What kind of snow blower guy are you?

[@tamer1773]

That's my neighbor every year! He's been told and even been shown how to summerize his blower so he wouldn't have problems, but he just doesn't listen. And he doesn't check it before the winter. When the first snow comes he's in his driveway pulling that starter rope like he's pull starting the Titanic... and having as much luck as Captain Smith.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi Tamer…. I have guys in my neighborhood as well. One guy I even offered to summarize his machine, and he told me “Thanks but I got it”. He shoved his machine in his shed last spring, and thats where it stayed. I wish someone would make a bloody reel of guys trying to start their machine on the day of that first snow. Thanks for the + comment, and if you like this type of video, please consider subscribing if you haven’t already.

[@tamer1773]

@@blowingsnow4fun I will! Your videoes are very informative and the reason why I'm installing an impeller kit on my 18 year old Toro.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@tamer1773 …. Have you checked out the 2 videos on my early 80’s 824? kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZiVqHefntV8gKMsi=keHTAycKz4porImT kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWHFpauigr16hdksi=8CWLUuP0FKzbcOTR I’ve never done an impeller kit, which Toro do you run?

[@Mris7]

is very good work

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Thanks MRIs…. I’m hoping your one of those guys who’s machine starts! Thanks for the + comment

[@flyjarrett]

I readied my machines at the end of last year, including new belts and skid shoes for my Platinum 30. They’re still sleeping, but I plan on waking them up in the next week. Here’s to a ton of snow in Oak Creek, WI!

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi FlyJarrett ….. I have to give you a Pat on the back on doing your routine maintenance when you put your machine away. It’s a good feeling to know when that day arrives, you’re as ready as can be. I’ll give you an early attaboy on starting her up before you need her, just to do your final check. You’d be shocked how many guys/gals wait until the day before that first measurable snow to start their machine. I walk my dogs every day, and I always know when that first snow is coming because there are machines running all over my neighborhood. I ask myself, how do they expect to address even the most minor repair at that point. Then there’s the day of the first storm, when these machines that were wheeled into the shed and forgotten won’t start because the carb is all gummed up. Sitting DOA at the top of the driveway and there out there with a shovel working on that EID pike. It only takes 5 minutes to start it up and do a walk around, and you still have time to take it in, or fix it yourself with warm hands. I hate kneeling /laying on the cold concrete with a headlamp on, hands so cold I can’t feel the ratchet, trying to fix something I should have addressed when the weather was warm. Well here’s to a season of trouble free service from our machines!

[@flyjarrett]

@@blowingsnow4fun indeed! I also switched to ethanol free gas several years ago and have had no carburetor issues since then. I get the 87 octane from Road Ranger in East Troy. Worth the drive!

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@flyjarrett not sure exactly where your coming from, but I might be able to save you some miles. The Fleet Farm in Menominee Falls has ethanol free gas, and they just opened a FLeet Farm in Mukwanago that has it as well. I haven’t been to the Mukwanago store yet, but my buddies tell me they have a great tool section if your the kind of guy that likes that?

[@flyjarrett]

@@blowingsnow4fun I’m in Oak Creek and the drive to East Troy isn’t bad. Country roads on primary 7 Mile Road. Probably a horse a piece to Mukwonago or Menominee Falls, but I do like a good tool section!

[@ak907silvers6]

We had around 24 inches of wet snow in Anchorage, Alaska this week. My Rapidtrak 28'' SHO Platinum was a life saver. My street driveways are 110' long and are somewhat steep. This machine went Uphill FULL bucket width Without Losing traction and plenty of power with that nasty wet heavy snow. I was so impressed. Then I did 3 of my neighbors driveways for them to save their butts! A guy 3 houses Down Bought the Brand New Design 28'' EGO 2 Stage Snowblower. It Did pretty well. 2 Things though. With those snow conditions and Our driverway size ( 110' long 25' wide ) He was only able to Do about 75% of his driveway before the batteries were dead. He has the 12 AH batteries. Second Point. His machine says Throws 60' On it. Guys....... please. I know the snow was wet, but He was lucky to be throwing it 15'. My ariens was throwing it ATLEAST 30' In the exact same conditions. Im not antio EGO either. I Literally bought the Single stage EGO 2 weeks ago, and for what i needed/wanted it for im pleased with it, But there is no denying who the King of snow, still is. Looking forward to some snowblower vids, maybe i shoulda taken video this last week for the weirdos like us for some snowblower Porn, but sadly I did not, sorry haha!

