Been stuck in the same spot at 404/401 for 30 mins

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Only time I’ve had the pleasure of true powder was at Jay Peak in VT. Being the only one on a snowboard out of 2 busses of skiers was a good time.

Damn I miss snowboarding. Next year I’m taking the kids to learn.
 
I drove to Montreal yesterday and that included getting across Toronto.

Could not leave home until the plow went past around 9 AM. Snowblower started first pull.

Took highway 7 for a bit, but figured the hill at Islington would be an issue, cut south to Steeles which had it's own problems, and no one was getting past Yonge. Went south, mistake, buses stuck. North to 7 which was in good shape with little traffic considering that nothing was getting past Islington. Stayed on that to Brock St then south to 401. There was one detour at Cobourg. Took highway 2 for that bit.

Not a good day for bendy buses (or buses in general). Autoroute 30 had 3 tractor trailer recoveries in the other direction including one completely upside down.

Should be an 8 hour trip. Took 12.

I'm driving a manual Fiat 500 with snow tires.

Plow just went past the hotel. Time to get to work.
 
Oakville is using custom farm tractors as they are more agile that plow trucks , and cost half the price and run twice as long . But they aren’t teaching the drivers how to actually plow . It’s not art , but it’s more than just pushing stuff


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Spent the late evening trying to help neighbours get their snowblowers started up.

Both have the same issue....crank crank crank die...crank crank crank die...crank crank crank sputter die....I assume it's bad gas (one hasn't used his in 3+ years), and the other one for over a year.
 
End of driveways this morning. Nothing beats a MTD 10HP. Two neighbors have electric. Useless for what the plow leaves. Another has a Honda rubber paddle type. Useless. Crazy cat Lady's husband has 2 MTD's in his backyard. One he lost the gas cap and the other won't stay running. He's afraid of it and won't use any speed above "turtle". People are strange.
 
mimico_polak said:
Spent the late evening trying to help neighbours get their snowblowers started up.

Both have the same issue....crank crank crank die...crank crank crank die...crank crank crank sputter die....I assume it's bad gas (one hasn't used his in 3+ years), and the other one for over a year.
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Even with fuel stabilizer the gas went bad in my MTD. Had to pull the carb and clean it out. I was not impressed. Maybe I need fuel stabilizer stabilizer?
 
Katapult said:
Even with fuel stabilizer the gas went bad in my MTD. Had to pull the carb and clean it out. I was not impressed. Maybe I need fuel stabilizer stabilizer?
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That's what I told them both. Need to pull the carb and clean it out. Maybe try Seafoam? But most likely it would need to be cleaned.

At a minimum siphon out the old gas and put in new gas.
 
Are you guys using non ethanol and running the carb dry when in storage?
 
Wingboy said:
Are you guys using non ethanol and running the carb dry when in storage?
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I put in premium fuel into all the equipment (mower, snowblower, trimmer, and leaf blower) with fuel stabilizer in it. I top them up for the off season.
 
Wingboy said:
Are you guys using non ethanol and running the carb dry when in storage?
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That's what I did, but I left the snowblower outside for a bit in the spring, and some water somehow got in the carb. all frozen up. Some must have also gotten in the tranny, as it's stuck in reverse. Still was last night after sitting in the garage with heat one it. I don't want to have to pull the tranny apart.
 
mimico_polak said:
That's what I told them both. Need to pull the carb and clean it out. Maybe try Seafoam? But most likely it would need to be cleaned.

At a minimum siphon out the old gas and put in new gas.
Click to expand...
New carb is under 20 bucks on Amazon I just put a new one on my 30 year old MTD runs better than it has in years. It always surged before now is smooth.

Sent using a thumb maybe 2
 
mimico_polak said:
Spent the late evening trying to help neighbours get their snowblowers started up.

Both have the same issue....crank crank crank die...crank crank crank die...crank crank crank sputter die....I assume it's bad gas (one hasn't used his in 3+ years), and the other one for over a year.
Click to expand...
Put a propane torch gas on no flame in the intake sometime once they catch and run for a bit they will clear out and stay running.

Sent using a thumb maybe 2
 
I've got @Jampy00 's old honda in the backyard to clean out a path to the hot tub. It starts and run better than my old honda but it's 3.5 hp which is too anemic for primary duty. Even my 5.5 hp was at its limit yesterday. The 3.5 lives outside, brush the snow off, 3 to 5 pulls and off it goes. Good stuff for something that is 30 years old.
 
GreyGhost said:
I've got @Jampy00 's old honda in the backyard to clean out a path to the hot tub. It starts and run better than my old honda but it's 3.5 hp which is too anemic for primary duty. Even my 5.5 hp was at its limit yesterday. The 3.5 lives outside, brush the snow off, 3 to 5 pulls and off it goes. Good stuff for something that is 30 years old.
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Nice! I found an old honda snowblower with tracks last year at end of someones driveway from late 80's to early 90's I think. cleaned carb and it started right up and ran mint. Sold it on marketplace for $300. Kind of thinking I could've got more for it.
 
Soulcatcher668 said:
Did you disable 'traction control'?
It kills drivability in bad conditions like today.
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Traction control wasn't the issue, at least on my street - it was the sheer amount of unplowed snow and its consistency. Disabling traction control only helps if you have some traction and you want to keep momentum a the cost of wheelspin. But if your wheels are spinning in place, disabling traction control only gets you dug in more, which exacerbates the problem when you already have snow up to your license plate. Sure, AWD helps, but I felt ground clearance was the bigger factor yesterday.
 
Is there a rule for what time starting a snowblower in the morning is considered bad form? I kinda felt guilty firing mine up at 6am this morning, the whole street are either retired or WFH's.
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