Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Lots of packed snow drifts, 8 to 36 inches high. -20C

I go into unheated garage, push the throttle forward, turn key, va va va , second attempt, va vroooomm, starts, we are off and running!

I just spent 2.5 hours with this beast, cleared 3 driveways, and the curve to the main road, so about 500ft, by 25ft wide.

Used almost a whole tank of gas. The pictures are from my phone! so excuse the quality!!

First off, at 373lbs, this thing is a tank, and it drives through snowdrifts like butter. No riding up, and very little slip. The biggest problem was I could feed it too fast, and actually slow the engine down. a quick adjustment oh the Hydro Drive, and I found a nice pace.

Having used a wheel drive for the last 14 years, I can say that the track drive is a bit of a challenge, and will take some getting used too. I was able to turn it 180 to make next cut, but definately not as easy as a wheel drive, not terrible, but definately more of a challenge. I found that leaning the auger back to take the weight of the front made it a lot easier to turn.

Were the tracks did work well, was pushing through the drifts, no riding up, once I set a nice pace, just held on with one hand, and let it eat and throw through, much easier than my previous snow blower. I really like the Hydro Drive, makes it real easy to find the speed that you want, anywhere from a crawl, to a brisk walk.

Throwing snow for this Yamaha works very well, I could easily throw to the other side of the road, I would estimate I was getting around 40 feet at times.

The electric direction change for the chute works very well, moves it quickly, without struggle, even after 3 hours, and buildup of snow and ice. The deflection on the Yamaha is manual, cable, 2 stage, and built into the same control for direction.

Unfortunately, when I did my neighbors driveway, he had an area were the rocks were loose, and I did catch a few of them

So there are a couple of dings in the impeller, and a few scratches in the plastic guard, so it looks like there is no returns now

I am very happy with the performance of this Snow Blower. It made short work of the packed snow, easy to start, easy controls. My only concern from using it for 3 hours, was the turning, which got better with time.

Overall though, I am way less worn/tired as I have been in the past with my previous unit. With out a doubt, I know I would still be out there, lifting up on handle bars, backing up, pushing in, etc.

Underdog wrote:

I am punishing myself  I keep looking at the scratched paint and dings in the edges of the impeller, and realize, can't take it back now

It was not  'a' rock, it was a hand full of 1/2 inch rock, I was going along, then...rattle rattle, chunck chunck, tink tink, arrrggggg. Last week Phil had a bobcat in there, must have stirred up some of the gravel. It was in the snow, couldn't see it.

rubinew,

at least you did it and no one else touched the snowblower.  I got some dings and scratches on my Honda too and I am the culprit.

rubinew wrote:

Be thankful it wasn't 2" rocks or a 3" piece of granite! I hate the rocks but they seem to come from nowhere. It's all ledge under this house and around here. They had to dynamite to put in the basement and even that was so difficulty that they only did half the area as it took too long. Now that you have your first dent you can stop worrying. That auger is a lot tougher than you think.  The paint.... not so much.

rubinew,

Please take some pictures as you change the oil if not too much trouble.  Thanks for your great post and honest feedback (good and bad on your YS928)!

MN_Runner wrote:

Will do.

Just an interesting note, there is no mention of belts in the Maintenance section of the Yamaha, and this model has a 'clutch drive' auger.

Yet when I took of the cover to check the oil, behold, there are two belts. One driving the hydrostatic system, which I suspected would be there. Then a second, wide belt, driving the Auger. The magnetic clutch is used to engage the belt drive, similar to the clutch on a Air Condensor for AC. When you move the lever, you here the click, and the belt starts turning. Which explain why I can't turn the impeller with the engine off

rubinew wrote:

I think you are mistaken. If in fact it has a magnetic clutch then only when it’s energized will it hold the belt from turning so, when the clutch isn’t it should turn by hand aside from the fact it has a safety brake like all snow blowers or a mechanical one therefore you can’t rotate the impeller even when not energized.

hirschallan wrote:

That is what I thought, with no power to engage belt to motor, should spin free. My MTD would spin free, of course no tension on belt.

So for amusement, I just went out and checked it, sure enough, I can turn it, though a lot harder than the MTD. This is likely because the belt is taunt, and the ratio to what parts I am turning on the clutch. I didn't push as hard last time, since I expected it to spin as easily as other blowers.

It is definately a magnetic clutch, when I slide the lever (no cables, just an electric contact) click, then the belt is running.

rubinew wrote:

Ok, yes it has a magnetic clutch. When it’s not energized it’s not the belt you cannot turn but rather a braking mechanism holding back the sheave. If you are trying to move the implement by hand you are better off moving the impeller  (back fan)  than the auger do to a 10:1 ratio where it's much easier to move the impeller than the auger rakes.

hirschallan wrote:

Ok, I think we are missunderstanding each other It is the fans I am trying to turn, not the Auger, I call the fans the Impeller(is that a mistake?). The Impeller on other snow blowers is easy to turn, since no belt tension applied.

On this blower, it is very diffcult to turn, I assumed it is because the belt is always tense. It may have this break you talk about, Would this be part of the clutch assembly?? I will investigate more on the Weekend! Play Time

Beautiful machine.  You're a lucky guy, congrats.