It's time to tune-up the snow blower

A snowstorm in the 7 day forecast should not be a reminder to have your snow blower tuned up! If you put the snow blower away last year with concerns about performance, now is the time to act.  As soon as it’s cold enough for snow, small engine shops are quickly inundated with calls for repair, replacement part supplies run short, and many homeowners are forced to grab a shovel and clear snow the old fashioned way.

Schedule service early and save money. Most small engine shops will offer incentives or specials that encourage customers to get the snow blower tuned up in late summer and fall. The small engine shop can curb the influx of calls when it snows and you can save some money!

If you plan to service the machine yourself, here are a few pointers to keep in mind to keep the job frustration-free.

1-      Keep the owner’s manual handy and make note of the snow blower’s model and serial number. When ordering replacement parts online or at your local dealer, the model and serial are critical to getting the correct parts. The manual will tell you everything you need to know about the snow blower and the items that need to be addressed for proper tune-up. Where to grease moving parts, oil change information, belt location and adjustment requirements are all spelled out in the manual.

2-      Go all out – don’t try to save a few dollars by avoiding critical replacements with temporary repairs. Replace the spark plug, remove & paint rust, and if the condition of the belt is questionable – install a new one! New equipment is expensive but will run like new for many years if properly cared for.

3-      Get started. Unless your garage is heated and outfitted with a lift – waiting to start only means the ground will be colder and your hands more reluctant to cooperate! The mad dash for common replacement parts starts at the first sign of snow too.  Order early and stock up on shear pins, fuel stabilizer, or even a spare scraper blade.

Determine the parts needed for your snow blower tune-up, order online, and receive the shipment in time for a weekend project. ProPartsDirect.net sells genuine replacement parts for the most popular brands like Ariens, Toro, Cub Cadet, Simplicity, and Snapper. 

Keep the Basement Dry and Plants Green

In a recent blog we looked at the challenges of keeping your lawn green when hot, dry conditions take hold. The first and most obvious solution was irrigation! Install an automated system or spend extra time pulling hoses to set up temporary sprinklers and keep the landscape green.

A reader was quick to point out that during a dry spell, cities and towns have water usage restrictions. Homeowners depending on well water face the risk of using needed water for the home, on the front lawn!

What if we told you that you could still water regardless of those restrictions? It’s pretty easy, just start collecting rain water.

Harvesting rain water is an effective way to collect and store water that’s safe to reuse on plants and gardens. There are a TON of options to collect water, from burying huge storage tanks to simple connections to a downspout. The elaborate storage systems are large enough that a pump can connect and feed an irrigation system.

For most homeowners, a Rain Barrel is probably sufficient. The barrel sits at the bottom of your downspout and a specialized diverter kit sends rainwater into the container. If your gutter is depositing the water at the base of your foundation now, not only will a rain barrel save rain water, it will probably prevent moisture problems in the basement!

Connect a hose or small solar pump to the container and you are back in business! Now you can capture the afternoon thunderstorm or passing shower and reuse when it is most needed.

What is your experience with harvesting rain? Do you have a harvesting system? Share your photos or experience with us!

Repairing a McCulloch: Fish or Cut Bait?

McCulloch chain saws, string trimmers, and leaf blowers were very popular homeowner tools up until the company shut its doors in 2009.  With McCulloch out of business, production of replacement parts stopped. Any replacement parts that McCulloch had in their factory were sold at auction in June of 1999. Small engine shops from all over scooped up the parts and have been using this limited supply to repair older McCulloch items for 15 years.    

Nobody is making replacement parts for McCulloch and its very unlikely anyone ever will.

What does this mean to you? If you have a McCulloch tool (pre 1999), you should seriously consider replacement vs repair costs. The only way to get a part is a time consuming internet search in the hopes of locating someone who bought parts at the auction, back in 1999. If you locate someone with McCulloch parts, your next hurdle is that they have part you need.

At best, it’s a long shot. You may get lucky and find the part you need, but, you should evaluate if you are throwing good money after bad.

Please note, that the McCulloch brand was acquired by Husqvarna and they are selling tools under this brand name. They are not producing replacement parts for older equipment.  

Dog Days of Summer: Keeping Grass Green in the Heat

After an extended spring season that featured long periods of rainy weather, the summer is continuing the “all or nothing” trend. It’s been hot and dry in the northeast and green lawns are starting to turn brown under the stress.  Here are a few suggestions on how to help keep your lawn looking its best.

