new snow blower user

boyajm · Feb 9, 2013

I have an arien's 921 series, 28" snowblower. I find I am using way too much upper body trying to propel this forward. Am I supposed to use it with the right wheel pin in the lock position or unlocked? If is has too be locked then do I unlock it every time have to turn it?
Thanks, Mary

uglyboywith11fingers · Feb 9, 2013

leave the wheels locked for snow blowing operation. it'll be tougher turning around, but that's OK.
the only time I unlocked mine was for ease of moving it around during the off-season.

Pete

tc18ny · Feb 9, 2013

Not trying to sound negative but I bought a brand new walk-behind about 6 years ago to clear our drive. I found that if we got anything over about 4 inches, it was a real chore. I had a 32 inch, 10.5 horsepower unit. It took so much energy to run the machine that it was almost as easy to use a shovel. This was on a meduim sized paved driveway but we got really bad snow drifts there (no longer live there). I ended up selling it for a loss shortly after buying it and getting a used blower for the garden tractor. The blower for the tractor cost a quarter what the walk-behind did and it came with tire chains and wheel weights. It was much easier on my body also. I don't think the newer walk-behind blowers have the weight and mass that the older ones had. The power is there but the traction isn't. Just my 2 cents.

RFB · Feb 9, 2013

I had the same issue with wheeled blowers that I used for the smaller areas. I got one of these and it is unstoppable: Honda Snowblowers: HS928TAS Two-stage Snowblower

tc18ny · Feb 9, 2013

RFB said:
I had the same issue with wheeled blowers that I used for the smaller areas. I got one of these and it is unstoppable: Honda Snowblowers: HS928TAS Two-stage Snowblower

That's a nice blower! I could buy a blower with a tractor attached to it for that price though. I guess if you don't have a need for a tractor and/or a place to store it that would be a nice option.

boyajm · Feb 9, 2013

Thanks. I will lock the wheel tomorrow and hope that helps a lot. Only have used this once before, but that was for a 3" storm. It wasn't happy with 25+.

tractchores · Feb 9, 2013

It will be easier if you go slow and sometimes a slight up and down motion helps in deep stuff. I have tire chains on mine which help, but either way it is still a good workout. If its tough to push also check your sheer pins, maybe one half isn't turning.

uglyboywith11fingers · Feb 9, 2013

I agree... deep snow and drifts are tough to get thru. Fresh light snow is usually a breeze.
I too used to fight with the thing, usually now I just run it in a low speed and try to guide it but sometimes have to wiggle it as tractchores suggests to help cut thru the heavy stuff. The pin I sheared most often is the one on the right wheel lock gizmo.

Pete

jimainiac · Feb 10, 2013

It's kind of a "catch 22" in that you need to have the wheels locked for maximum pulling power, but it's hard to turn, and who wants to keep locking and unlocking the wheels? I learned to give the handles a good yank at the end of each pass to spin it around. Blowing deep or wet snow will definitely give you a workout, and as said before go slow, and maybe take less than a full width each pass. It's usually better than shoveling, but it can be a love/hate relationship!