Get the snow blower running before the first lake-effect storm

Lake County does not get gentle first snows. The lake is warm, the air is cold, and the first real storm can put a foot on the driveway overnight. Every year, that is the morning a lot of people find out the snow blower does not start.

The blower did not break over the summer. It sat, and sitting is what kills a small engine. Here is what to do about it while the weather is still warm.

Pull it out in October, not December

The shop fills up the week the snow hits. The week before, it is quiet. Pull the blower out of the corner on a warm weekend, put fresh gas in it, and try to start it. If it starts and runs, let it run for a while and shut it off. If it does not, you have weeks to deal with it instead of hours.

What to look at yourself

Fuel first. If the tank has last winter's gas in it, that gas is stale, and stale gas is the reason most blowers will not start. Drain what you can and put in fresh.

Push the primer bulb. It should feel firm and spring back. If it is cracked or soft, it is not doing its job.

Check the shear pins on the auger. These are small bolts that are designed to break when the auger hits something solid, like a chunk of ice or the newspaper. If one is sheared, the engine runs fine and the auger on that side does nothing. Keep spares in the garage.

Turn the chute. It should rotate and the deflector should hold where you set it. If it is stuck, the cable or the linkage needs attention before the snow, not during.

Look at the skid shoes and the scraper bar. If the bar is worn down to the housing, the blower leaves a layer behind and scrapes the driveway.

What fails in the first storm

The engine will not start. Stale fuel and a gummed carburetor, almost every time.

The engine runs and nothing moves. Sheared pins, a slipping auger belt, or an impeller frozen to the housing.

The self-propel quits. The friction disc that drives the wheels wears out, or the drive belt has stretched.

It surges and stalls under load. A lean carburetor, a fuel restriction, or a governor out of adjustment. It idles fine in the garage and dies the second it hits real snow.

All of that is fixable. None of it is fun to find out at six in the morning.

What we do on the bench

A fall tune-up on a snow blower goes through the engine and the parts that move snow. Carburetor cleaned or rebuilt, fresh plug, oil changed, fuel line and primer checked, fresh fuel. Then the auger, the impeller, every shear pin, both belts, the chute and its cable, the skid shoes, the scraper bar, the friction disc and the tires.

The machine gets a tag number when it comes in. We diagnose, put the price on the tag, and call you before doing any work. Then it goes back to you ready to pull, and it stays in the garage until the lake decides it is time.

Snow blower not ready? Book a drop-off online, or call or text (219) 781-3814. Fall is the time.