Good to see you Bruce. If we get the same amount of moisture this winter as we have this summer the machines will get a workout. Great tip on the oil, you'r always helpful.

Nice to see you again

I'm not a cameraman, or KZbin poster, but why is the video reversed, with you Mobil 1 oil bottle? Just curious. Don from Milwaukee

It's great to see a video from Bruce! It's getting to be that time of year again, but I hope you had a great summer!

I sometimes take out the heat gun and warm the carburetor up in the worst of days.

Just bought my first Ariens 28 SHO. It’s a few years old but was only used a few times. I’m super excited to use it. I moved to the northeast and suffered my first year without a blower. Terrible mistake! I tightened it up, changed the oil, and drained the gas in prep for winter coming. I will be doing a pre-start and check to make sure I’m not “that” guy. Thanks for the tips!

At the 20:00 minute mark, the 2 washers you mention act as spacers to keep the differential gear from rubbing on the bolts that hold the rake/shaft bushing.

Can i use only one capacitor 100v 2200uf instead of 2 50v 220uf? That's the only thing i can find at my local shop I'm looking to run the same light that you have but 2 of them

Looks like the 824 just came off the showroom floor. Very nice. Thanks!

At the end of your driveway, you are trying to force the machine forward when the wheels will not propell it forward. Let the augar clear the and snow away, then inch the machine forward...why work harder than needed..let the machine do all the work. ..all you need to do is direct it. Work smarter, not harder.

Thank you, excellent video!!

Good advice on the cleaning, as always! Now I just need to go get my ambition on and DO the actual chore.

Thanks for the advice, Bruce. I prepped my snowblower last weekend, and it's ready for next year.

Did not know about the half shaft! I was wondering why there's only one zerk near the gear case, and no grease ever comes out of the far end.

Thank you Bruce I appreciated your good advice a fan🙂💞

Well done video! Subscribed

Still working good? I'm a little leary about the chineese engine and EFI. I'm looking at a like new used 921048 24" EFI Sho Platinum, guy is asking 1.5k

Impressive peformance. I waffled back and forth between a Platinum 28 RapidTrak and this Platinum 24. This video helped convince me that the tracks probably wouldn't be worth the $800 upcharge, or the problems the extra size would create for storage. BUT, for the record, the Simplicity Signature Pro 1724 is just as powerful, and can easily be made even more powerful by removing the restrictor plate off the 420cc engine. And it's a stouter chassis with electric chute controls. Not a bad deal for $500 more, except that Simplicity seems to be a company on its last legs and I personally don't like electric chutes.

massachusetts is having the same winter. virtually no snow and when it does snow, it's very light and melts quickly. there's a guy in Worcester that became slightly famous for posting snow removal videos every winter with really high snow piles along the streets. This winter it's ZILCH. Maybe you'll get some springtime snow storms hahahahahahaha.

That Simplicity chassis has been around since the '80s and is still one of the most solidly built machines you can buy. Enjoyed watching it run. Unfortunately they have went to electric chute controls and the company itself seems to be on its last legs. Not many dealers left. I believe it was a 760 that my dad had which was the first blower I ever used. Had an amber light which was nice and I'm pretty sure it had a differential of some sort, because when I got my first Ariens I was surprised at how much harder it was to maneuver despite being quite a bit lighter.

That looks nothing like that "Skip Rope" guy's rusty machine and more like my 20+ year old Ariens, which I only opened up every 5 years or so. I also admit that I frequently would change speed on the fly and it was never an issue...I only ever replaced the friction disc once. Of course this is a much more powerful machine so I imagine that makes a difference. I still suspect his was not stored properly either by him or his dealer. All steel will rust if exposed to moisture. I just bought one of these on season end closeout so we will see. Thanks for the video, it was helpful in determining that there probably is not any kind of widespread issues with them.

Just make sure you run it in a non-dusty environment...most snowblowers don't have airfilters...doing so could lead to carb problems.

I have a 24’’ SHO 2020 model with the fuel injection. It’s got a ton of power and a great machine. My Brother in law has an Ariens also. We love our snowblowers and wouldn’t buy anything else. Great job clearing your driveway. 🇨🇦💝🇺🇸👍

I bought the 24’’ SHO machine in Oct. 2020. It’s very similar to use. I also put grease on the axels and inside the wheel axel on the inside on the right side axel. In case you ever need to take it appart. It’s very easy to do. I appreciate how well you look after your machine. Wish you well. Thanks for your video Sir. 🇨🇦💝🇺🇸🙏

That machine kicks ass. 8 hp is what I need.

Spark plug, coil flywheel magnet switch condenser points wireing etc either the flywheel key could’ve sheared. Me I fix stuff, I don’t do maintenance I tend to break something. Only fix when it breaks my quote

Thank you for this video 🇨🇦🙂💞

Good video, you are very wise to always have a back up. Even a back up to the back up. I had a cabin up north and I have to say I was glad I had power it the small building I stored the blower in, going up there when the temps would really drop that blower was a pain to start without the electric start, I'm so glad I had the option to just plug it in and push the button. I'm sure you will sort it out, and I look forward to the video of you working on it. You really help us all by making these videos, keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.

Doesn’t look like 10 inches

Love the videos Bruce! I'm sad that winter is almost behind us now. I only got my Ariens Deluxe 28 out a few times this year. Ryan

A little more tinkering and you will probably have that Toro up and running! 👍🏻

Try moving the cam so that we can see what you're doing.

What are those two rails on each side in front? My blower doesn't have those.

That beast is a snow cannon

Guys loves his grease

Is there room on that sleeve to tap it for a grease fitting?

