Most reliable snow blower?

[kctyphoon]

Love my Yamaha YS624 from the early 90s. Got it free from my Dad who was the 2nd owner. Need to put new belts in it, didn't have time since I got it when winter was already started but it still works fine. It just shoots like a Craftsman does instead of a Yamaha.

Barely used it in January but used it enough in the last two days to make up for that. 1.5' of the white s*** fell and calling possibly for another foot Thursday.

This summer its going to get a tear down with some more new parts and maintenance that's overdue.



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I did this to my YS624 -

Throws light snow as high as my second story roof...

 

[timbitca]

I did this to my YS624 -

Throws light snow as high as my second story roof...

That's a great idea, would have never thought about that. I'll have to add that to my to-do list. Definitely won't have time to do it for this storm, but I may have time to get to it in the coming weeks, if not hopefully I remember this summer.

 

[chrisexv6]

It helps more in certain cases, based on the clearance between impeller and auger housing. I think the clearance on my Ariens is about 1/4" so it might help, but not as much as those with larger clearances.

Judging from the fact that I actually hit my neighbors house with small ice chunks over the weekend (luckily I didnt break any windows), throwing farther isnt necessarily a good thing

 

[cgrutt]

I like the idea alot but would be concerned about throwing impeller out of balance which could cause rapid deterioration of shaft/housing, etc. Also would consider using stainless nuts and bolts for attachment vs self tapping screws considering the environment.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

I like the idea alot but would be concerned about throwing impeller out of balance which could cause rapid deterioration of shaft/housing, etc. Also would consider using stainless nuts and bolts for attachment vs self tapping screws considering the environment.

I wouldn't worry about it... considering the mass and speed of the impellor. You could always do it on two paddles (180* apart).

 

[covert]

My 16 year old Craftsman with a Tecumseh engine is a tank. Did a full rebuild in the summer, runs like a top. Used ones are very plentiful here in the Great White North, and if the engine ever dies, I can just swap it out with another. I'd suggest looking for a used but well maintained one; we have a ton show up for sale in the spring. Also keep eyes open at yard and estate sales, or people who are downsizing (eg. older folks moving into a retirement home or smaller place with yard maintenance). Deals are out there.

 

[Bluejoe]

When it comes to tools or equipment it's best to purchase a good brand that has been around. One reason is quality of equipment and that when it breaks down or needs maintenance parts there available. Nothing against Sears but one day I needed a part for an older snowblower. The guy at counter said it's a 20 plus year machine and parts are discontinued. There was no internet or EBay at the time. This is a piece of equipment that you should only need to buy once so purchase a decent brand. Most people don't like to spend a lot of money on anything only to use it fours months out of the year. I think Ariens or toro would be first place to start. Just purchase the correct one for your needs.

 

[kctyphoon]

I wouldn't worry about it on the grounds that the snow your throwing through the impeller is not balanced to begin with..

 

[rlitman]

I like the idea alot but would be concerned about throwing impeller out of balance which could cause rapid deterioration of shaft/housing, etc. Also would consider using stainless nuts and bolts for attachment vs self tapping screws considering the environment.

The impeller is mild steel. Galvanized (or even just zinc plated for that matter) screws are more than corrosion resistant enough. Keep in mind that you're snowblowing BEFORE applying salt, not after.

I wouldn't worry about it... considering the mass and speed of the impellor. You could always do it on two paddles (180* apart).

Yes. Do two vanes, 180 degrees apart. I've never seen a snowblower impeller with an odd number of vanes. Four is the most common, though the monster at my office has 6.

I would not suggest doing more than two vanes. It just puts unnecessary drag on the engine.

 

[rlitman]

I wouldn't worry about it on the grounds that the snow your throwing through the impeller is not balanced to begin with..

That's a reasonable argument. Not sure how much cooking you do, but are you familiar with a Kitchenaid mixer? They now make a beater attachment that has a silicone wiping edge that scrapes the bowl as it turns. The genuine Kitchenaid version only has one rubber edge. The fake aftermarket ones have two (or more). What I've read, is that the extra strain from the two edged ones can damage the motor.

Kitchenaid:

Aftermarket:

 

[kctyphoon]

When I modified my impeller, I bought a new straight paddle from HD, cut to size and used self tappers I think. Left zero clearance and used the pull cord to judge which one was too tight and then just took it down with a rasp.. figured friction would do the rest and let them wear in. My thrower NEVER clogs, and like I said, throws snow higher than anything else I've ever owned.