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi Silvers…. I saw Alaska was getting dumped on. We had about 2” of wet slush on Halloween, but that’s been it. 55degrees here today & I was putting a coat of winter wax on the wife’s car. There are good machines out there, but nobody outperforms the “King of Snow”. I have a 18” Toro PowerCurve that I use for light snow falls with a 4 stroke, and I like it, but it’s definitely a nice machine. A lady down the block bought one of the bigger Toro electrics, and it does pretty well with its 3 batteries, but it can still only last so long in that EOD pile, and it runs out of juice. For some people who don’t have the time or expertise to take care of a gas machine, there a good fit. As for me, I’ll take my 369 with 17 ft lbs of torque any day. Great to hear your rapid tracks are working so well. Ariens definitely has the most versatile track system in the industry IMHO. You should have shot some video with your phone, I could use a fix of an Ariens kicking some #%! While I wait for the snow to get here. Thanks for the + comment

[@paulmysliborski4832]

Rapidtrak is SWEET!!

[@paulmysliborski4832]

Yup! Just put my riding mower to sleep for the winter and spent 2 hours gearing up the blower for the season last Saturday. Everything lubed, oil changed, tire pressures set, and had her purring like a kitten. Great vid, Bruce!

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi Paul…. I have to give you an attaboy for having your machine running & ready to go. Besides, I’m not worried about guys like you. You take care of your equipment. Now all we need is the snow!

[@Rob-BC]

My Ariens is ready, Freddy.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi Rob…. In guessing your one of those guys that’s ready to go first snowfall, and didn’t need my reminder. I have to give you an attaboy for this one!

[@Rob-BC]

@@blowingsnow4fun I try to be. It can be like not testing your furnace, or AC until you need it... I don't care for those type of surprises. :)

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@@Rob-BC agreed!

[@washingandmowing15]

I just ran one of my mowers out and whipped out black betty, ran perfect 4th pull. Thing needs an oil change but runs fine until then. Our main mower has one more run to pick up the last of the leaves before winter.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi Evan…. Changing over from raking & mowing to shoveling & blowing. I still have the mower running as I have two big maples in the back yard that are still dropping leaves. I find it easier to run the mower over it every 4-5 days, and mulch the leaves up. We don’t get leaf pick up from the city here, so I have to haul them to the dump otherwise. Just curious as you are a mowing pro. How often do you guys replace or sharpen your mower blades?

[@washingandmowing15]

@@blowingsnow4fun i have 30+ trees on my property (mainly in my back yard) so keeping the mower ready to pick leaves up is necessary to keep the grass from dying from the leaves keeping the grass from sun. We usually replace our blades after every season or two depending on how hard it’s used that year.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@washingandmowing15 Thanks for the info. I have two oaks in my front years, and the last couple of years they’ve had bumper crops of acorns. I take up under them, but I still hit some with the mower, and they do dull my blade. I’ve been taking the blade off after last cut in the fall, cleaning it, and sharpening it, and it’s working on for me. Thanks again for the info.

[@floobertuber]

Surprising probably no-one any more than myself, I'm ready to go plenty early this year! With a brand new Platinum 24 SHO in my garage, no less! Naturally... this means, despite the fact that I'm in Wisconsin, it will probably not snow until the end of January. And then we'll get a whopping 4 inches, followed by a surprise mid-winter thaw! That's about how things usually go around here!!!

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hey Floobertuber… great to hear from you. WOW, a brand spanking new 24” Platinum SHO in the garage. I think what surprised me the most when I bought mine was how easy it handled compared to my old fixed axel beast. You’re right though, want to guarantee a winter with very little snow? Buy a new snowblower, snowmobile, or 4 wheel drive. I was lucky…. The day I picked mine up, was Halloween, and as unusual as it was, it snowed 8” here. I couldn’t wait to get it home so I could fire it up. Please, let me know your impressions first good snow, I’m betting you’re going to love it!

[@floobertuber]

@@blowingsnow4fun I know what ya mean. I am NOT a winter fan, but this year I almost wish we'd get an early, heavy snow so I could use up the ... wait for it... FULL TANK OF E10 GAS the dealer put in mine, way back in June. Yikes! Of course, it's too late for me to add stabilizer or anything now. If I'd been using my noggin', I'd have sucked out the gas and run the carb dry, but too late for that now! With that big immediate snowfall you had, no worries about the gas going stale, ha ha!

