# Santa came early! ST230P blog



## litteringand (Oct 29, 2017)

Well it looks like Santa came early this year, folks! After much delay, the ST230P has finally been dropped off, and so far I could not be more pleased.

As mentioned in my original thread (http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...husqvarna-st227p-vs-yardworks-357cc-30-a.html) I started this venture unsure of whether I wanted to go with an MTD, or a Husqvarna ST227P. After lot's of careful consideration, I started to lean towards the ST227P @ $1399CAD. However, after stumbling upon an offer I could not refuse, I ended up 'upgrading' to an ST230P. Check the original thread for all the details, but to make a long story short, I ended up stumbling upon a brand new ST230P for a mere $1041.16CAD (around $815USD). 

Unfortunately we haven't seen much snow here yet in Saskatchewan, so I haven't actually had a chance to put the beast to work.... However, I did promise to follow up with pictures once I received the unit, so here they are!

Pardon the messy garage! We just moved in last month, so we're still in 'unboxing' mode.

 
Santa backing up his sleigh!

 
Built with pride! I think this present is gonna be a good one

 
It's almost as big as the Beetle! :O

 
Oooo goodies

 
What have we here....


A wild baby appears!

 
Hello, friend...

 
 
The beast is released!

 
 
Starting to undress

 
Closeup

 

Don't be shy

 
Starting to come together


There's a good girl

 
 
 
Getting there!

 
Look at those pretty eyes


Cockpit

 
WINTER USE ONLY! But...but....but.........

 
 
Couple of closeups

 
It's alive!



After putting the beast together, with no snow to chew up in sight, I ran her for an hour just to 'break things in'. Afterwards covered all the painted surfaces in Poorboy's EX-P (*Excellent* sealant, btw. I use it on all my vehicles), and buffed her up nicely. I drained out the factory oil (It had 'enough' oil, but there's no telling how long that's been sitting in there), and replaced it with some 5w30 Royal Purple full synthetic. Topped her back up with Shell V-Power (Ethanol free!), and she's ready for whatever lies ahead!

Thanks to everyone in this forum for all the kind words and assistance while I was working up to this purchase. Never thought I'd be this excited over a snowblower, but I can't wait to put her to use. I'll update this post with my thoughts as the winter rolls on!


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## litteringand (Oct 29, 2017)

Was limited to 25 photos in the original post, so here are a few extras

 

 
Never thought I'd be sad to see this....

 
A BIG thanks to dr bob for this idea! The furniture dolly works great


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Nice looking unit....!

A word of advice, I've read quite a bit about not putting synthetic oil before the 'break in' period, you may want to reconsider it.....


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## litteringand (Oct 29, 2017)

YSHSfan said:


> Nice looking unit....!
> 
> A word of advice, I've read quite a bit about not putting synthetic oil before the 'break in' period, you may want to reconsider it.....


I had heard that before, but it seems to have been 'debunked' by most of the Oil manufacturers (granted they would have a vested interest....). The majority of new cars come with Synthetic from the factory these days, too! In any case, this isn't a car, and it is my first snowblower, so I do genuinely appreciate the advice. I've always deferred to the owners manual from the manufacturer as the 'final say', however. For what it's worth, it did actually specifically recommend Synthetic Oil in the manual that came with this engine


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

litteringand said:


> For what it's worth, it did actually specifically recommend Synthetic Oil in the manual that came with this engine


Does it state if it was factory filled with synthetic? What I've read does not oppose to use synthetic oil (I use Mobil 1 on all my Honda and Yamaha snowblowers), where I've read not to use synthetic oil is just on the initial hours of use as if using synthetic it will take a lot longer for the rings to properly sit.
But like you said now days a lot of automotive engines do come factory filled with synthetic oil and it is probably ok on the snowblower engine as well :smile2:


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## SAVAGE420 (Apr 21, 2015)

Nice rig!
You probably can't wait for a couple big dumps. 
I use Royal purple in mine as well! 
I love my husqvarna!


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## dr bob (Dec 12, 2015)

Congrats! The pictures bring back such wonderful memories of the semi-stork dropping our child in the driveway.

----

On the "no-synthetic for break-in" myth... Modern machining precision makes break in necessary only for piston rings these days. The rings "seat" [read: learn the bore] in a very short time. If they don't, they will soon. In the meanwhile, any synthetic oil that gets by will be less inclined to carbon the chamber or risk detonation damage vs. the conventional oil it's replacing. Any break-in particles freed up during initial run are flushed with the old oil.

For those of us who grew up in decades past, the concept of break-in had a different meaning. There were lots of things that needed to "wear in", so low-load and low-speed protocols were established to limit the amount of damage done. In a car it might take 1000 miles to "seat" a set of hard chrome rings for instance, or let the sides of a rod buff the wear surfaces on the crank throws. Fast-forward, and find that good lubrication and precision machining have all but eliminated those needs. "Break In" is now merely the first stage of "wear out". Minimize wear from leftover casting or machining particles with an early oil change or two. Does it need to be synthetic? No. The difference in cost between using good conventional oil and synthetic is minuscule on an annualized basis. I don't bother keeping conventional oil for anything beyond chainsaw bar oil. Even the air compressor gets synthetic these days.

*** my less than expert opinion only. Views and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the network or its sponsors. Your mileage may vary. Professional driver on a closed course. Don't try this at home. ***


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## litteringand (Oct 29, 2017)

Haven't had much snow here lately, only managed to give the beast a run two times since making this thread. First time we had about a foot, and that was fun! Last night got a few inches, probably could have just used a shovel, but busted out the beast instead 

Loving it so far! Today I managed to run over one of our sprinkler heads though, will have to be more careful in the future...wife was none too pleased! Looks like I now have a project for the spring...


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

I am sure it will a lot of use this winter where you are.


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

litteringand said:


> Today I managed to run over one of our sprinkler heads though, will have to be more careful in the future...wife was none too pleased! Looks like I now have a project for the spring...


How far did it throw them ?

How far did she throw you ?

Wife > SB or SB > wife ? LOL


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## niteshft (Nov 17, 2018)

Congrats on the deal you got, I paid $400+ more for mine. I had to put mine to use as soon as I got home with it and never had a chance to really go over it aside for checking the oil level. Well, at assembly, they missed the cable support under the controls and a cable rubbed the fuel tank while I was using it. The paint wore down to the metal and even caused a tiny divot in the center of the wear spot. Yikes! That was fast, just 1 1/2 hours.


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## niteshft (Nov 17, 2018)

Looks like I'll be returning mine for lack of reverse speed adjustment. I have a few areas where I can only go in one direction for about 15 feet. I pulled it back rather than wait for the machine to do so and fell on my butt a few times. At 65 I don't heal as quickly as I used to.


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