke.

(I know this... see post above...

)

JRB · Oct 4, 2004

Load the lawn mower and move to Texas. Snow blower problem solved. If you insist on staying where it is snowy, I like Honda engines. I don't know if they make any snow blowers or if they are any good, but for 2-stroke I like husquavarna and stihl. Now I have to see if they make snow blowers.

I Are Baboon · Oct 4, 2004

loco-gringo said:
Snow blower problem solved.

There is no snow blower "problem", just like there was no lawnmower "problem." It's just something we need to buy, just like any other appliance.

I can not WAIT for the snow! I am very much looking forward to ski season. Of course, in January I'll already be sick of it and dying for Springtime.

JRB · Oct 4, 2004

I Are Baboon said:
There is no snow blower "problem", just like there was no lawnmower "problem." It's just something we need to buy, just like any other appliance. I can not WAIT for the snow! I am very much looking forward to ski season. Of course, in January I'll already be sick of it and dying for Springtime.

Sorry - I should have used dilemma (correct spelling BS).

husqvarna does make blowers - I hope the link works.

I have no idea what to look for in blowers so the link and my like for husqvarna is all I really have since you don't want to move here.

Rip · Oct 4, 2004

I am trying to make a mental picture of a Subaru with a plow on it.

jacksonpt · Oct 4, 2004

MtnBikerChk said:
Do we like Toros?

Consumer Reports rated this one #1

http://www.toro.com/home/snowthrowers/gastwostage_powermax/828LE.html

I don't know much about torros... but I look at consumer reports much like I do the reviews at MBR... generally worthless. If you weren't willing to spend the money on a good snowblower, then I'd say go with consumer reports. But the few times I've looked at them, they don't take into account the better, less mass produced (if that's even a word) stuff which is often far superior to whatever they ranked #1. Seems like if it can't be purchased at Sears, Consumer Reports doesn't know it exsists.

GeoffW · Oct 4, 2004

Ian F said:
The difference is how the engine operates. Rather difficult to explain without pictures.

2-stroke: requires gas/oil mix fuel. Common on small engines like weed-whackers. Not common on larger engines like lawn mowers and snow-blowers. Cheap to manufacture. Fewer parts. Puts out a lot more noise and HC emmisions.

4-stroke: separate gas and fuel. Your car is a 4-stroke. Cleaner. Starts easier. More parts. More expensive.

Sorry man, hate telling people their wrong, but do some more research on your 2-strokes, they can put up better numbers than a 4-stroke in terms of performance, noise, and emissions. Do a search for Orbital, Evinrude E-tec, or FICHT DI, the future will include 2-strokes

jacksonpt · Oct 4, 2004

Do you have any type of power equipment shops near you? I'm not really sure what else to call them, but we have one that does chain saws, mowers, snowblowers, plows, salt spreaders, etc. and another that does more farm oriented equipment... chainsaws, tractors, tillers, etc. They don't deal a lot in stuff like mowers or snowblowers, but they do know what their talking about. They don't offer the best selection (usually only one or two brands), but whatever they carry recommend will be a good product.

I think you're taking your chances if you take advice from places like sears, lowes, or home depot. I realize that you've come to use for help... but perhaps a local shop who really knows their chit would be of some help too? Do you have a place like that?

splat · Oct 4, 2004

MtnBikerChk said:
Do we like Toros?

Well Mine is a Toro !
its about 20 years old 5 HP , 2 stage , Electric start and it work great.

It still starts up nice and easy . When I use the pull start it usually start on the first pull.

Ian F · Oct 4, 2004

GeoffW said:
Sorry man, hate telling people their wrong, but do some more research on your 2-strokes, they can put up better numbers than a 4-stroke in terms of performance, noise, and emissions. Do a search for Orbital, Evinrude E-tec, or FICHT DI, the future will include 2-strokes

so I did... sounds great... also reads like a bunch of Popular Science articles... in which I've been reading about hi-tech 2-stroke for years... but have yet to see one. If this technology does happen (and it looks like it will) it'll likely be some time before it trickles down to your weed-whacker.

So, given the old tech on which 95% of 2-strokes still operate, my statement stands.

Repack · Oct 4, 2004

MtnBikerChk said:
Most definitely!

what's a 2 stroke vs 4 stroke?

It has to do with how the motor is set up. Chain saws and the brap-brap dirtbikes have 2-strokes. Cars and snowblowers have 4 strokes. The simple deffinition is that 2 strokes make their power at high rpm's. 4-strokes do it at lower end.
I would saw that you do not need the monster that you linkes to. I was a temo facilities mgr at a credit union that owned an Aeriens (sp?) that had at most 6.5hp. The thing was a MONSTER. It had wheels which could be better than treads. The axle had a differential so you could spin it very easily. It was also very well balanced. Anyway, I could run the thing faster than was practical whenever I wanted- meaning that I walked behind it instead of jogging to keep up with it. It would mow through 1'+ of snow like it wasn't there. Big fun.
The snow blower my family has is ~20 years old. The biggest thing is to keep the paint on it in good shape so that the snow doesn't stick, and replace the scraper blade when it wears.
I think that you could probably get by spending less than $1,700.

I Are Baboon · Oct 4, 2004

MtnBikerChk said:
has it been ghettorigged at all in 20 years?

THANKS SPLAT

I'm sure Splat has done some rewiring, applied some duct tape, and added some plastic piping somewhere.

splat · Oct 4, 2004

I Are Baboon said:
I'm sure Splat has done some rewiring, applied some duct tape, and added some plastic piping somewhere.

actaully No , I haven't at least not to the snow Blower . the lawn mower on the other hand ..........

johnbryanpeters · Oct 4, 2004

Toro's a reputable brand.

I had a Craftsman for many years, 8 horse Tecumseh engine, manual start. It always started, but had somewhat of a tendency to shed parts. When I replaced it a couple of years ago, I made the mistake of getting a hardware store variety, and I don't think it's going to stand up over the years. I have already determined that the company's parts service is nonexistant.

Do buy three or four shear pins, you will need them.

J

splat · Oct 4, 2004

johnbryanpeters said:
Do buy three or four shear pins, you will need them.

J

Really really really good point !!!!

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