One of the cops even stopped to complain cause it was going so high in one direction, the wind was blowing some back into the street.. police hate that here in jersey. It's funny, when I lived in Staten Island and Brooklyn, you shoveled snow INTO the street so the plows could push it away. In Jersey they act like you're planting an I.E.D on the roadway god forbid any snow touches the pavement.

 

[kctyphoon]

The impeller is mild steel. Galvanized (or even just zinc plated for that matter) screws are more than corrosion resistant enough. Keep in mind that you're snowblowing BEFORE applying salt, not after.



Yes. Do two vanes, 180 degrees apart. I've never seen a snowblower impeller with an odd number of vanes. Four is the most common, though the monster at my office has 6.

I would not suggest doing more than two vanes. It just puts unnecessary drag on the engine.

I'd respectfully disagree with this.. it's really a machine designed to throw weight, and be operated under some degree of strain, like a generator.. still, if it's not a powerful engine, just use a penny as a spacer between the added paddle and housing if that's a concern. The actual size the paddles wind up being cut down to are very small. Much smaller than you'd imagine.. The added weight is really insignificant. Once installed, If you can pull the cord without feeling any strain or resistance, there should not be any problem. I left mine slightly snug, and after running my thrower though one cleanup, I could not even feel any drag afterwards when I pulled the pull cord. I've had mine like this for 2 seasons I think, not including this one (since I still haven't needed to use it yet). It really does prevent any ice build up, and just helps to remove a bit more snow..

I always enjoy the "holy ****" look on people's faces when they drive around seeing most people's machines throwing snow 5 feet away, and then they pass my house.. lol

 

[rlitman]

Disagree with the drag part? I agree that if it doesn't fight you when you pull the cord, you should be good to go. Ok, how about this wording? "Any more than two rubber wipers is not beneficial."

As for spacing, when I shot the screws in mine, the rubber shifted a little, and the whole impeller wanted to stick. I trimmed the tips of the rubber with my Fein tool until it just scraped the housing. You could hear it rubbing when you turned it over by hand, but not any more after the first serious use.

 

[Advan]

I've seen it all, and I'm going with Yamaha, Honda, and 25+ year old Ariens. Everything else is light-gauge, Chinese-engined ****.

 

[oldldh]

SNOW???

What is that???

I'm unfamiliar with that term...

What could it be???

(We're having a cold snap at the moment...)

Mid 60's...

Mid 70's by the weekend...

 

[MikeF2316]

The impeller is mild steel. Galvanized (or even just zinc plated for that matter) screws are more than corrosion resistant enough. Keep in mind that you're snowblowing BEFORE applying salt, not after.



Yes. Do two vanes, 180 degrees apart. I've never seen a snowblower impeller with an odd number of vanes. Four is the most common, though the monster at my office has 6.

I would not suggest doing more than two vanes. It just puts unnecessary drag on the engine.

Mine has 3 blades. It's hard to get a good picture, with the gearcase being so shiny and in front of it. But now you can say you have seen one with an odd number of vanes.

 

[kctyphoon]

Mine has 3 blades. It's hard to get a good picture, with the gearcase being so shiny and in front of it. But now you can say you have seen one with an odd number of vanes.

The old yamaha's have a 3 blade impeller.. the small 2 stage Troy Bilt models also do.. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot are like that.

 

[cgrutt]

There are alot of three blade impellers actually. Toro, Ariens, MTD, Craftsman, John Deere, Cub Cadet all made models using them.

 

[btdobie]

Just stopped by to drop in another vote for Honda. I have an HS50 that's almost 20 years old. Never more than 2 pulls even after storage.

 

[whofan]

Toro power Max snowthrower are good machines.
NO shear pins and they don't clog up.

 

[Tonellin]

Toro power Max snowthrower are good machines.
NO shear pins and they don't clog up.

Why is no shear pins a good thing?

 

[rlitman]

The old yamaha's have a 3 blade impeller.. the small 2 stage Troy Bilt models also do.. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot are like that.

Ok then. I guess I'm not all that surprised either. All I can say is that the number of snowblower impellers I've looked at up close could be counted on my fingers and toes.

It helps more in certain cases, based on the clearance between impeller and auger housing. I think the clearance on my Ariens is about 1/4" so it might help, but not as much as those with larger clearances...

Yes, the more the clearance, the more of a difference it will make.
Closing the gap up prevents clogs, but the real reason that the snowblowers throw further with the mod is because the increased radius increases the vane tip speed.

