On Feb 11, 11:41*am, wrote:
On Saturday, February 9, 2013 4:46:48 PM UTC-5, Bob wrote:
Big Auger wheel in front turns.
But won't throw snow. No clog.
Can't see if the high speed Impeller is turning or not.
Sure you can. Hold down the handle, stretch out a little, and LOOK. Any normal person has enough reach to be able to lean around and look in the front. Worst case you can look down the chute and see the impeller.
Or, just get someone to hold it for you, or get them to look. They don't have to stick their head in there or even get within 10 feet of the thing. It's not in gear so it can't chase you around. It doesn't even have to be running full-bore. If they do somehow get caught by the machine, LET GO OF THE TRIGGER. You don't have to sit there paralyzed in fear while your assistant is slowly sucked in and ground into hamburger by the snowblower... Of course if it's running at an idle, it will stall immediately, and if it's running full-bore, it will shear a pin long before your assistant gets hurt.
People watch too many horror movies, and can't differentiate between reality and fantasy. In real life snowblowers have redundant safety features...
First, don't get close enough to get sucked in.
Second, if by some chance the snowblower jumps into gear and starts chasing you around, let go of the handle and it will stop.
Third, if the snowblower jumps into gear and the handle gets stuck, push the throttle lever to OFF.
Fourth, if the snowblower jumps into gear and the handle gets stuck and the throttle lever won't shut it off, remove the safety key to immediately kill the engine.
Fifth, if the snowblower jumps into gear and the handle gets stuck and the throttle lever won't shut it off and the safety key doesn't work, yank the spark plug wire and the engine will die.
Sixth, if the snowblower jumps into gear and the handle gets stuck and the throttle lever won't shut it off and the safety key doesn't work and the snowblower is somwhow possessed by the devil so yanking the spark plug wire doesn't shut it off, just push it over on its side.
You don't have to sit there paralyzed in fear while the snowblower chews you into hamburger.
While I love all the suggestions in case things go terribly wrong, I'm
going to postulate that your statement "Any normal person has enough
reach to be able to lean around and look in the front" may not be
accurate. I guess it depends on your definition of "normal".
I'm not home right now, but I really don't think that I could hold
down the auger handle and be able to see into the front of the auger
housing. I'm almost 100% sure that I couldn't reach far enough to be
able to see the impeller through the front. Maybe through the chute,
but not through the front of the machine. I'll try tonoght, but I
doubt I'll be able to see much.
Now, I am below the "average" height of US males, but - even if you
equate "average" with "normal" - I don't think the extra few inches
would help.
Heck, I had to modify my blower to be able to reach the chute
deflector from behind the machine. Note the extension handle on the
deflector. I just added it for this year's blowing season and I love
it.
http://i440.photobucket.com/albums/q...9390888902.jpg
The hooks are for carrying a shovel and snow brush down the block to
the elderly lady's house who's driveway and car I keep clear.