Pre-season Maintenance – MovingSnow.com

I Got My New Snow Blower Home, Now What?

Paul — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 14:42:50 +0000

Hello Paul,

First thank you so much for your web site. If you ever add a paypal to give “tips”, I would gladly chip in.
If I could ask you a question: I’m in the northeast. Bought a new Craftsman 88173 over the summer when Sears was having a good deal. Haven’t done anything with it other than taking it out of the box.

My question is: should I be doing the summer/fall maintenance right now – change oil, etc.? It seemed to have shipped with some oil but not a lot – should I just drain it and put in the synthetic oil I bought along with it? Any other things I should do for good care and feeding? Feel free to just point me to a spot on your web site and say “DO IT!!!”

Again thank you so much.

Hi,

If you take about 30 minutes now to finish the set up of your snow blower and learn a few things about it, you will be able to use it and repair it for many years to come.

Grab your manual. For a Craftsman, if you can’t find it go to managemylife.com. Click on the manuals tab and put in the model number (it’s on the silver plate on the bottom right corner in the back of the snow blower) You can read it there or print it off. (For other brands go to their website, find the support tab and click through to the manuals and parts section.)

Must Do:

1. You can change the oil to synthetic. And then change it every spring before you put it away. If you don’t change the oil make sure the oil it came with is between the high and low marks on the dipstick. 5W-30 is the correct weight.

2. Check the tire pressure. If they are not even the machine will pull in the direction of the low tire.

3. Get an extra package of shear pins. Hang them on the wall where you can find them. Remove and replace one now so you now how to do it with snow and gloves. You can tip your snow blower back on the handles to inspect and change the pins.

4. Use a fuel stabilizer in the gas. I like SeaFoam at 2 tablespoons per gallon in your storage container.

5. Adjust the skid-shoes. I lay the operator’s manual under the front scraper and then lower the skid-shoes until they touch the ground. That gives you about 1/8 inch clearance. That keeps the scraper bar from wearing out quickly and keeps the snow blower from catching on most cracks in your driveway and sidewalks. If you have a gravel drive, raise it up a little higher.

6. Play with the controls. The levers on the handles and the chute control should move easily. The gear shift will be very stiff.

I also suggest:

1. Remove the belt cover. It is the plastic cover between the engine and the chute. Look at the belts and move the control levers to see how the tensioners work. Feel the tension of the belt (press in the middle of the belt) with the control levers down and with them released. Look at the parts as they move when you move the control levers. Do this so you can troubleshoot your snow blower if it ever stops moving or quits blowing snow. It is easy to change these two belts if one ever breaks. (Myself I would get an extra set now and hang them with the shear pins) Put the cover back on.

2. Cables. Move the controls on the handles and watch the cables that go from them to snow blower. See how much tension is on them and look where there are pulleys and connections. Get used to how they look and feel now. Very few owners have problems with these cables, but if the snow blower won’t move or it won’t blow snow these are one of the items you should check.

3. Engine Controls. Craftsman engines have a choke, throttle, primer bulb, safety key and electric starter push button. Other brands will not have a throttle but will have a fuel shut-off. Make sure the safety key is fully inserted in the slot. Play with the other controls to see how they feel. For example the choke will have notches and the throttle has an off position.

4. Fuel. I buy about 6 hours fuel. For your new Craftsman 88173 that is about 2 gallons. I always put the 2 tablespoons per gallon of SeaFoam in the gas can before I go get the gas. If you have E-15 in your area, be sure not to buy it. E-15 WILL RUIN YOUR SNOW BLOWER ENGINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Note: Snow engines are not designed to run when it is over 45 degrees. For the next steps don’t run your snow blower for more than 5 minutes.

5. Starting the engine. When the engine is cold.

a. Make sure the safety key is in the snow blower.

b. Move the throttle to rabbit (fast)

c. Set the choke to full

d. Push the primer bulb 3 to 6 times.

e. Pull the starter handle until the engine fires, and then adjust the choke until the engine runs smoothly. You can use the electric starter if you like, but also get used to starting it with the pull start. NOTE: You may not be able to run the engine with the choke completely off. You may also not be able to idle the engine. This is normal with a winterized engine and there is nothing wrong with it if it won’t idle or it won’t run with the choke completely off!

If the engine is warm (had been running in the last 15 minutes) you will not need to push the primer bulb, or set the choke to full. It will probably start by just moving the throttle to fast and pulling the starter rope.

6. Play with it and get used to it. (Yes you can use it out on your lawn. Running grass and a few leaves through it won’t hurt the machine) ALWAYS RUN THE ENGINE AT FULL THROTTLE. If you don’t you will plug the snow blower when you try to blow snow.

7. Marking obstructions. My wife has rocks around her landscape beds. I mark the ones next to the driveway with driveway markers. Sears has some great, cheap ones here:

8. After you put your snow blower away sit down and read the entire operator’s manual. You’ll be surprised what you learn.

The post I Got My New Snow Blower Home, Now What? appeared first on MovingSnow.com.

My Snow Blower Is Throwing Rocks! Or How to Raise a Scraper Bar on a Snow Thrower

Paul — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:47:00 +0000

Your new snow blower needs to be adjusted for the type of surface you are cleaning snow from. The snow blower right out of the box is set to scrape all the snow from the surface and anything else that it can pick up. I’ve noticed that a lot of them are not adjusted at all. The skid shoes are too high or one is adjusted higher than the other.