Irrigation – Getting water on your lawn nourishes and cools the grass. It’s the first line of defense against hot, dry spells. The best time to water is early in the morning from 3-8am. This allows the soil to soak up water needed and excess water will evaporate when the sun comes up. When a saturated lawn remains in contact with excess water, it creates a breeding ground for disease. This is why watering in the evening can do more harm than good! Finally, watering during the hottest part of the day is bad news…water is evaporating and your lawn won’t appreciate the tease!

PRO TIP: Avoid watering by hand. Use sprinklers to evenly water and connect timers for consistency.  There are even smart-phone apps that can operate irrigation controls! Generally speaking, most lawns want between 1”-2” of water per week. This can vary based on soil and grass types, location, and time of growing season.

Let it Grow…Let it Grow!  Set your mower deck at 3” or greater. Taller grass can absorb water better and creates its own shade too. Cutting too short not only stresses the plant, it prevents it from growing deep roots that could further protect from dry conditions.  

PRO TIP: Get a mulching blade and don’t bag the clippings. A mulching blade cuts the grass a few times before dropping it back into the lawn. The dry, starved lawn will appreciate the mulched clippings for food and shade.

Keep Fertilizer in the Bag. Unless you have an irrigation plan in place, don’t fertilize the lawn when the hot, dry conditions take hold.  Fertilizers provide nutrients for growth, but, without water you’re asking the lawn to do the impossible. Plus, fertilizers need to be watered in to be effective. If the product sits on the lawn for days only to be washed away in a thunderstorm/downpour, you might consider yourself lucky. The alternative would be fertilizer washed into lower areas in super concentrated for that kills the grass in a hurry.

PRO TIP: Use the money you saved on fertilizer and take your spouse to dinner.  A night out beats watching grass grow any day of the week…    

With lawn care, you can’t beat the heat - Mother Nature always has the upper hand. If drought and heat threaten your lawn each year, you might consider a new yard design. Trees can be added to create shade, planting a drought tolerant type of grass, and even reducing the lawn size are all long term solutions to consider.    

Four things to remember before sharpening a set of mower blades.

Sharpening lawnmower blades saves time and money, unless the technique is incorrect – that costs money. 

** Always use proper safety equipment and goggles, hearing, gloves. **

1.       Set the blade grinder to the correct angle. For Oregon replacement blades, use 30 degrees. OEM blades, consult your owner’s manual.

2.       For a right hand cut, set the motor to forward (counter clock wise) to draw the blade into the stone. This will throw sparks out to the right, away from the user.

3.       Your first pass should be to square up the blade.  This will remove any Knicks or chips in the blade.  Once you have set your edge then draw the blade across the stone until you have ground away the metal to meet the bottom edge. Flip the blade and repeat using the same number of passes. Do not attempt to get a razor sharp edge, a .030 - .060 is ideal.

4.       Balance your blade – it is a simple step, but very important when sharpening your blades. A simple screw on the side of your work bench or even a fancy blade balancer will do the trick. Balancing your blade can save you from having to replace your deck spindles prematurely.

A blade grinder is a great addition to any landscape company. By properly learning how to sharpen your own blades you can get a longer blade life, better cut and save money and time while doing it!

For more information on Oregon belt and blade grinders, click here: http://www.propartsdirect.net/pages/CustomCatalog/Catalog/1057

Getting Toro replacement parts just got easier for The Grounds Guys.

As the landscaping season begins its important to inspect your equipment and identify equipment problems before they happen. Air filters, blades, and trimmer line all wear at a predictable rate – so stocking up early saves time – and prevents unneeded breakdowns mid-season. Another place to investigate is the lawnmower’s repair history. Are you nearing the end of life on your belts, cables, or hoses? Keep detailed notes and keep a copy of this information with you in the truck.

This list will make it easy to call in a replacement part order from the field, as soon as it breaks. If you don’t have this list, you should keep a copy of the ProParts Direct catalog handy. Pricing, parts, and Dingo breakdowns alone make it invaluable, but for The Grounds Guys who receive 4% off all orders – it’s a no-brainer!

Unfortunately, ProParts Direct can’t prevent your equipment from unforeseen breakdowns, but we can get you replacement parts faster!  This summer, we are offering The Grounds Guys landscapers factory direct, drop shipments from Toro! When you order from ProParts Direct before 2pm (EST), you receive your Toro order in 48 hours. 

In addition to the best pricing around, we are excited to deliver Toro and Toro Dingo parts with the speed The Grounds Guys demand!  In addition to Toro, ProParts Direct is an OEM and aftermarket dealer for all commercial lawnmower parts.

Order online at ProPartsDirect.net or call our dedicated commercial parts team at 800-305-9255.

