Author Topic: Snow blower question  (Read 11772 times)

Lee

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Snow blower question
« on: January 21, 2007, 06:38:27 AM »
I bought my first snowblower last year and have yet to use it.  We got about 3" of snow today.  How deep does the snow have to be to use the thing? I have some back issues, so I really don't care to shovel at all.  Will the thing work in light snow?  It's a midsize Toro.

K Frame

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2007, 06:39:05 AM »
Yes, it will work just fine in 3" of snow.
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ilbob

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #2 on: January 21, 2007, 06:43:09 AM »
I bought my first snowblower last year and have yet to use it.  We got about 3" of snow today.  How deep does the snow have to be to use the thing? I have some back issues, so I really don't care to shovel at all.  Will the thing work in light snow?  It's a midsize Toro.

It will work fine at that depth. There is no real minimum depth, except for a few that have a slight gap under the front housing, maybe 1/8 inch, so if you had that gap and less snow than that, you might have a minor issue. A lawn blower works pretty good for very light snow.

I find that anything less then an inch or two it is easier to just shovel.
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Lee

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #3 on: January 21, 2007, 06:52:12 AM »
Thanks for the quick replies guys!  More fun with power tools....yes!

Lee

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2007, 09:02:38 AM »
Mission complete....jeez, why didn't I have one of these years ago? 

Fly320s

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2007, 09:29:54 AM »
Lee,

Sounds like you and I have the same snow blower.  I haven't used mine yet, either.  I haven't even started it.

I have about 3/4 inch of ice and snow on my driveway, but the sun is out and the weather is forecast to be above freezing on Tuesday, so I think I'll just wait.

I considered not buying a snow blower, but all the horror stories I heard about the heavy, wet snow around here convinced me otherwise.  Besides, I had a 20% off coupon for Lowe's that was about to expire.
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Lee

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #6 on: January 21, 2007, 09:40:11 AM »
Home Depot had a 50% sale at the end of last winter...due to no snow.  Otherwise, I'd probably be popping an ibuprofen and stretching out about now. 

charby

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2007, 09:40:32 AM »
I just dug the drive and walks out, I'm glad I have a snowblower. I think we got 5" of heavy wet stuff over night here in central iowa.

Anything under 2" I use a broom to sweep it clear.
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Moondoggie

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2007, 09:53:42 AM »
We got about 6" of heavy wet stuff, too.

My 5 hp 2 stage snowblower did our place, MIL's place, SIL's place this morning.  MIL is 83 and SIL is housebound plus has a bedridden (stroke) husband.

Plus our deadend street to keep the city from burying our driveway...again.

I even got by beloved to try it out...then I couldn't get it back from her.  Girls and their toys!  I watched her wrestle it around a few times, then I introduced her to "Reverse"...Shazamm!  When we parked it back in the garage I schooled her on the starting procedures including the 110v electric start feature.

Now I know she can at least get a path done to the mailbox plus her Mom's next door if a storm hits while I'm doing my weekly trip to Chicago in the 18 wheeler.
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BozemanMT

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2007, 10:56:12 AM »
snowblowers rock
if you are doing tons of snowblowing (and it's still snowing and/or windy) a motorcycle rainsuit works wonders for keeping you dry and toasty.
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MillCreek

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2007, 11:38:30 AM »
We hardly ever get enough snow in Seattle to warrant buying a snowblower.  About five years ago, we did have quite a storm that dumped about six inches overnight.  I was outside admiring the view when my next door neighbor came out of his garage.  He was an engineer in Minneapolis and moved out here to work at Microsoft.  He looked at the driveway and the sidewalks with a real look of satisfaction on his face.  He went back into the garage and in about five minutes came out behind a snowblower that was a thing of beauty.  It was a walk-behind, had crawler tracks on each side, a 10 hp engine, a front auger, a large chute that swiveled in all directions, and dual headlights on it.  He fired that up, and the snow was shooting out about fifty feet away.  I stood there like Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel with a look of wonderment on my face.  He did his driveway, my driveway, and the sidewalks in about 10 minutes.  After I begged him, he let me drive it, and I did about three other driveways and I was grinning ear to ear.

