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. 

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.  

The new “Age Old Question”: Horsepower vs cc’s

How powerful is your snowblower? When a customer shops for a new machine, the most common question is about its power. An engine’s CC (Cubic Centimeters) determines how large and ultimately how much power it can put out. Ft lbs tells you how much torque the engine will produce… but that’s another story for another day. Two things to remember:

•       There is no math equation to calculate Horse power.
•       Adjustments in gear ratios and rpms will impact the performance of any snow blower.

A general understanding of CC’s will prepare you when shopping for a new snow blower this season.

Here is a chart to help approximate cc to torque to horsepower. We used 3600rpm in this example.

179cc = 5hp

205cc = 8-9 gross torque = 5.5 – 6 hp

250cc = 11-11.5 gross torque = 7 – 8 hp

305cc = 13.5-14.5 gross torque = 9 – 10 hp

342cc = 15.5-16.5 gross torque = 11 – 12 hp

While the above calculations aren’t exact, it’s a step closer to understanding how cc’s correspond to horsepower. Keep this in mind next time you are shopping for a new snowblower!