Why Idiots Shouldn't Own Snow Blowers

[GAD]

Yes, the idiot was me. No, I didn't get hurt. Yes, my wife laughed at me. Read all about my first snow blower experience in which I nearly ruined the damn thing.

http://www.gad.net/Blog/2011/01/12/why- ... w-blowers/

 

[Bill Ashton]

Wow, powerful machine, how many horse?

I cannot speak so elequently, however I was able to completely trash a beautiful old Sears 5 hp machine that I got about forth hand (free even!), just perfect for my short driveway and getting around the parked cars there, in a similar lapse of memory...instead of putting it away, and with another storm approaching, I left her in the driveway under a tarp help down by four bricks...count 'em, four...how many did I remove when the storm arrived? Apparently three. Know what a snowblower sounds like when it eats a brick? I guess the bolts someone put in instead of shear pins didn't help...the auger auged but the impeller didn't impell...and bent all to hell! Goodbye, dear machine.

Needless to say, I try to be more careful with my 10 horse Husky...now THAT honey can throw some serious snow

 

[Bikerdoc]

Don't own a snowblower. I thought that's why I had sons but maybe I was wrrrrrrronnnng about that. :? Now, I've trashed a few riding mowers in my day though.

Peace

 

[Thunderface]

GAD, if you didn't have bad mechanical luck, you'd have no luck at all. I took great interest in your story because I own the very same snowblower. Finally broke down and bought one three years ago after admitting that even a diehard shoveler that I fancied myself as couldn't quickly remove large snowfalls from my three-car wide driveway.

That very same snowblower paid for itself in mid-December, when we in the Twin Cities were hit with the fifth-largest snowfall on record, or whatever largest snowfall it was. I didn't even bother going out until Sunday morning (it started snowing on Friday night), and when I opened my garage door was greeted with a whole lotta snow. I made a couple of passes with said snowblower, grabbed a yardstick and measured it an only slightly drift-aided 23.5 inches. At times, when the snowblower was going through the drifts, the snow would be over the mouth of the snowblower and the chute would be cutting through the snow like a submarine periscope.

I feeling your pain, my Northeast brothers and sisters, dealing with the latest snowfall.

 

[dane]

Now THIS is a snow blower! :shock:

 

[Bill Ashton]

Yee HAW!

Should brought those pipes down even with the auger on each side, coulda melted the ice away :lol: :lol:

 

[GAD]

Holy CRAP that thing must be loud!

I have no idea how many horses mine has - they don't advertise it. It's a Toro Powermax 826 OXE with a 250cc B&S OHV 4-cycle engine. 26" wide and this gem that I think just paid for itself:

Heavy-Duty Auger Gearcase - No Shear Pins Needed

Power is transferred to the serrated augers by a heavy-duty gearcase designed tough enough to eliminate the need for shear pins, which are commonly found on less durable product.

 

[twocorgis]

Great story GAD! That could have been me, except the first day I had my monster snow blower, it was an Christmas light extension cord under the snow that got me. Luckily the shear pin did its job.

 

[killdeer43]

Now THIS is a snow blower! :shock:

This one makes me think of Tim "the Toolman" Taylor! :lol:

Joe

 

[Thunderface]

Forget throwing snow into the neighbor's yard, this thing looks like it'll throw snow into the yard ... across town! Is that a Hemi?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyrcP5utXt4

 

[RussD]

Ice must be shoveled differently in the south, I believe.
I have limited experience though...

 

[Bill Ashton]

Found out one thing this afternoon...10 HP Husqvarna trumps 8 hp John Deer (parent's)... :wink:

 

[killdeer43]

Found out one thing this afternoon...10 HP Husqvarna trumps 8 hp John Deere (parent's)... :wink:

VEER:
Did you hear about the woman who ran off with a tractor salesman?

She sent her husband a John Deere letter! :lol:

Joe

 

[dreadnut]

On Dec. 12, 1982, the Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins in a regular season game with a field goal, but only after the maintenance guy came out with a John Deere Model 314 and cleared a path in the snow for the kicker. :lol: How many of you remember that game? Shula went ape$hit, but they let the field goal stand.

A few weeks later we were watching the playoffs, another meeting between these two teams but Miami had home field advantage. Before the game, someone came out with a small dumptruck and dumped a bunch of snow in the end zone, and somebody else came out with a snowblower and blew it around :lol: Miami won the playoff game, too.

Now there's a rule in the NFL, no snowplows allowed on the field during a game...

 

[killdeer43]

Now there's a rule in the NFL, no snowplows allowed on the field during a game...

How about a Zamboni? :lol:

Joe

 

[mad dog]

Deus Ex Machina, snowblower style, at my place recently.

My twin brother is so generous. He upgraded from a regular snow blower to a tractor plus attachment up at his rural home, so gave the snowblower to my wife an I. It's a powerful Troy Built model in as new condition. We got it down to the house in December. Three days before Christmas, my knee swells up so I can barely walk. And the day after Christmas, that blizzard hit.

W/o that snowblower, it would have been so difficult. With it, we got ourselves and 6 other people dug out. Thank you, thank you!!

MD

 

[Thunderface]

Deus Ex Machina, snowblower style, at my place recently.

My twin brother is so generous.

Hold the phone! There's two of you?! The Mad Dogs! Cool. Does he play, too?

I don't know why I didn't think of it until now, but here's a potential avatar for you, MD. It's Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen from Back To The Future III. Then again, he didn't exactly embrace the moniker, as you can see...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62SDj0s8_3Q

 

[mad dog]

Thunder:

Scary, but true. He's not really mad ... more like cranky. And no, he does not play though he's completely fascinated by guitars and guitar tones. I have a standing offer to give him a guitar and amp if he'll just take the plunge, but so far, no dice.

BTW, nice hat!!

MD

 

[Thunderface]

That is a good one, isn't it.

 

[mad dog]

Thanks to Thunder, I now have a suitably hostile and suspicious avatar. It feels ... liberating!

MD