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DavidNJ

Name DavidNJ
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Date Joined Sep 26, 2010
Date Last Access Oct 14, 2010 6:40 am
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Re: The Role Of Impellers on Snowblower Performance
#1   Oct 14, 2010 6:14 am
snowmachine wrote:
Do a search on forum for 'frozen cables".  You will get hits.

I've had some freeze ups originally when my shed wasn't heated with the deflector chute cable.  Sometimes melted snow will get in the cable end near the chute and make its way down the cable and then freeze up.

Some have put small slits at bottom of cable to drain off water or feed a lubricant down the cable to keep water from freezing up cable.  Even when mine has froze engine heat usually frees it up in short order.



Tried here and google with frozen cables. Here return your post in this thread, Google a hodgepodge, nothing about snowblowers.

The Husqvarna Crowns have "Premium Grade Cables". Could that be to address this issue?

Re: The Role Of Impellers on Snowblower Performance
#2   Oct 14, 2010 6:13 am
Shryp wrote:
One of my snowblowers has no cables.

The other one has only a throttle cable...


How does it operate the traction control lever and the drive control lever?
Re: Repainting a snowblower bucket
#3   Oct 14, 2010 4:23 am
Bill_H wrote:
Don't powder coat it!

I'm currently restoring a 48" Case Snocaster that will be my primary snow removal machine. After disassembly, I took a look at the inside of the bucket and decided I would not be able to do a really good job with a wirebrush, so last week I took it to a local guy who powder coats professionally, as my compressor is too small. He sandblasts most things before powder coating and has all the equipment for that.

We were discussing the type of finish I should use to get maximum durability and rust protection. He mentioned that he had powder coated a plow for a friend and after 3 years it looked horrible. Powder coat sounds great, it's very hard and very smooth, but it does not penetrate seams at all. What happens is you get a little bit of water in a seam or a scratch elsewhere and you get rust underneath the powder coat, which then peels off. He told me to not even ask him to powder coat it. Since he's a pro, I took him at his word. That night I was googling to see what else I could do and by chance happened across a discussion on an auto body forum where a guy tried having a frame powder coated as part of a restoral project. His story of the powder coat failure matched just what the pro had told me. Powder coating is great but not for everything.

Sandblast it, wirebrush if you can't, clean it, then treat the rust with a phosphoric acid product, then use an epoxy primer. Warning: it's not cheap and you need a spray gun. Then cover with a few coats of enamel with hardener added.

Since I don't have a spray gun and I'm stuck with rattle cans, the epoxy is out. I'll use self etching then hi fill to smooth out the little pits, and rattle can enamel. I'm doing my auger and bucket the same color so I can touch up any scratches as they appear. I don't want to go through this whole process again.



That was the type of claim made by POR (paint over rust) for auto chassis. It is very common on low-moderate cost restorations (I don't really know the details of high end restorations).
Honda Observations
#4   Oct 14, 2010 4:14 am
There have been many posts about how great the Honda snowblowers are. While I couldn't test one in the snow or even start one (none were prepped), I did get to see a few.

Some things are different. For instance, it has a manual worm chute direction crank. However, rather than a thin rod skewed at an odd angle with a wound wire serving as the worm, this has a machined worm gear and a shaft suitable for an automotive steering column complete with universal joint. It is very smooth if a rather long 5 1/4 turns lock to lock.

The auger is also a bit different. The blades are pretty thick and the teeth are bent over. This probably chews up snow more aggressively and may be a benefit on frozen snow, although no one has reported a problem with other augers. It is also a very open design like the Ariens.

These are the Ariens' and Husqvarna Crown'sfor comparison:

This is something you don't see on most snowblowers. It is the oil fill for the hydrostatic drive. The hydrostatic drive would let the Honda creep along in heavy snow slower than a typical friction disc system, letting it be a bit more effective in pentrating hard snow without riding up or handling large snow levels or heavy snow without becoming overhelmwed.

Because it wasn't running I wasn't able to measure impeller speed. The impeller itself looks rigid enough but otherwise nothing special. The impeller housing gap may be slightly smaller than other brands, but nothing very obvious and it doesn't look like enough to make a difference.

These area Toro and Deere impellers for comparison

The console shows the chute rotation lever to the right. It is a bit low; low enough for my wife to comment that she wondered if I could operate it comfortably.

None of the models on display, a 24" and 28" wheeled and 28" and 32" tracked, had any steering and all were a bear to move around, even in the showroom. The salesman wrestled with them.

Net, they appear well made with some interesting features but none that should dramatically improve snow removal. The Husqvarna Crowns drive their impellers at 1600rpm, 5000 ft/min tip speed. If Honda is doing the same that would give it a longer range and some extra capacity over units that didn't. The hydrostatic drive, unique in the US market to Honda and one Husqvarna model, would give it the ability to move more slowly though snow letting it deal with particularly challenging conditions better than a snow blower that didn't have that feature.

Is it worth a $1000 or higher premium compared to competitive units? That is probably an individual decision.

Re: The Role Of Impellers on Snowblower Performance
#5   Oct 14, 2010 1:18 am
snowmachine wrote:
• I like my controls but I haven't really experienced others.  Keep in mind that if you don't keep your blower in a heated shed the cables can freeze up.  This can be mitigated with some methods but be aware it can happen.


Which cables froze? Every snowblower has cables for the auger and drive. This sounds a bit unusual.
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