The Benefits Of Buying and Stocking Parts Early

Spend time preparing for the upcoming season and avoid the headaches and trouble in-season.

As a landscaper, you really need to look at your efforts through the eyes of a small business owner. Taking advantage of pre-season buying programs keeps items on the shelf for quick repairs and manages consumables. A little bit of attention spent is the difference between turning a profit on the year, growing your business, and standing out among competition. 

Here is an example of the immediate financial impact of not having backup parts:

• Cost of new part and overnight shipping.
• Lost time spent diagnosing and physically repairing the issue.
• Lost revenue due to lost time. Your landscape crew is not cutting and earning; they are waiting.

True Cost of Downtime

1.      Customers who pay for a professional expect great work, no excuses. Landscaper says: “I broke a belt, I’ll return in 2 days.” Customer hears: “Call someone else who can get the job done right.”

2.      $6000 buys a nice enclosed trailer and huge billboard… that nobody sees when it is parked at the shop waiting for a repair.

3.      Failing to prepare says a lot about your business. Not having pride in your work is reflected through your employees and ultimately customers. If you don’t take your work, seriously neither will your customers. Eventually the phone stops ringing and you will never know how many sales you are missing. A reputation is the hardest thing to repair.

Take some time…

Look at what you spend on consumable items.  Trimmer line, two-cycle fuel, air filters, oil filters, and blades are replaced based on hourly use so you can estimate your seasonal parts budget. If you only order as parts break, calculate your shipping cost and lost income during the down time. You will find that it costs more to order only when you need parts vs having the consumable parts on hand.

Once you know what you spend each season, take 20% of what you spend to place a bulk order next spring. Companies like ours, ProParts Direct, have the best buying programs in January and February to help jump start the season.  You can also save by combining several smaller orders into one large order. Shipping charges on individual packages adds up quickly.

Knowing what you need makes it possible to take advantage of pre-season sales and bulk discounts. It’s the little steps that will help increase your bottom line and help your company grow.

For Parts view our website www.propartsdirect.net

Don’t put that snowblower away … yet

Although it feels like winter won’t quit, the good news is that spring will be upon us soon. Before switching from snowblower to lawnmower, it’s a good idea to prepare your snowblower for next winter. It’s a fairly simple process and it will keep your snwoblower running for many years. The following steps should be completed each season.

1.       Fuel used in small engines should always be treated with stabilizer. Ethanol contained in today’s gasoline causes trouble with the carburetor and headaches for the owner. If you don’t treat fuel year round, at least consider adding to the fuel and running the machine before storing.

2.       Inspect the snowblower for worn or loose parts. The scraper blade and skid shoes are designed to wear so if anything looks questionable, just make the repair. Crashing into large snowbanks and throwing heavy snow will weaken shear pins and loosen bolts all over the snowblower. Tighten bolts and replace where necessary.   

PROTIP – While you are at it – change the oil and spark plug! Check your owner’s manual for machine specific instructions, but a 5W30 oil should do the trick.

3.        When storing the snowblower – remember it should stay covered and dry. Clear room inside the shed or even pick up a cover. Either way, make sure it’s secure because it makes a nice home for pests!

Preventative maintenance is straight forward, so a homeowner can complete in less than an hour. Just make sure to have the correct replacement parts on hand before starting the project. Order the replacement parts online at ProPartsDirect.net or call us with questions at 800-305-9255.

Think spring!

The Snowblower Parts Crunch

The 2013/2014 winter has been brutal. The weather pattern has been delivering storms nearly back to back. Coupled with extended bouts of bitter cold, it seems the only way to cope with the conditions are to give it a name(Polar Vortex), so we can really get mad at it!

The conditions don’t just test our patience, they challenge the machines that contractors and homeowners use to manage all the snow.  Increased use and heavier snow will cause snowblowers to fail. When snowstorms span the entire country, from Texas to Bangor, Maine, the number of people using snowblowers is insane!  Belts and bolts give way on the machines driving demand on replacement parts.

Again, consider the size of the storms – cities in the southern half of the country don’t have a fleet of snowplows to handle the snow. The locations that do have snow removal equipment probably haven’t used or serviced the machine in over a year, so a major snow event is when issues first arise.  

When the entire country needs a new auger housing on a random Tuesday following a 4 day storm, it’s easy to see how parts quickly become unavailable or backordered. Manufacturers who build the parts have nothing to provide small engine shops to sell to customers.  Back to back storms slow everything from airline travel to parts deliveries.  

It’s frustrating to tell a customer a part is on “national backorder.” National backorder means there is no estimate when a part will be available and that stores nationwide can’t access the item. A $10 snowblower belt in July is practically an afterthought. However, in February, that belt is absolutely critical to clearing snow and keeping walkways safe.

