@ibike2havefun Does your blower have heated grips? (Yes, I'm serious..)
It's On. Monday 6 January coffee and weather
- Thread starter ibike2havefun
- Start date
Pretty much all the high end snowblowers around here come with them....and you can add them on to others for about a hundred bucks
OP
OP
Nope it doesn't (and yes I realize you were serious, as I think they're a feature on your recent machine, yes?) but it does at least have thick vinyl / plastic handgrips so I'm not hanging onto bare metal.
Not so much in the mid-Atlantic and IIRC my Troy Bilt machine was around $750 when I got it a decade or so ago, so it doesn't qualify as a high end unit. Middle of the range, definitely: 6-speed forward / 2 speed reverse (which I never use), two-stage, 180cc 4-stroke engine, 24" swath. More than ample for what we get here; no need for industrial-sized 48" tracked monsters suitable for the Frozen North.
After it fired right up on both test / readiness assessment starts, I was surprised, dismayed, and puzzled when it failed to kick right into life this morning when it actually mattered. After trying fruitlessly for a couple minutes to get it to go, I gave up and went out with the shovel because the neighbors needed to get out (he's having intestinal surgery as we type, to relieve a bad case of diverticulitis) and they needed a clean driveway for that to happen. Another neighbor joined me with his machine so after a bit I came back and tried again, noticing that the emergency cutoff device (basically a tab of plastic that sticks into a slot at the back of the engine) was partway out. Pushed it in, hit the starter button, and.... vroom! Instant gratification. I must've jarred it when I staged the machine yesterday.
First thing to check when the bike won't start,the kill switch. Same with a snowblower?
Looks like Troybilt has heated grips for 2016 and later models....appears comptability is similar to motorcycle accessories...depends on alternator output
Afternoon Ray & All from mostly cloudy, Southern Utah!
Currently it is 42F, up from 19F and heading for 44F. Winds already from the NE @ 5 to 7mph.
Lot's of storms, north of here, but we still have not received our share (I'm not sure if I'm happy or not, about that?).
As for keeping your hands warm; from Costco, I bought a set of battery heated gloves and a battery heated vest, so I could handle clearing the snow, that we haven't got yet!
Every time I go outside, in the cold, my eye is watering up and I can't see out of it, so not much sense going out there. I sure wished it would clear up and stop it!
Eggs, bacon, toast & OJ to start the morning!
Anyone
, have a great day on the roads! 
Currently it is 42F, up from 19F and heading for 44F. Winds already from the NE @ 5 to 7mph.
Lot's of storms, north of here, but we still have not received our share (I'm not sure if I'm happy or not, about that?).
As for keeping your hands warm; from Costco, I bought a set of battery heated gloves and a battery heated vest, so I could handle clearing the snow, that we haven't got yet!
Every time I go outside, in the cold, my eye is watering up and I can't see out of it, so not much sense going out there. I sure wished it would clear up and stop it!
Eggs, bacon, toast & OJ to start the morning!
Anyone
, have a great day on the roads!
OP
OP
Yep, at least with mine. May go plug my unit's model number into the TroyBilt website and see what the options are.
We're in a lull at the moment, having received about 8 inches of white stuff so far: respectable but not especially noteworthy. Certainly not a catastrophe. May get one final dump this evening but nothing more expected after midnight.
A few years ago bought a pair of Karbon's battery heated gloves from Costco , which Supersabre probably bought, suffering poor circulation in my hands the gloves make winter bearable.
Well after having one snowblower throw a brand-new belt, another was able to finish clearing 8 inches from my area plus help several other neighbors with only shovels. Kinda glad I didn't sell that one also! A number of us have lived here for a few decades so we've all grown older and fatter, thus shoveling is getting harder. So, if I can alleviate another's back pain with a little gas-powered tech then why not? I don't need the big 2-stage ones for what we get like Keith up north of me, the single-stage throwers are good enough though I got a good arm workout!
I got done, collected the wife from her double shift, grabbed some lunch, then came home and napped. Then helped myself to a...THIRD CUP OF COFFEE. The dregs at the bottom tasted good even after sitting all day...I'm not picky as long as it hasn't been on the burner all day *gag*. I get to drive her back tonight after everything refreezes and a few more inches wafts down from the tail end of this storm. Then I'm going to SLEEP-sleep. G'nite y'all!
I got done, collected the wife from her double shift, grabbed some lunch, then came home and napped. Then helped myself to a...THIRD CUP OF COFFEE. The dregs at the bottom tasted good even after sitting all day...I'm not picky as long as it hasn't been on the burner all day *gag*. I get to drive her back tonight after everything refreezes and a few more inches wafts down from the tail end of this storm. Then I'm going to SLEEP-sleep. G'nite y'all!