Bought a Snowthrower - Any Tips?

[Hedgemaster]

I should just run it up and down my driveway this weekend to time it - run it at the slowest setting as a worst case scenario... We just had new people move in across the street - they'll think I'm a friggin' nutcase! LOL!

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Well that might be a good way to get started and then when winter hits, compare your guesstimate time with the time it really took you. Write all this down, along with the sq ft of the area you were snow blowing. That will then help you correct your estimating.

__________________
- Subscribe to my Lawn Care Marketing Blog Feed and get daily tips sent to you. Free!
Download your Free trial of Gopher Lawn Care Software.

[bruces]

how long it takes will depend on how much snow,the temperature ,and how wet the snow is .Your yard will probably take an hour max to do ,unless you really get swamped with wet snow .Most craftsman power equipment,is made by electrolux ,your blower most likely is as well .Always carry some extra shear pins with you,newspapers,cats,dogs,and children tend to eat them .I run a hockey arena ,and have to clear my fire exits with a blower ,the path I make,is about 8 feet wide,about 500 feet in length,and I can do it with our 12 h.p. 36 inch cut garbage blower [mtd pro] in about an hour if the snow is under a foot deep .

[Hedgemaster]

Thanks for the info. Every little bit helps.

This machine is made by MTD. It's identical in nearly every way to the MTD Pro that was sitting next to it in the store with the exception of the engine and the handle to operate the chute. (And it's red as opposed to black) I'm sure Sears uses different manufacturers every year, or as they get better bids to build their machines. Unfortunately, most everything built these days is crap from the start, so if I get more than 3 or 4 years out of it I'll be shocked.

[Hedgemaster]

For the last several years or so, I've come to expect the worst from each and every item I purchase. No surprises that way. Today was no exception.

I finally picked up the snowthrower last night. (good thing I bought that trailer)
The box was massive and it was very heavy/awkward to get unloaded, but I managed. Today I opened the box and checked out the manual to see what needed to be assembled... "flip up the handle, tighten, remove some pins, attach the chute, blah, blah, blah..." seems simple enough.

Well, 2 hours later and more obscene words than I've used in a long time, and I'm left with a cut open cardboard box, and a snowthrower that can not be "assembled".





See that red "post" in the photo above? The "head" of the chute is supposed to mount to that. However, when I placed the chute into it, the holes for the pin would not line up. (see below)



I tried removing it, repositioning it, pushing, twisting, swearing, beating it, talking kindly to it, removing it, repositioning it, removing it, repositioning it, removing it, repositioning it, swearing some more, throwing things, and then I finally grabbed the phone and called Sears.


If I could have found another unit elsewhere for close to the same price, I would have returned it on principal alone, but it was a great deal, so I would need to resolve this with Sears somehow. In my head, I had it all planned out that I'd request that THEY come pick this up, and DELIVER a new one to me. Keep in mind, I did not pay to have this one delivered, so I expected them to require me to return it for an exchange.

I politely explained to the manager that it wasn't as simple as returning a pair of shoes, that the item is very heavy, and that there was the hassle of using the trailer again for returning it. I exaggerated that part a bit, but honestly, I didn't want to deal with hooking up/loading the trailer to return something that was defective right from the factory.

He was very nice and long story short, he's having a new unit delivered, and they will take this one away with no delivery charge. And I didn't even have to argue with them.

Let's see... aside from my rambling on about nothing here, what can we learn from this?

Well, for one thing, don't wait until the last minute to purchase equipment you need for a job. Had it been winter and I needed this "now", I would have been screwed.

Lesson #2. Obscenities will not make improperly manufactured holes line up, no matter HOW many of them you utter, scream, or shout.






ETA:
The instructions included were HORRIBLY written, which contributed greatly to the "swear factor".

[Steve]

Last winter I think I had put together the same model. I don't remember having much of a problem with that one. But if I were putting together this one and things didn't line up, I would try running a drill through the holes to make it line up.

Would that have helped or no?

Keep us posted on how it goes.

[Hedgemaster]

Originally Posted by Steve

Last winter I think I had put together the same model. I don't remember having much of a problem with that one. But if I were putting together this one and things didn't line up, I would try running a drill through the holes to make it line up.

Would that have helped or no?

Keep us posted on how it goes.

It may have - or it may have made it too sloppy, causing unforeseen problems, which would then be "my fault" for messing with it..

If this were a used, "beater" unit, I would have tried it, but not on a brand new $1,000 unit. They can just give me one that's built correctly, thank you.

New thrower to be delivered on Thursday.

[Steve]

I totally understand. Let us know how the new one turns out. I also look forwards to your first snowfall so you can test it

[Hedgemaster]

Well, new unit was delivered last night - already assembled.
Sigh. This is not going to be good.

Sure enough, the genius who assembled it ran cables opposite of what manual states, and connecting rod for chute upside-down.

All I wanted was a new unit... in the friggin box.

Can nothing be done right any more?

[Steve]

I am sorry about that. What is the plan now?