It's going on Craigslist or NextDoor.com TONIGHT.....
The scraper blade is set a little above the minimum, and it still hits things.
It's better, but still not very usable.
And then the wife wants to know "Why didn't it cut the snow shorter?"........Because with an 1/8" gap, it leaves an 1/8" layer of snow!
DUH.....
On a "Bang-For-The-Buck" basis, this thing is absolutely the worst purchase I've ever made.
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What I've Been Up To....
Started this post on Monday, then came down with a head cold, which is now progressing South. Feeling better, but still a bit woozy...... To...
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Can you convert the power unit to a snowplow blade?
ReplyDeleteThat would probably work as well!
DeleteOne of the main "problems" with this thing is that it's just too damn BIG.
It doesn't turn well at all because the drive wheels are on a solid axle, and stopping the drive and pulling it backwards against the drag of the now unpowered motor gets old fast. It has a reverse, but you have to stop it, push the reverse button twice, and then start it again. And the buttons don't always respond immediately, so using the powered reverse is frustrating.
What is the make and model? I'm still shoveling the old fashion way. I need to know what NOT to purchase.
ReplyDeleteIt's a SnowJoe from Home Depot. All SnowJoe products are electric, either corded or battery powered.
DeleteWe only have about 75' of sidewalk and a fairly short two-car driveway, so a battery one should be OK for us, but just not this one.
Are you just doing your sidewalks around the house, or do you have a driveway to clear, too?
Rev. Paul is the blogger's snowblower expert. He knows far more about these devices than I do!
LL For your location a 4wd ATV with a plow might be better.
ReplyDeleteI know, I'm just being cheap.
DeleteToro.
ReplyDeleteBest snowblower I ever had. And I used to do 1200 feet of sidewalk about every other day.
This one:
https://smile.amazon.com/Power-Clear-Single-stage-Snow-Blower/dp/B017DYHI46/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1549497936&sr=8-16&keywords=toro+snowblower
THey lasted about 10 years before needing replacement.
I think they make a corded electric version as well.
Toro makes (or made) good stuff. I remember before Honda got into mowers, a Toro was a good model.
DeleteI have no problem with a battery powered unit. This one is just too big and clunky to use on 75' of sidewalk and a two-car driveway.
Broke down and bought a 26", 230cc(?) Cub cadet gas blower. Tired of shoveling uphill and over the rock walls that line my (short) driveway. Saves on what is left of my shoulder joints as well. Mine has levers that when triggered cut the drive to that side wheel allowing nice tight turns.
ReplyDeleteJ.D. Brown
That's a great feature!
DeleteHeck yes it is! I love that it basically has power steering.
DeleteJ.D. Brown
Some of the bigger ones at Home Depot have a steering feature like that, but those units are just too big for our use.
DeleteGot mine at Home Depot,I needed the big one not because of how bug the drive is, but because of the walls on either side. Plus the fact that the drive goes uphill from the garage to the street.
DeleteJ.D. Brown
I was worried about that I did look at them ar home d,get on Craig’s list lots of blowers gasoline powered most fools put ethanol gas in them and ruins the carburetor. All you do is put a rebuild kit and your home free or if you don’t want to replace carb about 70 dollars go with tecumsa motors mostly bulletproof I’m in Minnesota
ReplyDeleteGlad I don't have to worry about that! And no, I'm NOT being sarcastic.
ReplyDeleteThis is nothing compared to what we got for snow in Northern Illinois.
DeleteI bought one that's too big. Me bad. Expensive lesson.....
We clear our house and the inlaws's house. A total of 80' of drive, and a total of a bit more than 150' of street parking.
ReplyDeleteWe used a two stage 21' Troy for more than 20 years and then passed the machine on to family.
It's replacement is the Husqvarna ST224, chosen over the comparable Ariens model, because of the range of height adjustment, and the LED headlight.
The hand warmers might work, but I couldn't tell if they are on or off and that is a common experience.
A more expensive machine would have a sort of power steering, but that adds mechanical complexity.
In Philly this year we've used it zero times.
We spray it with WD-40's Specialist Water Resistant Silicone Lubricant.
For most snowfalls the 21' machine was overkill, but there were several monster storms over the years where the smaller machine struggled to clear drifts even when I mounted the drift cutters.
In the future when we're only clearing one house we may reassess our needs.
I'll look into that type of WD-40. I've been using a can of "PB Blaster" silicone, and this last time I tipped the machine backwards, and really sprayed the inside of the impeller housing. That's where it was always loading up, and this time it stayed clear.
DeleteThis thing blows the snow just fine now that I reset the scraper blade and skid shoes. It's just too big and unwieldy to use on our small amount of sidewalk and driveway. With the solid drive axle it wants to go STRAIGHT, and I had to stop the drive wheels so I could angle it for a better bite or to follow our curved sidewalk.
It may be that a much smaller single stage machine will work fine for you, but I don't have experience with those.
DeleteConsumer Reports has a 2019 rating of snowthrowers, but its behind a paywall.
https://www.consumerreports.org/snow-blowers/best-and-worst-snow-blowers-of-the-year/
CR had a feature were you could buy the article, but I don't know if that still exists.
My proofreading skipped right by the lack of the apostrophe in the word "its." Sigh.
DeleteColorado sure has different challenges doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteYeah it does, Phil.
DeleteBut it sure beats ducking stray 9mm rounds on New Years, Independence Day, and Cinco de Mayo in Long Beach.....
For the record, we have an Ahrens Deluxe 30, with all the bells & whistles (heated handles, headlight, electric start, zero turning radius, 6 forward speeds & 2 reverse). It has a 30" clearing width, and throws the snow up to 60', moving 71 tons/hour at max rate. When we get an average 12" snowfall, I can clear our 270' circle drive (two entrances, so twice the berm the clear) in 45 minutes.
ReplyDeleteYow...that falls into the serious snowblowing category!
DeleteI'm looking at single-stage units, like my neighbor has. There's a Toro unit that has electric start, and I'm looking at that one.
Once things melt a bit, I'll roll the SnowJoe out and takes some pics of it. Hopefully I'll get enough from this one to fund the new one.
I can tell you that, as long as you run it empty in the spring, you won't need electric start. The second Toro I bought (see above post) i went with electric start and spent more money for it....I never used it. They all start on the third pull if they are fully fueled and not too cold.
DeleteFor the little gas you will use for the amount of driveway and sidewalk you state, I'd buy the quart cans of non ethanol premix. Not that much more money and fewer issues. Even with all the sidewalk I did I seldom went through more than 2 gallons a month. This was Northwest Indiana, where Lake Effect is an every other day occurrence.
And I could always give it a shot of ether.
DeleteI'll check out the pull start models.
I know I have recommended this before, a Ariens Compact 24, with electric start.
ReplyDeleteBuy from a local dealer, not a big box store.
You will appreciate that once you have a question.
Big enough to handle the once in awhile larger snow storm and still not that big.
My old Ariens 8-24 is still going since the mid 80's, not without some TLC and a couple of parts. I live in the U.P. of Michigan and the first 7 years of owing it, I was living in the snow-belt, now I live in what is known as the banana belt of the U.P. where we only get about 125 inches each winter.
The cutting edges on my Ariens will still catch on ridges and that bugs me to no end.
DeleteI have patched and filled the pavement. Adjusted the edge and both reduce the sudden stops, but it is going to happen no matter what.
Yeah, from looking at these things closely for the first time ever, I can see they're going to 'trip' on lots of stuff. Our water shutoff valve is smack in the middle of the driveway, and sticks up about 3/4"!
Delete