# Turning the Auger blades



## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

Hi all, I have been lurking a little here. Not much going on now that the snow is gone huh? 
Now it is lawn mower time. 
I HATE CUTTING GRASS! 
Makes it a little more enjoyable with my rear engine 12 1/2 hp ride on Snapper.
Mine is just like this.
( click me)








Question,

Down by my scraper bar a little of the paint in spots is off on the inside of the housing and a little rust was starting. It is down by the scraper bar. I would like to touch it up. 

Is there anyway to turn the auger by hand? I just need to rotate it to get it out of the way in spots. I tried to tie down the auger handle and turn, I didn't try to turn it too hard but it won't budge.

For the little I have to paint I don't want to remove the blades, is there anyway to turn it by hand? 
Take the plug out, hold the handle down and pull the start cord maybe?

For the little I have to paint I might just clean it up and use a small brush and brush it on, as it is on the inside. I just want to protect it some. But rotating the auger, then working/painting, then rotating it again to move on to a different spot would be nice.

Anyone know is there any easy way to turn it?


----------



## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

just slip the belt of the pulley. then u can turn them till the cows come home.


----------



## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

Waterlooboy2hp said this (in a PM?) that it should work too
Remove the spark plug --- Engage the auger --- Pull the recoil, and the auger should turn. -- John


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Yup, that should work. Sometimes it's easier if you have the room for your hand to just pull the belt cover and reach down and manually spin the big pulley. Depends on if the belt is nice and new (too tight) or a little sloppy and lets you spin easily.


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

The easier way is to just turn the impeller. You can push the impeller with a stick down the chute or by pushing from the front if you can get your stick all the way to the back. Just be careful and most people will tell you not to stick your hand down the chute (though honestly most of us probably just turn it by hand anyway). Removing the spark plug or at least the wire will stop the engine from turning.

The augers are connected to the impeller via a worm gear so you can only turn the impeller to spin the augers and not the other way around. The auger brake will still drag unless you push the handle part way down, but the brake usually doesn't hold very tight.


----------



## liftoff1967 (Jan 15, 2014)

Pull out the shear pins.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I think we have a winner. +1 Pull the shear pin.


----------



## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Auger*



Kiss4aFrog said:


> I think we have a winner. +1 Pull the shear pin.


As long as the auger sections aren't rusted onto the shaft - works perfect. If they are rusted on then that's something you also want to attend to and get corrected, and grease/lube the shaft up well once it's loose.


----------



## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

I thought that I answered these replies way back when.
Not like me to not reply, sorry. 

Take the shear pins out.....that is a winner.
Don't know why I didn't think of that before I posted this thread.

That is what I did, my shaft is nice and free wheeling no rust.


----------



## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

It's Ok. We all overlook things some times.


----------



## SlowRider22 (Oct 17, 2013)

I may be late to the party here, but I just wanted to add...

Please take precautions before moving the auger/impeller. I almost witnessed my neighbor lose his hand the other week when he was doing his preseason maintenance on his blower...I had to go over and educate him - he honestly had no idea that sort of thing can happen, or how easily.

Take the plug or wire off, disengage the coupler (older models) from the engine, wedge a block of wood into the augers to prevent it from turning, and don't stick hands in while the motor is on.
Avoid complacency by taking the one or two extra steps of precaution, it can keep you from a fun-filled trip to the ER


----------



## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

SlowRider22 said:


> I may be late to the party here, but I just wanted to add...
> 
> Please take precautions before moving the auger/impeller. I almost witnessed my neighbor lose his hand the other week when he was doing his preseason maintenance on his blower...I had to go over and educate him - he honestly had no idea that sort of thing can happen, or how easily.
> 
> ...


Yes....use common sense huh?

May I ask what he did or what happened?
I pull the plug wire but never do anything else.

Don't stick hands in when running?
All should know that.

But then again that is the reason for all the warning labels and 8 pages of don't do things in a manual. Somewhere someone did it, then probably tried to sue because there were no warning labels.

I used to shoot professional firework shows all around NJ in the weeks of the 4th of July.
The mortars that go up and just give you the BOOM are called reports. They are made with a long first fuse say a 10 second fuse so the bomb gets up into the air before it blows, after that fuse burns the second fuse ignites and in a millisecond burns down to the bomb making it explode. That second fuse might be around 5" long.

One show (not ours) a report shot up and the second fuse didn't ignite and the bomb fell into the woods. We used to keep track of the bombs and if we were missing a BOOM after the show we would try and find it, sometimes it was never found. The reports were normally 2" to 4" in circumference. 
One guy found one in the woods after a show and picked it up and saw the 5" fuse.
He had a cigar in his hand and figured he would light and toss.
Well the fuse lit and in a millisecond the bomb exploded, took his hand and half his arm with it.
Good thing for him he didn't have the cigar in his mouth when he lit it!

Any firework even the backyard variety should be lit while on the ground not in your hand. But even if he had lit that on the ground he would have injured himself in some way.
He found out the hard way.

Certain things you should not do.


----------



## SlowRider22 (Oct 17, 2013)

We live a couple houses from each other, but close enough to hear the sound of a small engine being used. Well I heard him fire up the blower and drive it up the front of his garage so he can work on it. (I was doing some yard work at the time in my front yard) He turned it off, did the oil and spark plug. Then proceeded to turn it back on. That's when he attempted to turn the augers on...somehow a newspaper had been wedged between the augers and bucket preventing them from turning. With the engine still on, I saw him reach down through the chute to get the newspaper. It's not that I was watching him the entire time, but I just so happen to have looked up at that moment. That's when I quickly went over.

I will say that he wasn't in imminent danger, but we have a heard horror stories of things like this. And as the saying goes, "s**t happens"


----------



## Big Ed (Feb 10, 2013)

Yup, that might have hurt!
Some things are just common sense.


----------



## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

There is nothing common, about common sense.


----------