TIP:  In most cases it is more effective to keep your original order with your parts vendor than cancel and check elsewhere!  Parts vendors all pick from the same inventory. Think of it like standing in line and deciding to leave your spot; if you change your mind and return, you go to the back of the line.

The ProParts Advantage allows our company to be in the top tier for all major suppliers. This means we are the first to receive backordered parts.

In the era of Amazon providing next day service – and exploring “drone” deliveries, it’s frustrating that the nature of our industry can’t even come close to that speed. We offset the demand by keeping a massive inventory of fast moving parts like belts, sheer pins, and bearings.  – but when it rains, it pours….or snows in this case.    

While it’s impossible to predict when or what will break on your machine, it’s a good practice to keep the usual suspects on hand. Having an extra belt or sheer bolt on hand is invaluable.  

Top 10 Snowblowers of All Time

In a recent blog we attempted to compile a list of the top 10 lawnmowers of all time.  For the most part our readers agreed on our selections, but we also discovered that we left out some great machines. The feedback and discussion that followed was awesome!

As the snow continues to fall this winter, we figured it was the perfect time to roll out our next top 10 list… The Top-10 Snowblowers of All Time!

Our list was compiled using an informal survey of parts and sales experts with over 50 years of experience. We judged based on durability, cost, and some we thought were cool!


10 – Kai Grundt’s V8 Snowblower – A 412 horsepower snowblower that throws snow 50 ft at 3500rpm. Not a useful snowblower for most at nearly 1000 pounds, but what do you expect from a 454 cubic inch big block?

     9 - Zaugg, Snow Beast – If you don’t mind giving up a spot in your garage and driving your neighbors crazy, you could own the most intense walk behind snowblower we could find! The

beast has a 54hp Kubota Diesel, nearly 4 ft (width and height) clearing area, and at just shy of 3000lbs, you could save a few dollars and forgo tire chains!

8 – Granite State “Snow Cloud” – Our company (ProParts Direct) is based in New Hampshire, The Granite State – so the Snow Cloud automatically lands on our list! A machine shop in Hinsdale, NH was building this blower which was sold by Montgomery Ward under model 5662.









7– Ariens Model 10M- Built in 1960, this machine is one of the first snowblowers and helped put Ariens on the map. It was built using a 2-speed gear transmission drive system before switching to a friction disk in 1961. The bucket on the 10M used a half round shape allowing the auger to extend in front of the machine…something that probably makes safety officials hair stand on end today!

6 – Jari Jaw – This monster is unique in that it has two augers – and a mean looking guy painted on the side. Although there are plenty of moving parts to break – the machine is built like a tank. Built in the 1960’s its time has passed – you are likely to find one buried in an old garage.  It is worth nothing that Cub Cadet is producing a 3-stage snowblower – making the Jari Jaw a distant relative.

5 – Toro Snow Pup – You would be hard pressed to find a landscape or snow removal crew that did not have this single stage blower. Lightweight and powerful, it is the perfect tool to clear walkways and easy to lift into the back of the plow truck.

4 – Exmark Rotary Broom- While technically it’s not a “snowblower,” the machine can move snow! The rotary broom has a price point that makes it more appropriate for commercial and municipal applications, but its ability to move compacted snow when salt won’t work is impressive!  Here is a quick video of the Exmark Rotary Broom in action:

Watch on YouTube




3- Honda HS1132 – Everyone can agree that Honda makes a great product, from generator to snowblower, the unit is built to last. The snowblower can throw snow for miles, will start with a couple pulls, and if properly cared for – will last forever. The most apparent downside on these machines are the cost. For most homeowners, spending $3000 isn’t an option.

2 - Simplicity 870 (Late 90’s)- The look of a Simplicity snowblower has always been a little different. Its c-

channel steel handles use a better quality, thicker steel to create one of the strongest chassis around. The late 1990’s was also when Simplicity stopped using the Tecumseh flat head engines, one of the most reliable, powerful, and easy to repair engines available. It’s rare to find an engine today that could kick as hard while under load.




1 – Ariens 924050 – This snowblower was repeatedly mentioned as one of the best. It’s durability alone sets it apart! If you have an older Ariens, chances are it’s the 924050! Released in the early 90’s, it featured 8” tires which was a major upgrade over the 6". There is a very good chance there are a couple of these in your neighborhood today!And the best part?!? Ariens still makes parts to service this snowblower!

What do you think? What snowblower are you running? Share your thoughts with us! Join the discussion on Facebook or Twitter