-- Wise of you to brush it down and throttle down before shutting down when you were finished. Curious if you use a space heater to melt the auger/impeller area once you get it inside. Probably not this time as it was pretty powdery snow. And the guy across the street, he looks like he knows what he's doing. Rust Belt (500 feet from Lake Michigan) Husqvarna ST224, 212cc is me.

Looks good to me. I liked your video, no offense, but too many are ripped 25 year olds muscling these machines around, and I don't relate well to that. You showed that with a bit of knowledge, it can actually move by itself.

Hate these winters! We haven’t had really any snow. 60’s next weekend. Here in New England. Ugh

The key to any small engine starting as it should is to use non ethanol fuel exclusively. It is the ethanol that causes most of the no start issues. If non ethanol fuel is not available in your area, then always run the machine with the fuel line shut off until the engine runs out of fuel. To empty the float bowl completely, use the choke when the engine begins to starve for fuel so it will suck the bowl till it is empty. Even a few months with E10 fuel left in the float bowl can cause clogging problems in the main jet. I have been using non ethanol 89 octane and one ounce per gallon of Sea Foam and never start my engines during the off season without any issues. I could not say that before switching to non-ethanol fuel no matter what stabilizer I added to the fuel during storage. If there is any slug or corrosion in the bottom of the float bowl due to the effects of ethanol, then as soon as you start your machine it will get sucked up into the emulsion tube and plug or partially plug the main jet. One can also run engineered fuel into the whole fuel system before storage. The trick to doing this, is to make sure no E10 fuel is left in the tank before running the engine before storage. Ethanol is a scourge to small engine carburetors. I avoid it like the plague in all my outdoor power equipment.

The whole stub axle thing isn't my favorite thing, but even Honda does it. As long they add that brace, it's usually fine. Some makers _do not._ You were talking about breaking shear bolts in a wooded area. I had a friend who just loved Husqvarna products, and some of their products are great. Well, he bought one of their blowers not realizing they were, basically, a rebadged third party item. They used a stub axle design w/o a brace. What would happen is he would hit a branch, it would wedge under the auger, twist the auger against the axle, binding it, and that would not let the shear pin break because the axle is now direct driving the tube. This would cause the gear box to explode. It happened twice, and it took him a while to figure out what was actually happening. He sold it and bought an Ariens. 😁 Related to the full width axle design, the old Ariens used to also bolt that axle through the sides of the bucket, which also helped to reinforce the bucket. I see the modern scraper bars are serving that role now, which is a good addition. The old buckets would tear on the corners down there. I know some Ariens have some extra shear bolt storage on the chute gearbox housing, but, that was one of the things they often skimped on. I ended up getting one of those little bicycle pouches to store 2 bolts and 2 wrenches to keep on my machine. I guess it's something many blowers skip, tho. There was this cheap brand that had a small tool box molded into the belt housing I saw once, you could fit bolts and a couple tools in there. I guess it's one of those things most people didn't demand. (edit. I just ran across a video of a Husqvarna with a tool box on the belt housing. I guess that makes it 2 brands I've seen. I want to guess that other one was some MTD, but I don't remember) I never looked into those grease gun tips to see if that is an intentional adjustment or just an accident of design. It is a high pressure hydraulic connection with moving parts, so it has to be pretty stout. It always seemed to me that it was the cheaper guns that had the problem, tho. The dog chain story reminded me of an old incident I was told about. Let just say of you see someone's dog on a chain, make sure you find out where that chain goes before you start blowing. ;) Oh, just a thought, but could that stiff auger be getting pinched due to not enough side play?

I sell small engine equipment. I preach every two weeks start or at least once a month start of any small engine. Great recommendation and video!

i have never done that, never had any issues i did use to shut the fuel off and let it run till it dies, dont do that any more every spring i drain the fuel my machine is about 20 yrs old, looks like new, runs like new

This is from an Ariens salesman, so, take it FWIW, but one of their selling pitches is the angle of the chute. See how that Troy Built reaches out and over? Well, if you happen to live in a place that gets 10' to 12" snow banks, that can't get the snow up there. Ariens (this is the salesman talking) uses straighter chutes to get height where it may be needed. I kind of believe him, because I've seen many different vintages of Ariens and you can see all the different chute designs they've tried over the years. For a while Ariens tried making a "budget minded" "Sno Tek" line, but I don't know if they were able to compete with the cheap blowers.

Blew my mind until you told us that the camera screen was flipped.

Same story in my area. I got myself a new Ariens Deluxe 24 for this season and Mother Nature has given us an unseasonably warm winter this year. We've gotten more rain than anything else.

I typically start all my small engines about once a month or so for a few minutes for that very reason. Mowers, weed whacker, chainsaw, sno-thro...then no one believe me when I say I never really have any problems with my equipment, lol. We've had one snow this year in Southern Indiana as well, but we've also had inches and inches of rain. Supposed to be dry and sunny all this week with temps in the upper 50's to near 60...weird.

Thanks for the tip, and yes, I have been doing this for years on my 12 year old two stage Ariens snowblower at least 3 or 4 times a month during winter until I put snowblower away for summer storage. I too know what you mean by Wisconsin weather since I don't live too far from you living in Milwaukee.

Bruce, good to see you doing a video despite the ongoing snow-less-ness here in WI! I suppose I should step up, though, and take the blame I apparently deserve. I reckon it's because I finally retired my very-tired, ancient ST824 last summer, and bought a new Plat 24 SHO. Yep. I'm convinced that's why we got so little snow to begin with, and then no more. Plus a big thaw. Sorry 'bout that, bud.

I'm in the south towns of Buffalo NY by the lake and my machine was run for at least two hours six times so far this season.