On my Ariens, the impeller spins at 1090RPM (gauged by my laser tach with the throttle set to rabbit). Increasing the impeller diameter from 13.5" to 14" (closing the 1/4" gap), brings your tip speed from 3852FPM to 3995FPM. On the big machine at work, the gap is around 5/8", and closed, the tip speed can reach 5500FPM, which puts you into the blowing snow up and over hills territory.

 

[rlitman]

Why is no shear pins a good thing?

Because shear pins ****. They're a cheap/easy solution to a man-made problem. The problem is that many machines use a shaft off the impeller that drives a worm gear that runs the auger, and a jam in the auger will damage the worm gear without shear pins. But that's not the only way to do it, just one of the cheapest.

Another option is to run a shaft with a belt driving the auger directly. The machine at work has separate PTO powered hydraulic motors for both the auger and the impeller. That arrangement allows you to drive them in reverse to clear a jam without leaving the cab.

 

[polizei1]

I've been using a Toro Power Max for a few years now, works great, no complaints.

 

[timbitca]

The new Yamaha units don't have shear pins either. From what I understand they aren't available in the USA?

 

[kctyphoon]

The new Yamaha units don't have shear pins either. From what I understand they aren't available in the USA?

No, nearest place to get one is Canada if you have the means..

 

[maxpower_hd]

Well I have an update. I guess I should not have posted about my 1964 Ariens because the next day I broke the handle off. I was able to tack weld it and get through the rest of the storm but it broke again right at the end of what I had to do.

Now (another thread) I had to clear the snow raked off the roof with a torn bicep and my machine is now broken. I went and got me an Ariens Platimum 24 SHO. I have to say it is a BEAST! So the old one is still running and can be fixed. But I'm thinking 53 years might be enough. Especially since now I know how good this new one works.

I was sending packed snow bank snow 35 feet and plastering my neighbors house with it! I have to be more careful now. LOL

 

[Skin]

Why is no shear pins a good thing?

They don't use a purpose made shear pin, they never have. They've always used a grade 5 bolt but if you jam something you can still break it. I've also seen them not break and continue to practically cut the shaft of the auger in two which is impressive. Toro builds a very strong auger gear case.

That said just because another brand uses shear pins doesn't mean they always work either. I had this gem last year.

<img src="https://image.ibb.co/dm7fwF/IMG_1784.jpg" alt="IMG_1784" border="0">

 

[AJ1978]

TORO 421 I used this little 4 HP MONSTER when I was a kid growing up, still works and is a backup for my parents.

Most of these new machines are just not built to last, I am following this thread. I have a early 2000's MTD 10 30 its a good machine but quality even then is lacking.

 

[timbitca]

Well, something had to give at some point. I've been bragging the thing so much here that you knew it had to break at some point. Throttle cable on the Yamaha snapped just as I was finishing up tonight. I did sort of abuse it this week though...

For starters here's what the yard looked like on Jan 25th, I snapped this picture to send to my family up north in jest because we had gotten a "storm" that morning, mind you we hadn't gotten snow in nearly a month, and they had about 7' of the white stuff up home. (I might have poked the giant here, think I'm paying for it now)

Got this dumping on Feb 10th, sign of things to come... Old girl blew through this like nothing.

On Sunday/Monday we got this, went out twice to blow on Sunday and still had this to deal with on Monday afternoon.

This was the backyard after I had to re-route my little road (little harder to see because of the lighting but it's on the left):

And this was today, another full foot of snow fell again:

Yamaha took it like a champ though, takes to snow like a fat kid to candy, the more you shove in it's face the more it gobbles down. Blew right through this bank the nice plow man left for us:

Look at the snow on the other side of my garage!

Just as I was getting done widening the driveway the damn throttle cable snapped, ***** especially that I just replaced it 3 months ago.

No, nearest place to get one is Canada if you have the means..

I was probably going to buy one of the new 624's if my father wouldn't have given me his. A friend of mine has a new 928 and it's a beast! I'd love a new one, but even if I throw 200$ of parts at this one per year I'm still good for 10 years before paying a new one.

If there's ever talk of them leaving the market again though, I will be buying one for sure.

I might need your help too if you can... Will need to order a new throttle cable (again) and while it worked the way I had it setup, I'm still not sure I had it in there the right way and looking at the blown up diagram, I think I'm missing a few small parts and I just can't visualize how they go together.

tl;dr we got over 2 feet of snow in a week (not counting what the wind brought to me), and I broke my blower.

