Hey you guys from Da Nort'

[tomteriffic]

Most Esteemed Redhead had mercy on my increasing decrepitude and came to the realization that, post my surgery (on New Year's Eve), she may well be responsible for shoveling the driveway for a month or two. Thus we got a snow blower. It isn't the best, isn't the worst, it's just well-reviewed and well suited to our needs plus a little bit of headroom, so to speak.

You guys that have gotten one in the past few years know that they aren't cheap. So, what are some good use/care/feeding tips for the thing? The most efficient way to use it is? Care, feeding and storage tips, etc.? I've got a walkway and about 1,500 square feet of double-wide driveway with a slight to moderate slope.

TIA

[murkat]

synthetic oil in the crank,

synthetic grease at lube points.

oil up the blade, turbine, valute areas

[carfish7]

All the above and DO NOT use anything other than non-oxygenated fuel (NO alcohol in that thing!). Drain the carb before storing or run it totally dry so no varnish gumming it up while in storage. Watch the tire pressure carefully - they can get low fast with a sudden temp drop, which may or may not be good depending on snow texture. Slightly lower pressure can = better grip if it is sloppy or extra icy. Self-propelled I hope?

Watch/avoid any big chunks of ice entering the machine too. Start down the middle and blow outward. Adjust for wind too. Get her a nice balaclava or suitable mask and ski goggles.

Or pay the kid down the block to do it.

Heal up quick!!!

[BlueRedWhite]

Try to pick up a light weight unit for your wife, they can be pretty heavy and bulky to work with.

More important, keep it secure and lock : snowblowers theft is at peak in winter, at least around here

[sledhead44]

I had an old truck with a plow, and a snowblower. I stuck more money into them in repairs, and general upkeep than what they were worth. I now have a plow service come and plow my driveway. $25 each time for approx 4500 sq ft drive. Some places want to plow you out and charge you for just a light dusting of snow, so I worked out a deal with the guy to only plow me out if we have more than 6" of snow as I can easily drive over that with my truck.

The best part is now I don't have to get up at 5:00 AM and plow, and I think the most I ever spent in one season was about $375 which was cheaper than buying and maintaining the equipment.

Just something to look into.

[gorch]

We ever used this:

[tomteriffic]

Got it, got it together, set it up and made it go. I'll have to change the oil in a few hours anyway, and have a quart of good synthetic oil waiting. The auger and impeller seem to be well-greased. As recommended by the manufacturer (and you guys) I have premium gas with no ethanol in it and a dab of Sta-Bil Marine in there. Now if I can just figure out this eco-friendly and decidedly user un-friendly spout on the gas can

Wish the damn thing was easier to turn, tho. Most Esteemed Redhead will get her instruction tomorrow, although she helped me check it out when I first fired it up.

[G Man]

The only thing I will add, pick up some extra sheer pins for the blade so when a rock or stick get stuck in the blades and blow out the current shear pins you can get back up and running without a trip to the local hardware store.

[tomteriffic]

The only thing I will add, pick up some extra sheer pins for the blade so when a rock or stick get stuck in the blades and blow out the current shear pins you can get back up and running without a trip to the local hardware store.

Got 'em before the thing ever left the store

[hamerhead]

Keep yer hands outta there, Stumpy!

Definitely NO CORN GAS. Bad bad stuff. Sta-Bil and/or Seafoam good.

And if it's electric start, one of those battery tender thingys (basically a trickle charger) ensure you'll have juice every time.

[Carl.B]

Have her favorite adult beverage ready for her when she is done!

Carl B

[Thundersteel]

Install heater coils in the driveway, so the snow will melt as soon as it hits.

[Armitage]

I've got a Chinese show blower. When she doesn't work I just give her a kick... but sometimes the wife just doesn't want to go outside.

[zorrow]

synthetic oil in the crank,

synthetic grease at lube points.

oil up the blade, turbine, valute areas

^This

All the above and DO NOT use anything other than non-oxygenated fuel (NO alcohol in that thing!). Drain the carb before storing or run it totally dry so no varnish gumming it up while in storage. Watch the tire pressure carefully - they can get low fast with a sudden temp drop, which may or may not be good depending on snow texture. Slightly lower pressure can = better grip if it is sloppy or extra icy. Self-propelled I hope?

Watch/avoid any big chunks of ice entering the machine too. Start down the middle and blow outward. Adjust for wind too. Get her a nice balaclava or suitable mask and ski goggles.

Or pay the kid down the block to do it.

Heal up quick!!!

^This

Try to pick up a light weight unit for your wife, they can be pretty heavy and bulky to work with.

More important, keep it secure and lock : snowblowers theft is at peak in winter, at least around here

^And this. Up here that's a PITA, actually. A friend of mine, who used to be a well-respected semi-pro kickboxer and a bouncer too (he was known as "The Bulldozer" in our area) got his snowblower stolen last winter and was so pissed off that he hyperventilated and ended up in the hospital for a couple of days. I couldn't laugh more when he told me he thought he was so tough nobody would dare, so he hadn't locked his shed. Ha! But robbers don't give a dime to anything. Re-selling a snowblower is so easy around here!

In any case, good luck and prompt recovery. Cheers!

[gtone]

If you have a model with electric start (not necessary, but nice), don't crank it for too long, as it's very easy to burn out the starter motor.

