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rubinew


Joined: Dec 30, 2010
Points: 147

Quick Review on the Yamaha YS928J
Original Message   Jan 13, 2011 12:36 pm
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.

This message was modified Jan 13, 2011 by rubinew
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rubinew


Joined: Dec 30, 2010
Points: 147

Re: Quick Review on the Yamaha YS928J
Reply #16   Jan 13, 2011 8:47 pm
Underdog wrote:

You should be punished in some way for hitting that rock. Shame.


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.

This message was modified Jan 13, 2011 by rubinew
MN_Runner


Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Joined: Dec 5, 2010
Points: 622

Re: Quick Review on the Yamaha YS928J
Reply #17   Jan 13, 2011 8:55 pm
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.

Steve_Cebu


Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 888

Re: Quick Review on the Yamaha YS928J
Reply #18   Jan 13, 2011 8:59 pm
rubinew 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.



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.

"If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England."  "If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England."
MN_Runner


Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Joined: Dec 5, 2010
Points: 622

Re: Quick Review on the Yamaha YS928J
Reply #19   Jan 13, 2011 10:09 pm
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)!

rubinew


Joined: Dec 30, 2010
Points: 147

Re: Quick Review on the Yamaha YS928J
Reply #20   Jan 13, 2011 11:02 pm
MN_Runner wrote:
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)!



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

hirschallan


If it aint broke don't fix it !!


Location: Northern Hills of NY
Joined: Aug 25, 2005
Points: 327

Re: Quick Review on the Yamaha YS928J
Reply #21   Jan 13, 2011 11:48 pm
rubinew wrote:
 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

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.

rubinew


Joined: Dec 30, 2010
Points: 147

Re: Quick Review on the Yamaha YS928J
Reply #22   Jan 14, 2011 12:13 am
hirschallan 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.


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.

This message was modified Jan 14, 2011 by rubinew
hirschallan


If it aint broke don't fix it !!


Location: Northern Hills of NY
Joined: Aug 25, 2005
Points: 327

Re: Quick Review on the Yamaha YS928J
Reply #23   Jan 14, 2011 12:29 am
rubinew 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.



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.
This message was modified Jan 14, 2011 by hirschallan


rubinew


Joined: Dec 30, 2010
Points: 147

Re: Quick Review on the Yamaha YS928J
Reply #24   Jan 14, 2011 12:43 am
hirschallan 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.



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

This message was modified Jan 14, 2011 by rubinew
Spartan


Joined: Sep 19, 2010
Points: 14

Re: Quick Review on the Yamaha YS928J
Reply #25   Jan 14, 2011 2:30 am
Beautiful machine.  You're a lucky guy, congrats.
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