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jrom

Name Joe Romberger
Email Address private
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Gender Male
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Location Northern Michigan/Sleeping Bear Dunes
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Points 6
Number of Posts 6
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Date Joined Dec 18, 2013
Date Last Access Mar 5, 2015 5:56 pm
jrom's last  
Re: Have you ever asked why Honda snowblowers are so expensive?
#1   Mar 3, 2015 4:31 pm
Can anyone tell me how to insert paragraph breaks? It's not via the return on my keyboard and I can't find anything reading through "my account". Html code?

Got it.

Re: Have you ever asked why Honda snowblowers are so expensive?
#2   Mar 3, 2015 4:29 pm
mml4 wrote:
Hi Guys! With regard to snow equipment I could never get myself to pull the trigger. The engine is without question the best there is but for me that is where it ends.No zerks on the auger,light gage steel on the chassis, short control handles, no differential offered on the wheeled models and a rediculously high price has always put me off. They also terrorize their dealers so you can't get a decent discount. To answer the question posed at the beginning of the thread they are so expensive because folks have been willing to pay for them.The better question is why hasn't Yamaha gone after them in the American market? Marc


Not singling nml4 out in particular, but generally to those (myself included) who question Honda's high price vs. value. First,

1. I am not a total Honda fan-boy (I hate the term, but it's slung out there a lot). I do like (and in some cases love) a lot of Honda products and that goes way back to the late 60s/early 70s.

2. I do not like the high price of their snowblowers - mainly because I'm making just a little more money now as I did in 1991 when I bought a new HS828 track blower, and I don't know how long I can keep it going as my main machine - hopefully a lot longer. If I had to (or really wanted to) buy a new machine, I couldn't afford a Honda right now. When I bought mine in 1991 for $1,397.00, I made 7, $200 monthly payments from spring until fall. I was going to have to pay $50 a push for plowing and I clear snow at least once a week, sometimes up to 5 times a week, so that would add up in a hurry. but to address nml4's comments...

3. "No zerks on the auger". While I would like to have zerks, it's not that hard to take out the augers and grease/anti-seize them. I've done it and it's pretty darn easy. The first time I did was after 22 years of steady, heavy use, and they weren’t seized up. My blower is garage stored (non-heated) so that may help.

4. "Light gage steel on the chassis". After 24 years of using an HS828 every year in heavy, wet snow country, I can't comprehend where the steel gauge is not heavy enough. I'm open to hear about the failures there, but I don't see it - not even a little bit, and I've hit my share of trees and other things in my yard (when clearing paths for firewood, or lp tank access.

5. "Short control handles". If you mean lower height for the average American, then I agree. I'm 6' 1" (I do have long arms, but my knuckles don't drag on the ground...yet). I do have to bend down some on the down stroke of the chute control, but really, no big deal. If you mean the actual handles are short, then that's another story. I don't see it. They are 9.5" long.

6. "No differential offered on the wheeled model" - Is there one on the tracked version? Compared to a neighbors 1 year old Husqvarna (I do love their Swedish made chain saws), my 24 year old 8 horse tracked blower is a dream to control. My Honda handles one helluva lot of snow - and well - especially at the EOD.

7. My only comment on the dealer statement is my local dealer - and they are really good folks - is I don't like how they assume you don't know anything mechanical, and they will charge you for items/services you don't ask for. They have never serviced my blower, but I had some warranty work done on my Honda lawnmower and a Stihl trimmer and both times, they added things I didn't ask for. Other than that, I don't expect too much of a discount (if any) on Honda products. I do like that they had a layaway plan.

8. Yamaha is a non-issue for me - unless/untill they re-enter the US market...with product and more importantly, parts because_everything_needs parts eventually.

Re: HONDA SNOWBLOWERS
#3   Feb 11, 2015 4:35 pm
ivysaur01 wrote:
hey banny would you mind stating how much you paid for your Honda 828 back in the day? I'm amazing at how long the machine has managed to last. im in the market for a new snow blower and i have heard nothing but great things about honda and their engines. How much maintenance have you had to perform if any on it?


Not Banny, but I bought a first-gen HS828 in October of 1991 for $1,397.00. It's in its 24th winter and we average 190" a year with last year at 324" (27'). My driveway and parking areas equal out to about 650 feet. There are times I wish it was at least a 9HP, but it has been a great machine.

I put $300 into it two years ago when one of the clutch springs broke and I decided to replace both clutch springs, both auger springs, both belts, both auger and drive cables and three bearings in the auger housing, along with the crawler pipe (track axle) in the rear as one of the original adjuster bolts broke off (my fault) about twenty years ago and I had it welded back with a 5/16 SAE carriage bolt...thought it was time for a new one. for that 300, I also added 20 shear pins (bolts) and nuts, springs for the chute, auger and speed levers and the fuel gauge emblem.

Normal maintenance has been an oil change every fall and a spark plug every two to three years. Oh and to make me feel just a bit older, I was 33 when I purchased it and I'm now 57. Fun!

Re: Honda HS828 Surging
#4   Feb 22, 2014 7:19 pm
I've been typing on a phone, so sorry about not being clear. As the others, I agree about cleaning every opening on the carb with a wire (I used a torch cleaning kit from Menard's). Mine still surged after this cleaning' and then started backfiring. I ordered a new carb and gaskets, then cleaned the floaters in the tank before the new carb arrived...at least I have a spare OEM carb on the shelf now.
Re: Honda HS828 Surging
#5   Feb 21, 2014 11:27 am
My HS828 (1991) had this problem also a couple of years ago. I tried the gas cap trick, but it didn't help. I disassembled and cleaned the carb, still surged. Now this will seem strange and I should have known better, but in the 19-20 years of using this blower, I never drained the gas - I know, not a good idea - but it always started every winter. I did however start it about every 2-4 weeks throughout the year...maybe that helped. I noticed little bits of debris floating/hovering at the bottom of the tank. At that time, the fuel filter/joint (JOINT, FUEL TANK (Honda Code 1427459) was listed as obsolete, with no alternative part available, so I drained the tank, cut a small piece of wood about 3/8" square and 12" long and inverted a wad of duct tape on the end, then tap/stuck all of the junk on the tank bottom. Refilled with fresh gas, started up and it hasn't surged for the last two years. You never know, it could be this.
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