Here is a short video that you can watch that shows you how to adjust the snowblower so it doesn’t pick up rocks or catch on every little crack in your drive or sidewalk.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIHTZKkYo44

This guy adjusted that snow blower so there was a 3/4 inch gap between the snowblower and the ground. That is fine if you are cleaning your lawn or the gravel on your drive is very loose, but in most cases though that is too high.

For a concrete drive or sidewalk that has cracks adjust the skid shoes so there is a about 1/4 inch clearance. If you place the operator’s manual under the wear bar this is about the right height. Your snowblower won’t get caught on every crack this way and will only leave a small amount of snow on your drive.

For asphalt, blacktop, or other smooth driveways I suggest adjusting the skis shoes so the wear bar just touches. Don’t put anything under the bar but still loosen and tighten the skid shoes. Sometimes they are too set too high at the factory and you grind off the wear bar.

For gravel drives you have to experiment. If the ground is froze you can get close, if the ground is soft you may have to raise it up 1/2 -3/4 inch. I usually raise the wear bar up to 3/4 inch, clean that area and then let what’s left freeze solid. I can then lower the skid shoes back down and they won’t cut thru that frozen layer.

The post My Snow Blower Is Throwing Rocks! Or How to Raise a Scraper Bar on a Snow Thrower appeared first on MovingSnow.com.

Store Your Snowblower For The Summer – How To

Paul — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 14:34:42 +0000

The snow is finally gone up here in Wisconsin so it’s time to put away my snowblower. You may have already stored yours, but read this article and watch the video anyway.

Typical Snow Blower Trans. Click To Enlarge

DonyBoy put together a good video for storing your snow blower. You can watch it at the end of this article. He goes through all the steps so the engine is ready to run next fall. I am going to suggest a few more steps to getting your snow thrower put away though and having it ready to go next winter.

Additional Steps:

Auger, Blower, Housings

You might as well get your machine ready for next fall. It is easier to find the parts and install them now than to wait until the snow is on the ground again. Get out your manual (you can find a copy of your Craftsman manual at managemylife.com)

1. Check all the cables for wear. Replace any that are frayed.

2. Inspect the skid shoes. Turn them over if you have reverseable ones or get new ones if they are starting to wear.

3. Check the scraper. The wear should be even across the entire bar. If it wearing on one side readjust your skid shoes and check the inflation in your tires. If it is worn, remove it, turn and turn it over, and reinstall. If you have one that is not reverseable order a new one.

4. Remove the shear pins from the auger. Check to see if the auger spins freely on the shaft with the pins out. If the auger has grease jerks pump grease into them until the grease comes out the ends of the auger. If there is no grease jerks spray some lube in and around the auger. Spin the auger to evenly coat the shaft. Check the shear pins to make sure they are not ready to break and reinstall them.

5. Look inside the auger and blower housings. You may see bare metal areas where the snow has worn the paint off. You will want to protect those areas so they don’t rust. Lightly sand these areas and spray them with Rustoleum paint. Instead of paint I use a chain lube that comes in an aeresol can.

Belts:

1. Remove the belt cover from the center of the snow blower. Check to see if the belts are frayed on the edges. Check to see of they are glazed. (hard and shiny on the side) Replace them if any of these conditions exist.

Have someone push the levers on the handle down and check for proper tension on the belts. Your manual will show you the proper tension. If you have an older blower like mine you can adjust the tension by moving the idler pulleys. The newer machines…just replace the belts.

2. If you thought your snow blower would not push through the snow, change the drive belt.

3. If you thought your snow blower did not throw snow as far as it should, change the blower/auger belt.

If you don’t have spare belts hanging in your garage, order new ones so you have them next winter in case your break one.

Tires and Traction Drive:

Tires:

Check the pressure in the tires. They both need to be the same for the snow blower to go in a straight line.

Check for cracks and checks in the tire. Replace BOTH tires if one is bad (so it drives evenly)

Traction Drive:

Tip the snowblower up on the front auger housing so that the back of the snowblower is pointed straight up. Remove the transmission cover and look inside the transmission.

Use spray chain lube to coat the moving/sliding parts inside the trans. DO NOT spray the big round disk and the rubber tire (wheel with a rubber edge) These are parts 210 and 221 in the diagram above.

Replace the cover and set it back down.

Engine:

Change the oil.

In the video he shows you red StaBil. I also highly recommend the blue Stabil. The Blue is designed for marine use and helps keep the water out of the ethanol fuels.

Myself, I use Sea Foam. Both the liquid and the spray. Instead of the StaBil I use the liquid Sea Foam for a fuel stabilizer and the spray instead of the storage spray he shows in the video.

In the video he states one way to store your motor is to run it out of fuel but if you live an an area of the country that uses ethanol I highly recommend you put twice the recommended amount of Sea Foam in the gas tank and then run the engine for about 5 minutes or until it stalls out. Yes, it may smoke and smell bad when running. Leave the gas tank FULL.

Spray the inside of the engine like he shows you in the video.

Do all these steps and your snow blower will be ready to go this fall.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE47MMZ3L1w

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