He parked it back in the garage, came back out and said it was the first time he had used it since moving from Minneapolis, and man, did it feel good.  I thought it was just about the coolest thing since sliced bread, but he said that almost everyone back in Minnesota had a snowblower, although since he lived on rural property, he had bought a larger one than most.   I was so entranced, I forgot to look at the brand.  Ever since then, I hope for a big snowstorm here so Al can deploy the snowblower again. 

I am sure that for those of you who live in snow country, the novelty wears off, but boy was that fun.
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charby

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #11 on: January 21, 2007, 11:55:55 AM »
You can come dig my driveway out any time. 

I have a 10hp John Deere that also throws the snow that far. Six forwards gears and two reverse.

Mine doesn't have tracks but I have chains on the tires, you need those in heavy wet snow the self propelled is about worthless unless you can get the bite of the chains. Also, with really heavy snow I can also lock my axle so it is posi trac.

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cosine

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #12 on: January 21, 2007, 01:00:47 PM »
Mission complete....jeez, why didn't I have one of these years ago? 

Took you barely ten minutes. It's the only way to move white water, isn't it?  grin
Andy

Lee

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #13 on: January 21, 2007, 01:10:50 PM »
Took me thirty...but I coulda been done in 10 grin.  I did the sidewalk in front of my two neighbors as well.
 

cosine

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #14 on: January 21, 2007, 01:12:23 PM »
Took me thirty...but I coulda been done in 10 grin.  I did the sidewalk in front of my two neighbors as well.
 

Oops, that's what I get for not looking at the hour time stamp... only the minutes.  smiley
Andy

Standing Wolf

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #15 on: January 21, 2007, 05:03:09 PM »
I just send my cat outdoors with a little shovel.
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Thor

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #16 on: January 25, 2007, 09:31:25 AM »
There are two little "adjusting"" gadgets on each side of most snowblowers. I have mine set to meet up with the asphalt. (Basically, zero depth) Living in MN, it's almost a requirement to own one or some other mechanical snow removal device.
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Fudgieghost

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #17 on: January 25, 2007, 06:54:57 PM »
Heh.  My BIL was able to secure for me a used Toro 531---- for nothing!

I guess it's about 25 years old, but the old man who passed away who owned it must have taken good care of it.  I checked the oil level, pulled the cord a few times without the spark plug attached to get some oil up in the cylinder, plugged in the spark plug, put a little gas in it, set the choke, pulled on the cord, and it started on like the third pull!

I changed the oil, and got it started up and it runs great.  I then took apart the spout---the black thing the snow shoots out of---there was some rust on the interior.  I scoured and sanded that down to bare metal and then used some of my Brownells Teflon Oven Bake On paint---no snow's gonna stick to that!  I also touched up some of the top of the main auger intake box---some of the paint had chipped, and was rusting.

The only thing that I can't seem to get to work is speeds 2, 3, & 4.  1 & Reverse work ok.   Anybody has any ideas on what that might be?  The belts for the impeller and drive both look good. . .

Oh, and now of course that I have this thing and it's up and running. . . we have NO snow in the forecast . . . I told my wife it most likely won't snow at all this year because we now have a snow blower.

charby

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #18 on: January 25, 2007, 07:01:37 PM »
drive belt slip too much from the engine to the transmission?

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Fudgieghost

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #19 on: January 26, 2007, 08:15:17 AM »
Charby: ok, so how do I fix that?

charby

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #20 on: January 26, 2007, 08:27:13 AM »
I am not familar with your snowblower but this is what I would do.

flip snow blower up on the end you drive into the snow, you might have drain the fuel out to do this.
Look through the axle and you should see a belt running from the motor to the drive wheels area. check to see if the belt is glazed or worn.
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Fudgieghost

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #21 on: January 26, 2007, 09:16:34 AM »
Charby: there is an access hood on the top of the unit.  I took this off to check out the belts.  There are two---one runs the impeller, and I'm guessing the other one drives the wheels.  I'll take another look---maybe take some pics and post them here. . .

charby

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Re: Snow blower question
« Reply #22 on: January 26, 2007, 10:46:05 AM »
that would probably work too. 

-C
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