As others have said, use premium fuel and fuel stabilizer as they'll make starting easier and prevent varnish buildup that'll have you tearing down the carbs for cleaning regularly. You should be good to go!

Oh yeah - watch out for extension cords hidden under a few inches of snow - they don't play very well wih blowers!

[m chops]

I haven't run mine dry at the end of season, but do use Stabil, and it starts every fall! Maybe the 2 stroke oil also helps stabilize the gas. The thing has been serviced twice in about 30 years.

Ahh, when Craftsman was good.

[Ting Ho Dung]

Move to Arizona.

[Toadroller]

When we lived in Denver. were wise/lucky enough to pick a house whose driveway had southerly exposure. I never shoveled the drive; just backed out over the snow in the morning and it was pretty much gone in the winter.

Living back in Maine for the last eight years, have gone from hand shoveling to a few years of paying the plow-man $40 a whack to inheriting my father-in-law's snow-blower with electric start after he passed away.

Not much help with the ice-storm we witnessed over the last two days. My power was out only 15 hours, but others in the region are still out. I helped my neighbor chainsaw his way out of the driveway this morning. He was a dangerous one with the saw. Had to step in and take over from him.

Here's a shot of the ice on the trees from my neighbor on the other side, lighting some Christmas Eve fireworks:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruffedgedesign/11540204354/

Merry Christmas!

[Hbom]

The only advise I could add would be that when it's not real cold & the snow is really wet & heavy, I like to spray the blade, inside of the chute, and other areas that contact the snow with spray cooking oil (Pam or generic.) it helps to keep the heavy wet snow from sticking to everything and gumming up the works. Don't need to do it often, a couple times a winter is enough.

Enjoy winter. It comes but once a year.

[hamerhead]

I'll hit mine with WD-40 or Tri-Flow to keep snow from sticking. Keeps them from rusting, too.

But winter sucks. I'd hibernate if I could.

[gtone]

Enjoy winter. It comes but once a year.

Yeah, but it lasts 7 months.

Gotta think about retiring to Belize or something...

[Toadroller]

The power out led to some frustrations with my generator. The previous owner of our house had a nice transfer board wired into the circuit breaker control panel of our house; 3 and 4 prong big cable connectors to a transfer box with switches for most of the main circuits of the house available (heat, some lights, garage door opener), and a 5500 watt Generac portable.

The Generac has given me some fits, especially with its cutoff switch (which I required) and, of course, the carb. Starting processes have usually leveraged the amazing power of some snap-start, but that requires unscrewing the air-filter box, spraying, yanking the pull-cord (gosh, what a friggin' beast! Why hasn't anyone developed a kick-starter attachment? There's no way my wife could pull that thing. Good thing I have a seventeen year old to help when I'm out of town), and then waiting for it to settle in, then flipping the circuits on.

The problem is that the generator no longer appears to have the strength to drive my well's pump, which has a dedicated 240 line from the generator. Even if it's the only circuit the generator is hooked up to, I can run the water until the well-pump kicks in, and that surge just shuts the generator off.

The only thing I can think I'm missing is that we also put a 240v radiant floor in our entrance-way, and that may be hitting the same circuit. I'll see if I can locate it on the board (the electrician didn't lable the breaker (Grrrr!)) and give it another run.

But in the meantime, what are people's recommendations for the Hamer of Portable Generators? My variety of Amazon and other review research has led me to this. It should have all the power I want, plus electric start, the right connectors, a metal gas tank, and what appears to be an actual muffler on the thing.

http://amzn.com/B009453CWK

Any other suggestions?

[BlueRedWhite]

The only advise I could add would be that when it's not real cold & the snow is really wet & heavy, I like to spray the blade, inside of the chute, and other areas that contact the snow with spray cooking oil (Pam or generic.) it helps to keep the heavy wet snow from sticking to everything and gumming up the works. Don't need to do it often, a couple times a winter is enough.

Enjoy winter. It comes but once a year.

That is a great tip, HBom, thank you so much, we're experiencing that type of snow around here.

[tomteriffic]

Good tip about the tri-flow.

On the generator, the floor radiant is about the only thing I can think of unless the well pump is on its last legs and just drawing a stupid amount of current to get started.

Not familiar with that brand, but I'm guessing that, by the numbers, you're interested in lots of wattses and electric start and not too concerned about fuel consumption, noise, etc. And that there is a lotta power for the bucks. Before you pull the trigger, take a look here: http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/. Lots of good reviews, tools to help you prioritize and narrow your search.

[Hbom]

The only advise I could add would be that when it's not real cold & the snow is really wet & heavy, I like to spray the blade, inside of the chute, and other areas that contact the snow with spray cooking oil (Pam or generic.) it helps to keep the heavy wet snow from sticking to everything and gumming up the works. Don't need to do it often, a couple times a winter is enough.

Enjoy winter. It comes but once a year.

That is a great tip, HBom, thank you so much, we're experiencing that type of snow around here.

Glad you find it useful.

I get a lot of opportunity to practice snow removal.

I've tried about everything mentioned here and they all work.

I ended up with spray cooking oil because;

1. I have a dog that loves to eat snow.

2. I live about 250' up hill from a stream with salmon, trout and other living things trying to survive in it.

3. Around here, I buy the WD 40 and my wife buys the Canola Oil Cooking Spray.

[blackfbiv]

I buy the WD 40

That 'weasel piss' stuff is good for EVERYTHING!!!