snow blower

[geraldchainsaw]

ok,  i live in michigan,  the sun shine state,  i mean white.     since it says we can talk about anything,  here goes,  my snow blower,  a Toro,   will start but dosen't run long,  i'm sure it has a new plug,  and gas,  could it be a gummed up carb?,  if so,  is there anything i can add to the gas,  its possible its just not any good any morre,  any ideas?
   thanks   jerry

[brushwolf]

The main jets are plugged in the carb.  Sometimes they will run and maybe even work (poorly) with choke on or partially on. The indicator is generally that you can get it started, but then it dies when choke is off and that means no fuel thru main jets.

I have had the same thing many times with multiple snowblower, tillers and mowers.   2 cycle motors like chain saws do not seem as likely to gum up their fuel passages, but it does happen.  One of the blessings of living in states with pronounced seasonal variations is you probably have a lot of gas powered tools used for only a few months a year.

Starting and running them for a few minutes several times a year during their non-use seasons reduces the likelihood of this happening. Fuel stabilizers are supposed to prevent this, but I have had it happen even with stabilizers the gas. Today's fuel breaks down quickly, so tiny clots form in those tiny passages if the machine just sits.

Usually just have to take carb apart very carefully, don't break any gaskets, clean out all tiny passages, reassemble and it works again...

[geraldchainsaw]

tlhanks for the i nfo

[RICH MUISE]

And if it's available locally, use only ethanol-free gas. Usually about .50 a gallon more, but I stopped having problems with my mowers when I started using it.

[brushwolf]

Yep.. Use the best gas available. The good stuff does not break down nearly as fast. In Minnesota the Minnesota Street Rod Association publishes a list of all the ethanol-free sources of gas in the state.  I put  better gas in my yard and garden equipment these days than my regularly driven vehicles.  It does make a difference.

[mustang6984]

Or...hire the neighbor kid to do it...and you can watch him out the living room window freezing his tail off whilst you observe and drink hot chocolate with those little marshmallows in it!   

[Marc]

Sounds like a carb problem. You can get replacement carbs online for around $20 these days. The way I look at it that beats taking the old one apart and fiddling with it. Probably cheap chinese crap but if I get a few seasons out of it for $20 its all good. The one on my snowblower is going on it's third year and no problems so far.
You can always install the replacement, clean the original and put it on the shelf for when the replacement dies.

[lalessi1]

What' a snow blower??? 

[geraldchainsaw]

i put straight  gas in it and ran it for a minute,    seems to work fine now

[mustang6984]

What' a snow blower??? 

Like a leaf blower...only the mess it cleans up is colder and comes from the sky...not the trees in yer yard! 

[SkylinerRon]

I put a shutoff valve in the fuel line so when I'm finished I just close the valve and let the engine burn the last of the gas out of the carb.

Ron.