Categories: Maintenance

Snow Thrower Maintenance

It may seem like an odd time to talk about, snow thrower maintenance, however, the spring or summer time is actually one of the best times to perform maintenance and implement any repairs that are needed on your snow thrower. The weather has warmed up and it is much more comfortable to work on your thrower than late in the fall when the snow is about to fall. Keeping an engine and all of its components operating smoothly does not take a lot of work or effort. Following the simple instructions in the manual is about all that is needed and only takes about an hour for the standard things that need to be done. If after checking, more serious repairs are needed, you can order the parts and schedule the repairs at your convenience.

Some areas in the mountains are still getting some snow so it may be too soon for them, but for the rest of Canada and the Northern US, is one of the best times to plan your maintenance.

Snow Thrower Maintenance

So what kind of maintenance should you be doing at this time of year. Well, there are two sets of activities that should be considered. First items such as oil changes, spark plug replacement, and greasing any fittings that have grease nipples should be under taken. These things are pretty straightforward and do not take a lot of time, but will pay you dividends over many years by keeping your engine and augers running smoothly for many years.

The second area that should be considered is any repairs. This is one of the reasons you should do this in the early summer. You have just finished using your snow thrower and you will be familiar with how it was running. Determine what parts you need now and order them. You can complete repairs in advance of any cold weather.

We had to replace several bushings one year. I can only say that I wish I had done this in the summertime and not in November when it had started to get cold. It was not a difficult job, however, it was very cold on the hands and I did not have a place to keep warm while I made this repair.

Here is a list of items to check and confirm that nothing needs to be repaired prior to the next season:

Leaky tires
Bearings or bushings for the augers or the impeller
Lights
All cables that have become worn or stretched
Rusted parts of the housing
other items that may be particular to the machine that you use.

Spray Oil on Your Snow Throwers housing

In Canada, we use a lot of salt on the roads. This ends up on our driveways and of course on our snow thrower. Over time with scratches etc, the housing can become rusted. In the spring when you are finished using your snow thrower for the season, a good idea is to spray oil on your machine. This will prevent the salt from rusting your housing on your snow thrower even more than it already has. You can use regular motor oil. Or purchase oil for this purpose from an auto store and spray it on. In the extreme, one friend of mine actually waxed the housing of the machine to protect the paint job. He kept it looking pristine. I think that this is overkill, but that is what he did.

That’s about it for this post. Hope it helps those of you who believe in snow thrower maintenance. Let us know by leaving a comment or two. For more information about snow thrower maintenance and repairs, click here.

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ernie

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mike says:

2012/08/01 at 8:39 am

I would rather use a snow clearing service than go through all of this to keep my snow blower going. Maybe I am lazy, but it is nice to see someone else out there clearing snow instead of me when it is really cold.