Snowblower clean-up

[robbo323]

Had the first test of the front-mount snowblower on my BX2350. Works great, but I practically felt like I had mistreated one of the kids when I put it back in the barn covered in snow. Swept it down, cleared out the auger as best I could and even ran the air compressor to blow the fine stuff off the instrumentation, etc. Need I be this insane each time I use it? Seems like the augers need a clean out at a minimum to prevent from freezing for next use. What are you guys doing in terms of clean-up/maintenance after use?

 

[JJT]

I hit the zerks and lube the chain and chute every few storms and that's it. 7 seasons and I've never had an issue, not even a broken link/pin.

 

[herringchoker]

Mine stores in an unheated garage. I clean it like you do, so if we get a thaw I don't have big water puddles in the garage, or little skating rinks when it turns cold again. Sometimes snow in the chute can melt, run own and get trapped where the chute rotates, preventing the chute from rotating if the melt water freezes there. This happened to me once, causing my homemade hydraulic chute rotator to bend its linkage . Now I always give the chute a good shaking by hand to make sure it is not frozen before I head out.

 

[Double 00 Soul]

What works best for me to reduce clean-up time is to spray the entire inside of the snowblower with PAM or other non-stick spray cooking oil. You'll be amazed at what isn't there when you're done blowing snow. I don't spray the outside of the blower, use a leaf blower or air hose for that. Make sure you give the impeller and chute a good dousing and you'll be able to laugh at any sticky wet snow that you may get on warmer days. I've found that I need to do this every third or fourth time I use the blower. Of course we get the drier sort of snow in Minnesota, at least until around March.