 

[Ike4160]

Love my Honda 928 track drive. It has cut through multiple feet of snow and starts every time. I don't even bother getting it out of the garage unless there is atleast a foot of snow. Tractor with plow does the small stuff.

I installed an hour meter on it and logged 10 hours during first weekend of ownership.

 

[kctyphoon]

Well, something had to give at some point. I've been bragging the thing so much here that you knew it had to break at some point. Throttle cable on the Yamaha snapped just as I was finishing up tonight. I did sort of abuse it this week though...

For starters here's what the yard looked like on Jan 25th, I snapped this picture to send to my family up north in jest because we had gotten a "storm" that morning, mind you we hadn't gotten snow in nearly a month, and they had about 7' of the white stuff up home. (I might have poked the giant here, think I'm paying for it now)

Got this dumping on Feb 10th, sign of things to come... Old girl blew through this like nothing.

On Sunday/Monday we got this, went out twice to blow on Sunday and still had this to deal with on Monday afternoon.

This was the backyard after I had to re-route my little road (little harder to see because of the lighting but it's on the left):

And this was today, another full foot of snow fell again:

Yamaha took it like a champ though, takes to snow like a fat kid to candy, the more you shove in it's face the more it gobbles down. Blew right through this bank the nice plow man left for us:

Look at the snow on the other side of my garage!

Just as I was getting done widening the driveway the damn throttle cable snapped, ***** especially that I just replaced it 3 months ago.



I was probably going to buy one of the new 624's if my father wouldn't have given me his. A friend of mine has a new 928 and it's a beast! I'd love a new one, but even if I throw 200$ of parts at this one per year I'm still good for 10 years before paying a new one.

If there's ever talk of them leaving the market again though, I will be buying one for sure.

I might need your help too if you can... Will need to order a new throttle cable (again) and while it worked the way I had it setup, I'm still not sure I had it in there the right way and looking at the blown up diagram, I think I'm missing a few small parts and I just can't visualize how they go together.

tl;dr we got over 2 feet of snow in a week (not counting what the wind brought to me), and I broke my blower.

If you need any pics, just let me know what you need..

If this helps any in the meantime, I keep all these pics saved on my iPad. Luckily the website name is on them. Check it out.

http://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-ys624t-snow-thrower-1988_model9436/partslist/?model_q=ys624

Parts are pretty scarce as I'm sure you know.. we have to pray the tracks never break.

Although, there's always this option. Only new machine in the states I know of, and happens to be right by me.. been on eBay since last year as far as I know...

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=252710674113

 

[timbitca]

If you need any pics, just let me know what you need..

If this helps any in the meantime, I keep all these pics saved on my iPad. Luckily the website name is on them. Check it out.

http://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-ys624t-snow-thrower-1988_model9436/partslist/?model_q=ys624

Thanks!

I have all the schematics. I found a zip file years ago online with a bunch of manuals. When my father gave me the blower I sent them to the print shop at work and had them put in a binder to keep out in the garage. Comes in handy.

If you look at the control cable schematics, I don't have parts 11-18 and I think that might be part of my problem, but without having seen them put together (father had broken the cable also and the guy who "fixed' it for him did it half assed.) So I don't have anything to go on besides the schematic.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

[kctyphoon]

Thanks!

I have all the schematics. I found a zip file years ago online with a bunch of manuals. When my father gave me the blower I sent them to the print shop at work and had them put in a binder to keep out in the garage. Comes in handy.

If you look at the control cable schematics, I don't have parts 11-18 and I think that might be part of my problem, but without having seen them put together (father had broken the cable also and the guy who "fixed' it for him did it half assed.) So I don't have anything to go on besides the schematic.

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Either of these help? Not sure I captured what you need.

That little latch deal just allows both handles to be held engaged with just holding the left handle down.. nothing like removing snow with one hand..

 

[94EG8]

The problem is generally not with the block or crank, its the bits bolted on around it. They're garbage, comparatively speaking. One of the biggest issues is the use of metal tanks, being super cheap, and not cleaning them. Powermore (MTD) sticks a magnet in them to collect filings which then just sit in the tank. LCT (Ariens/Husqvarna) doesn't do anything so they migrate into the carb and cause running problems. Also plenty of broken recoils and dry rotting rubber. A Tecumseh isn't going to win any innovation awards and stinks to hell when running but they were reliably built and would run for decades. Im not seeing remotely close to the same reliability in the new stuff. Some of the designs make you want to throw the whole thing into the dumpster too like having to dismantle most of the engine to replace an electric starter.

