If kids are light infantry of snow removal, then snowblowers are heavy armored troops. I will take a snowblower tank regiment over light infantry any time. No discipline problems and can go through some very nasty stuff. Plus, tanks can fight at night when light infantry is sleeping.
That's nice when you're young yourself. I spent over $1K in co-pay on rehab for epicondylitis (sp?) from starting and muscling around an 8HP snowblower. Now I have one of the little single stage two-stroke ones that weighs no more than a lawnmower. It may only shave half a foot off the side of the path per pass, but it gets the job done when & where the tractor won't.
We had a light snow the other day and I tried out the tractor. Good thing, after a few minutes the brakes disintegrated. Now that it's light out I have to jack the thing up and install the new brake band before the big storm starts at noon.
Jim Wilkins
What's a "snowblower" ??
Rex Texas
I bought my snowblower from the military, it is a regular Bolens, but very heavy. The motor on it was bad and I replaced it with a 8 HP Tecumseh Snow-King HMSK-80.
While it is definitely very heavy and cumberson to turn around, I installed an electric starter on it and starting it is not a problem at all.
Was that a garden tractor?
An observation...
I'll be 55 in January, and was born, raised and still live in the W Los Angeles area.
This morning just before dawn I had need to go out... and I'm hereby proud to announce that for the very first time in my entire life, I had need for, and actually would have used a windshield ice scraper, had I had one.
Call me a lightweight or whatever, and I really don't want to be an asshat about it, but I couldn't imagine having to deal with shoveling snow, owning/maintaining/operating (metal containing) snowblowers, icy roads, salt damage and the other associated, often dangerous, nuisances that go with 'real' winter weather.
Erik
What's "snow" ??
Rich Palm Beach County, Florida
You can't shovel a mud slide or an earthquake.
Doug White (who lives near Boston & left work at noon today to avoid the impending blizard)
Snow................... The lovely white stuff that keeps the riff-raff out of the North Woods.
We have two seasons here... fire & flood.
Unless you live in the sticks, neither is an issue... other than the relentless TV coverage. On occasion, smoke is visible in the distance, and we've had a light ash dusting or two when the winds are right.
Earthquakes... well, I've been through 2 now, and other than cleaning up a little broken glass and patching a crack or two, thats been about it. The TV folks sniff out and sensationalize the absolute worst damage there is and make it generally look like the whole state is level. (Yea yea, I know they have the potential to be ugly, and even keep some emergency supplies around just in case... but worried? Not particularly. YMMV)
Erik
Your newscasters have earthquakes, fire and flood; ours here in New England use the weather to work themselves into a lather. When I see the weather forecast dominating the local news, I wonder how a couple inches of snow, or temps in the single digits, in Maine in January became news.
Yep, this one, a 1980's Sears GT18:
It's a miserable thing to work on out in the cold, all the mechanicals are hidden between the tall frame rails. Like an XKE the first step is to remove all the sheet metal.
I replaced the turf tires with ag tires so it sort of looks like a real tractor now, at least its tracks do. I tested the brakes by playing snowmobile with it out in the woods.
I considered a larger tractor like a Kubota but honestly it would only mean doing free favors for everyone I know. Mine has single-acting cylinders so it lifts but doesn't dig. That's fine for clearing snow because the bucket floats over high spots and a good excuse to get out of earthmoving jobs.
Quite the blizzard going on out there now. Hope I'm ready. Jim Wilkins
And away from the ski slopes.
I skipped the meeting, but the Memos showed that Erik wrote on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:42:59 -0800 in rec.crafts.metalworking :
LOL.
I have read an analysis of "Why Silicon Valley" that basically boiled down to two things: weather and Big Emergencies. Back when "High tech" was Tubes, the "128 Loop" was where all the action was - and that is around Boston. There, the weather is cyclical, there really are four seasons, and you plan and prepare according. The Big Emergencies are winter storms. Also predictable, inevitable and all things taken, pretty limited and survivable. But in the San Jose/Silicon Valley area, things are different. For one, a sunny day in San Jose is routine. So you don't get the urge to cut class - err, work - to go to the beach or just "get out and enjoy this fine weather." There will be another sunny day. Like to morrow. And the day after, and the day after that and "aaaaggghhhh! how much of this can one person stand!!??!?!?!?! Its driving me MaD!!?!" But the big emergencies in Silicon Valley are earthquakes. Unpredictable, not limited, and possibly massively not survivable. the computer nerds out west, were "living on the edge" (due to the threat of earthquakes), while simultaneously being task focused "tomorrow will be another sunny day."
I also remember visiting a friend in Silicon Valley, the week it "froze" and I do mean froze. Coming from Seattle (which had just had
4 inches of snow and freezing temps scramble the city), temps which were all the way down to 30 at night was "no big deal." But my friend had acclimatized, and as a Christmas present, I sprang for dinner and motels rooms to let her thaw out.pyotr
-- pyotr filipivich We will drink no whiskey before its nine. It's eight fifty eight. Close enough!
Funny you mentioned the XKE. I have a '67 roadster. Used to think it was hard to work on, but once you have worked on some of the newer cars with nine miles of wire harness, heater cores buried under piles of snap off/break off plastic, and sharp edges everywhere, the XKE is a piece of cake. I do have the front end/bonnet setup to come off by pulling 2 pins for easy access. Dump the archaic rad fan, the Lucas alternator,starter and fuel pump, and the car becomes very reliable. Not to many other cars 40 years old that you can still get every last part for including all of the body panels.
Mine came with an electric starter but I seldom bothered getting out the cord to use it. After about five years it would no longer function so I took it off to fix it but haven't yet found my round Tuit after
18 years. The motor usually stars on the first pull so I don't miss the electric starter. Gerry :-)} London, Canada
The 120V electric starters that you have to drag out a cord for are utterly useless. If you're too weak to pull the recoil starter, you're also too weak to safely handle the snowblower.
The top end "pro" snowblowers use 12V electric start with onboard battery, and those are useful if you're a "pro" or doing large areas where you are frequently stopping and starting.
IMHO, it is the sexiest looking car ever built.
Dump the archaic rad fan, the Lucas alternator,starter and fuel pump, and the car becomes very reliable.
Q- Why do the Brits drink warm beer? A- Refrigeration by Lucas.
Not to many other cars 40 years old that you can still get every last part for including all of the body panels.
Corvette.
Do you know why the Brits never went in for computer manufacturing?
They couldn't figure out how to make them leak oil...
Doug White
They had to settle for leaking money:
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.