# Poulin No Throttle control



## johnnyo (Nov 19, 2018)

I bought my daughter and son-in-law a 30" 11 hp snow blower. great shape. my son in law phoned and told me it has no throttle control.. I've never heard of that. 

Is that common? what is the reason for that? can a throttle control be added?


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

it is pretty common on most newer machines. 1 less thing to have an issue with. most just have a choke and primer. you still occasionally see machines with a throttle but are not really needed. my current snowblower has no throttle


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## johnnyo (Nov 19, 2018)

Thanks, makes sense, but I'm still thinking it would be nice to idle it down if you stop for a minute or so. I also idle my motor down when I shut it off.. My roto tiller if I shut it of from full throttle will some times backfire or motor. Wouldn't it jerk like crazy if its 2nd or 3ed gear and you engage the clutch?


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## Dauntae (Nov 10, 2016)

You can actually add it to some of them, LCT engines have a attachment that bolts to the top of the carb but I have only seen them sold on the carb and there not cheap, But as said, Not really a needed option


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## johnnyo (Nov 19, 2018)

OK thanks. I guess I'll have to accept the modern ways of running snow blowers… lol


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

ya not being able to idle down sucks. i don't know if it is bad for the engine or not but i will sometimes use the choke to idle it down. plus i guess it is not like it would be that hard to shut the engine down and re start it if needed.


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## WVguy (Nov 24, 2018)

crazzywolfie said:


> ya not being able to idle down sucks. i don't know if it is bad for the engine or not...<snip>


I'm not sure about small engines used in snow blowers, mowers, and the like but decades ago I owned a light single-engine airplane. When an engine overhaul is going to cost five figures you really learn how to "baby" an air-cooled engine, and starting it up at high throttle is one of the LAST things one wants to do. You start it and keep RPMs down and wait for the engine oil to warm up a bit to assure it is flowing well. Also, having the engine quit at 100' on takeoff for lack of oil pressure because the oil pump is cavitating really ruins your day....

So anything that will cause any rapid change in temperature, either heating up or cooling down is to be avoided. No rapid throttle changes. On my power equipment I've always followed that procedure. Does it help? I don't know, I'm not an engineer, but it sure can't hurt. And all my engine stuff lasts 20+ years.

Frankly, I think the "no throttle" on power equipment is just another way to shave another 25¢ off the manufacturing cost at the expense of longevity.


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## johnnyo (Nov 19, 2018)

That is exactly my feeling. I'm 84 yrs old, farmed quite a bit. I wouldn't think of pulling my throttle to full RPM and then starting it, put it in gear, and let the clutch out at full throttle. then if I had to stop in the field for whatever reason leave the tractor running at full throttle then shut it down at full throttle.. yikes 

I don't have a shop to work in but next summer I will have a look and see if a throttle cable can be hooked up somehow.. 
If any body here knows of an available kit to add a throttle cable to it, please let me know..
John


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

but as long as the choke is on it idles lower and generally most carbs will take a few seconds to warm up. if you turn the choke off almost immediately after starting some engine will stall. i almost always start my small engines that do have have throttles with full throttle anyways. i find they start super easy that way especially if they don't have a primer.


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## broo (Dec 23, 2017)

On my zero turn mower, Toro mentions to both start and stop the engine at full throttle. Makes you wonder why they bothered to install a throttle at all.

I still idle it down a bit before turning it off, out of habit.


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## johnnyo (Nov 19, 2018)

Seems to me like maybe they want people to screw them up and buy new ones. like that old saying, " if it ain't broke, then fix it till it's broke"... There wasn't anything wrong with the throttle system, then why get rid of it? oh well I guess they call it progress. lol


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

johnnyo said:


> Seems to me like maybe they want people to screw them up and buy new ones. like that old saying, " if it ain't broke, then fix it till it's broke"... There wasn't anything wrong with the throttle system, then why get rid of it? oh well I guess they call it progress. lol



I wonder if its the US EPA saying that at lower throttle positions the engines are polluting too much. Just a guess ?


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## crazzywolfie (Jun 2, 2014)

johnnyo said:


> Seems to me like maybe they want people to screw them up and buy new ones. like that old saying, " if it ain't broke, then fix it till it's broke"... There wasn't anything wrong with the throttle system, then why get rid of it? oh well I guess they call it progress. lol


could also be just to simplify things for people don't know much about how to run a snowblower. also while most of the time throttles do work there is the odd times throttle cables get moisture in them and stick or freeze. had that happen on my sisters machine. ever since the throttle on it stays full throttle. plus a lot of the newer machines seem pretty good on fuel even running full throttle all the time.


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