Honestly, we had far fewer problems with those Chinese carbs than we had with the Tecumsehs. I did worked on some Powermores. I can't remember if I worked on any LCTs or not but I did go to a training seminar on LCT. The only cool thing I remember was they either had or were planning to build engines that had an identical footprint to the old Snow Kings so they could be used as a direct replacement. For what it's worth I've seen tons of Tecumseh Snow Kings throw rods. I've seen tons of carburetor issues with them, seen lots of exhaust valves too tight, mufflers that break off from the excess vibration and tons of broken recoil starters. Yes the carbs are simple enough to service (especially compared to the old B&S Sno Guard FloJet carbs), but the bowls are paper thin and develop leaks, the original brass floats again are paper thin and develop leaks. The engines vibrate so bad mixture screws never seem to stay adjusted and on the newer fixed jet versions they're set so lean you need to run with choke on the first notch far longer than you should have to. The old OHV Snow Kings for the late '80s used to kick back so badly they would break your wrist (or in some cases your jaw) Tecumseh's fix? Retard the mechanical timing one tooth. That has to be one of the biggest hacks I've ever seen. I have done a couple of them and it does work and the engine runs well after, but I can't believe they wouldn't come out with redesigned camshaft. Tecumseh dug their own grave and I wont miss them. I will say they did have a good ignition system though.

This is an old thread but Briggs aren't much better anymore since everything for the last few years has also started coming out of their China facilities but their QC seems set to a higher standard. Not too much to complain about with the Loncin Toro's either.

We used to put quite a few cams in B&S engines, the compression release would fall off sometimes.

Just stopped by to drop in another vote for Honda. I have an HS50 that's almost 20 years old. Never more than 2 pulls even after storage.

Honda discontinued the HS50 over 30 years ago, that thing is older than you think.

 

[Skin]

I don't remember any Tecumseh OHV engines under 13HP until around 2000.

Occasional mechanic problem is to be expected, they made millions upon millions and they were made to a low price point. Snapped conn rods became a far bigger concern during low oil levels or being run up an incline. I honestly cant say I've seen more than maybe 3 or 4 out of many hundreds that chucked the rod with proper oil. Also never had carb problems that any other brand didn't suffer from though they are harder to bring back after fuel varnish. Never saw a leaking aluminum bowl either and i'd take that "paper thin" bowl over the garbage steel of the China carbs any day. I still like them for their simplicity although I agree completely they dug their hole when they couldn't be bothered to innovate. As far as the new stuff, trust me things are breaking far faster than anything on a Tecumseh ever did. Imagine instead of seeing the occasional fantastic failure every single engine manufactured during a 2 year period has metal filings in the fuel system and crankcase. Gets old pretty quick.

 

[timbitca]

Either of these help? Not sure I captured what you need.

That little latch deal just allows both handles to be held engaged with just holding the left handle down.. nothing like removing snow with one hand..

Helps a lot actually. And I now remember using it one-handed many moons ago. Didn't really think much of it recently, put that can't be my problem either, so I won't bother ordering the parts seeing as I don't absolutely need them now.

 

[Bluejoe]

Yes I'm liking that big blue beast. I want one

 

[kctyphoon]

Helps a lot actually. And I now remember using it one-handed many moons ago. Didn't really think much of it recently, put that can't be my problem either, so I won't bother ordering the parts seeing as I don't absolutely need them now.

Yea completely removed, everything still functions.. there are a few vids posted on YouTube showing how to solder some of the attachment pins back onto the cable if that helps.. hopefully if you need a new cable they can still be ordered from Yamaha.

This is what ***** having a machine like this that's so old. They rarely break, but the smallest thing can become a big problem if you can't find the parts.. good luck.

I heard a rumour that the tracks f on the new models will fit the old machines, but I don't know if that's actually been confirmed or not.. I occasionally look on eBay and Craigslist to see if a cheap parts machine turns up. It's very annoying when I see the same model thrower in good shape, with a very low asking price of like $200, and it winds up being halfway across the country..

 

[finn]

Subaru is closing down production of their industrial products division, which includes Suburu engines for lawn and garden applications . They will be done by September 2017.

Yamaha picked up some of the larger v-twin commercial lawn care engine product lines, but you won't see Subaru engines in new snow blowers.