Let's talk snow blowers... (Ellsworth: moving, eat, vinyl siding)

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

3X Three-Stage Snow Thrower: Heavy-Duty Commercial Snow Blowers

Researched it... I don't need a three stage. I got along great with the Toro 2-stage for the last four years, and through the 155 inches we got last winter.

But even if I did, I don't have the money for one---not after having to buy an SUV in May, a RID dinghy in July, and a new 6hp Tohatsu out board and a Torqeedo Electric outboard in August. The Tohatsu was unexpected because I expected the HOnda to continue to work after being fixed for a ethanol problem, but then it blew a head gasket. The Torqeedo would have done the job if I hadn't had to tow the dinghy, against the wind, against the tide, six miles back to the ramp and trailer.

The Torqeedo is back-up to a long distance use gas outboard. All that came from getting becalmed 2.5 miles from land, and drifting with tide toward the rocks, and having eventually been rescued by the USCG---not something we want to have to repeat---ever.

So as much as a 3 stage might have been interesting as a "really going overboard event", I've already been crying all summer.

[slyfox2]

Two problems for recent purchase small 4 cycle engines:

1. The EPA in their desire to get the horrible emissions of small engines down have forced the carburator jets to become much much smaller. Now they sip gas, but its takes almost nothing to clog them up. Most people don't know this. So any amount of water in the gas, gum in the gas, or anything other than gas, will make them erratic. People who have boats with out boards know this all too well from horrible experience.

2. The EPA has allowed ethanol to "enrich the gas"(destroy is a better word, since in addition to everything else, your MPG is also down by about 3-6 from straight gas at 10%). Ethanol is a very very powerful solvent. It dissolves plastic and rubber parts, and its also a very very powerful water absorber. In addition, ethanol causes the gas itself to deteriorate and break down very very quickly, starting in about 14 days.

While they have additives to try to keep the gas from deteriorating, they can do nothing about the effect of the gas becoming an H20 sponge. The additives cannot keep the ethanol from turning the fuel lines, the plastic fuel tanks we store gas in, or the gaskets in the carburator from turning into a gooey sticky mess that will clog up the tiny little jets.

---So if you cannot get ethanol free gas then you run the additive, and you drain the tank after each snowstorm, and you run the machine until the float bowl empties. And you only use a 1 gallon storage tank, and you empty that and start again after every month. And you also have to use Hi-Test, since the deterioration of the gas takes a bit longer, because the octane is higher.

Its a mess.

But if you have a really old machine, the #1 doesn't apply. And to a large extent, you may have less problems with #2, because the carb jet is bigger and won't be as affected by gunk or water in the gas.

The best solution is buy only ethanol free gas. But you may not be able to find it. You can get it at small airports since the FAA has superseded the EPA and made it against the law to put ethanol enriched gas in airplanes. Gee I wonder why?

Google it... Here are some I just did:

https://sayanythingblog.com/entry/et...winter-storms/

http://www.snowblowersatjacks.com/Fu...revention.aspx

http://blog.briggsandstratton.com/av...thanol-damage/

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Thanks sly fox. It's all true.

[399083453]

Originally Posted by slyfox2

My geezer who works on my motors likes them. MTD makes the motors, but then MTD make a lot of motors, just like Tohatsu make a lot of different company's out boards.

MTD doesnt make motors. If it says MTD on the motor, its a LCT motor with a MTD sticker

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by 399083453

MTD doesnt make motors. If it says MTD on the motor, its a LCT motor with a MTD sticker

Who is LCT?

[maineborzoi]

Originally Posted by slyfox2

Who is LCT?

Liquid combustion technology.
Here is more on it. LCT USA: Liquid Combustion Technology | Global by Design

[slyfox2]

When you hear that somebody said the lawn mower or snow blower or outboard or other small 4 cycle engine(EPA also outlawed 2 cycle engines below something like 50 HP) ran great at first and then it stopped working and they had to get a lot of repair, you know right away that they were running ethanol gas, and that they weren't putting the stabilizers into it. It had nothing to do with the manufacturer. The manufacturers are cr@ping bricks about this, but the regulations prevent them from doing anything about it. And when they say that the company made the older machines much better, you know it is the new machine requirements made your "ever friendly EPA" that have done them in.

Our wonderful Government EPA, owned by the corn and other lobbies, have done everything they could to make gas something that you don't want to use, or that will cost you a fortune to keep fixing the equipment that uses it.

OH By the way, the government requires the manufacturers to say that their motors are compliant to the current level of ethanol "enrichment". There is no way that the manufacturer can make this happen with a small engine since they can't put in the same stuff that your car has to protect it from ethanol poisoning(sealed systems, bigger jets, fuel injection, etc). So the manufacturers say that its OK with ethanol, but this is just trash talk required by the US Guv to sell the motor in the USA.

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by maineborzoi

Liquid combustion technology.
Here is more on it. LCT USA: Liquid Combustion Technology | Global by Design

Little China Trash? My other complaint. China makes cr@p and we buy it because they own most of the USA's debt. China can make very high quality things, like Apple computers, but the manufacturers have to be in their factories watching them like a hawk.

Yes...Main Office:


1609 Ocean Towers
550 YAN AN Road East
Shanghai, 200001, China
Telephone: +86 21 63511098
FAX: +86 21 63221101

[UpTheCreek]

Originally Posted by slyfox2

Little China TrashChina can make very high quality things, like Apple computers, but the manufacturers have to be in their factories watching them like a hawk.

Yep, certainly need to keep an eye on "them", that's for sure! I certainly agree with everything you say on the ethanol and Chinese products, bigoted as it may be.

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by UpTheCreek

Yep, certainly need to keep an eye on "them", that's for sure! I certainly agree with everything you say on the ethanol and Chinese products, bigoted as it may be.

I hate to think its method on their part.

I think its more like what you have in a new capitalistic society combined with a corrupt old bureaucracy. But you may be too young too remember the same circumstance with "made in Japan" in the 1950's and 1960's. Their stuff was so cheap that Japan actually built a town called "Usa" and then put "Made in USA" on their stuff.

I think its not the Chinese who are incapable of quality work. They have a functional space program, and they make lots of high quality electronic equipment. But unless the company that contracts with them has a very high quality inspection program, the Chinese sub contractor will try to cut corners to make a bigger buck. I think this is human nature.