[@timhyde1629]

Started up my 25 year old craftsman 9/28 and my Ariens 21 professions last week both started on first pull, would love to get one of those 24 SHO's but this 2 stage craftsman will never die:)

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi Tim…first I have to give you an attaboy on starting your machines before the snow flies. I expect that you do your routine maintenance if you have a blower that’s 25 years old, and the old gal still starts on the first pull. If you have a 21 Pro, you must get some serious snow where you live. I have two old gals that I run up at my cabin. A early 80’s 824 Toro, and a mid 80’s Simplicity 8HP SnowAway. I really enjoy running them, and working on the old Techumse Snow King engines. If you’d like to see them in action, there up on my blowingsnow4fun KZbin channel. If your craftsman has a power wire coming off the stater, you can add an LED light to it. If you’re interested, I have a very detailed video up on how to do that. If you like this type of video, and haven’t already, please consider subscribing to the channel. Thanks for the + comment, and if you have any questions on the light, feel free to reach out.

[@paulmysliborski4832]

Two bad-ass machines right there!!

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@@paulmysliborski4832 Agreed! You can’t really appreciate them until you stand behind those handlebars& see what they can do.

[@CatholicFitness]

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!

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hey NorthernWind…. 28” SHO is the Best bang for the buck in blowers. It’s a powerful machine, and well worth the $$ IMHO. If you don’t mind a couple other suggestions from an old snow blower guy?? 1. Drain out any old gas and dispose of it, including what’s in the bowl. 2. Spray the carb and linkage down . 3. Put in a fresh spark plug. 4. Add some fresh premium non ethanol gas if you can get it, and add a tablespoon of seafoam to your first tankful. 5. Use the electric start for the first start. Let me know how it goes …. And welcome to the Ariens family!

[@CatholicFitness]

@@blowingsnow4fun thanks for the tips, will do!

[@johnbautch6947]

I was just out staring my machines the other day, the key on gets me messed up trying to which way is on after I haven’t used it for a while. But when the key is on the SHO fires right up. That routine maintenance goes a long way to keeping a snowblower and owner happy, thanks for the informative videos. Keep them coming!!!! Sometimes we get busy with life and forget things, it’s nice to get a reminder, thanks again.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi John… thanks for the positive comment! Think snow.

[@johns5504]

Just remember, everything is clockwise, righty tightly or whatever trips your memory.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi John… good to hear from you! I’m glad you find the videos useful. We’re supposed to get 1-2” here tomorrow. That’s not enough to get out the SHO, but it’s a step in the right direction. I hope we get a couple of big ones this year!

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@@johns5504 👍🏻

[@l337pwnage]

I was pretty unimpressed with the labels on my Ariens, so I just made my own for the choke and, IIRC, a couple other things.

[@billsandrew]

Got my Ariens Compact 24 ready for its second winter here in Madison. This is my first gas snowblower so I have found your videos really useful - hoping I can get a good 20 years out of it with good maintenance. Looks like it's going to be cold enough to snow starting in about a week.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hey Andrew…I’m glad you found my videos helpful, and welcome to the Ariens family. Here in SE WI, a couple of weeks ago, we had a sloppy messy 2-3” of wet snow. It melted before I was able to get up & get out there and clean it up. I saw on the weather we could get some snow just after thanksgiving, so as I’m about at hour from you, you might have a chance to get your compact out too. How large an area do you clear?

[@billsandrew]

@@blowingsnow4fun We have a similar size driveway as you (maybe a little shorter), but it's on the north side of the house and at a pretty steep incline. Therefore the sun doesn't help melt much at all and the driveway is a real hazard if not cleared well. My wife's car couldn't get up the driveway without help in even an inch of snow. So not a large area to clear, but we're thankful to have a machine to help us maintain it more safely and easily than shoveling on the sloped slippery driveway.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@@billsandrew my driveway faces North, so 1/2 if it is shaded by the house and gets icy very quickly in the right temperature. Slight incline, but my wife’s front wheel drive makes it up to the garage fairly easily . Still I need to keep it well cleaned as I have to walk down it to get the mail, and deal with the garbage/recycling.

[@billsandrew]

@@blowingsnow4fun Yeah, this is our first house and never thought about just how much of a difference the sun makes when it comes to melting off snow and ice. The driveways on the opposite side of the street are often bone dry while ours are completely wet. Just gotta stay on top of it best we can. Hope we get some good snowfalls. Stay safe out there!

[@johns5504]

Waiting on more than the inch and a few dustings we've gotten. My brand new 28 rapidtrak sho is just sitting there waiting, but yes, I've been starting it a few times. Tested handling, various track modes, hand wand warmers and the starter

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hey Johns…. I have to give you an attaboy on having your machine ready. I got lucky when I bought the SHO. I picked it up on Halloween, and it snowed 8 the same day. However, I bought a snowmobile in 1986, and it barely snowed at all that winter. I know your pain & your anticipation. Let me know your impressions of your new snowblower.

[@johns5504]

@@blowingsnow4fun will do, sitting here thinking like an old Carly Simon song

[@paulmysliborski4832]

🤣😂😆@@johns5504