# My Honda HS720AA tips.



## wolfc70 (Dec 7, 2014)

A few weeks ago I bought a new Honda HS720AA to supplement my 1984 John Deere 1032. I also looked at the Toro power curve, but it cost more than the Honda. I really wanted the Simplicity 1222EE but they were already sold out. After about 6 uses here are some tips I did to help improve this nice single stage blower.

Vibration. Yes it vibrates, pretty badly if you ask me. In fact during my first use 3 of the 6 bolts that hold the plastic cover on vibrated loose and fell off. I noticed they were missing during the next use fill up/pre check. (My dealer gave me new bolts for free). I also re-torqued the handle bolts according to the info I found here, which helped. To help even further, I cut up some old bike inner tube and placed between the upper and lower handle joints, then tightened the bolts. This helped enough that with gloves on my hands are not numb after 20 minutes of use.

Chute rotation. This feature worked great for the first 3 uses but gradually got harder and harder to turn. I took the cover off (keep track of which bolts came from where, some are different lengths), and noticed absolutely zero lubrication on the chute mechanism. There were already signs of scraped plastic bits where the chute rotates through the metal hold down/guide clamps. I initially sprayed this with a Teflon spray, but it stopped working smoothly after one use. So I took it all apart again and put a light coat of boat trailer wheel bearing grease on the chute guides. ( I was going to use white lithium grease but my spray can did not spray and I did not feel like going to the hardware store). I also very gently pried up on the corners of of the guide brackets with a screwdriver. This really seemed to help with the dragging binding of the mechanism. So far this has made a huge difference, you can change the chute direction with almost no effort.

Do a bolt check. Check all bolts to see if they are tight. Since I lost a few during the first use, I would just verify everything is tightened correctly.

Overall I like this snowblower. It has plenty of power, throws snow a decent distance and feels solid and well designed. Do I wish Honda had done a better job of having things done correctly on the assembly line? Yes. I have no idea why there was no lubrication on the chute mechanism. Mine had gotten so tight that I knew I was going to break something if I didn't fix it. But 15 minutes to fix the issue didn't seem to bad to me. Even knowing what I know now, I would buy again.

Hope this info helps!


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## Normex (Feb 21, 2014)

Welcome to the forum Wolf and I'm sure some members will appreciate the tips.


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

Welcome, and sorry for disappointing news. Was this box store or dealer bought?


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## wolfc70 (Dec 7, 2014)

It was purchased at a dealer. They carry many brands and recommend Honda. This being a new model, the problems I encountered may be eradicated as production continues.


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

I understand that these were all simple fixes in the scheme of things, but I would have considered taking it back in.


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## markd (Oct 29, 2014)

I have heard that Honda is no longer shipping the HS720s to their vendors. Not sure what the issues are. May be what OP has experienced. I was told they will resume shipments in January. I'm up in the air between the Honda and the Toro.


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## wolfc70 (Dec 7, 2014)

markd said:


> I have heard that Honda is no longer shipping the HS720s to their vendors. Not sure what the issues are. May be what OP has experienced. I was told they will resume shipments in January. I'm up in the air between the Honda and the Toro.


It is a tough choice. The Toro with the quick chute cost $80 more than the Honda. The Toro 721 commerical was the same price. I was leery of the Toro due mainly to the Chinese engine. (I had a bad experience with one on a Troy-bilt tiller with a MTD Chinese engine, also parts were had to get). The Toro engine is probably fine, but was one of those things that I was personally leery of. Toro also has a good dealer/parts network so my hesitation on the Chinese engine is likely unfounded.

As for taking it back, well by the time I would have loaded it up and taken it to the dealer, I already had the fixes done. Was I thrilled that this happened? No. But it is a machine built by humans, sometimes things aren't perfect. That is why you have a warranty.

I'm sure Honda will get the fixes done on the assembly line and these minor issues will be a thing of the past.

On a slightly different note; if the EPA had not killed two strokes, I'd have bought a ring ding Toro.


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## vans (Dec 28, 2014)

thanks wolfc70

I just ordered one online, everyone around me is sold out, I'm replacing a Honda HS35 that I've owned for 30 years, that thing still starts on the first pull, just having some other issues.
Your tips are appreciated, I will follow your advice as soon as I receive new blower


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## bubba37 (Jan 22, 2014)

I bought the HS720A this fall and have run it 3 times. Having owned the HS520, I feel the 720 is a very nice upgrade. Mine vibrates too - not to the point of numb hands...but there's no mistaking it.

Really like the inner-tube idea and will also be running a bolt check/torque before next run.

I did pre-lube the directional chute control with silicone spray and that also helped - will be picking up some grease next trip out to hardware store. 

Overall, I'm really happy with this thrower.


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## ehonda (Jan 17, 2015)

fellow honda owners! I posted the following in a new thread, but just found you guys here so here goes:

http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/honda-snowblowers/37249-honda-hs720-hs520-questions.html

Dosukoi!

I just came into possession of a Honda HS720AA off craigslist and have some questions. I suspect it may have been from home depot because there's some odd/weird things wrong with it that I wouldn't expect from a dealer. It's new to the US this year and can't be more than 1 season old. I also welcome the input from HS520 owners because from the pictures I saw online, a lot of the parts look the same.

1) The fuel on/off valve is wobbly. It works -- turn it left and there's gas flow, turn it right and gas shuts off. But in contrast to the floor model I checked out at my local home depot, the one in the store stays perfectly still when you turn it left/right, but mine is clearly not held in place inside the shroud. 

http://www.mayberrys.com/Assets/ProductImages/Snowblowers/HS720ControlPanel.jpg

Having come from the land of Toro and never having played with Honda's before, does anyone know what it might take to fix this? I know, I have to take off the shroud and see what's what, but I'm just wondering if someone knows what I might expect to find. 

2) The 720AA model comes with both a chute turn control (left/right) and a chute guide control (turns the deflector high/low). Both of these are problematic.

The chute turn control part came without the front cover seen in this picture:

http://www.localwheelsndeals.com/images.aspx/id-10927478-w-492-h-369/honda-hs720aa-478-p3.jpg

I mean, the part with the 6 round teeth looking thing that holds the chute turn lever in place. The turning left/right is indeed very stiff, as other users have mentioned, and I thought, cool, this gives me free reign to guide the chute left/right. The problem is, the vibration of the engine causes the chute control to always vibrate back towards midline -- ie, even if I turn the chute completely left, by the time I finish making a pass, the chute has wiggled it's way back towards middle.

I don't think this will be a huge fix -- I ordered a replacement part online for $7 and I think I just have to screw it in place. Hopefully.

3) The left/right turning of the chute really is as stiff as people have said. Can anyone tell me where to apply grease, or white lithium or something? Is it something I can just apply to the machine as is, or do I have to remove some parts of the chute? The guy who sold it said he sprayed some WD-40 in the general area of the base of the chute, without removing anything, but I don't know how effective that solution is. 

4) The chute guide cable (that controls High/Low) works, but it seems like there's a perfect circle in the frame near the back right wheel that the cable is supposed to be routed through, but isn't. I'll have to take a picture of this when I get home, but I'm not sure how I can disconnect the cable to route it through that hole. It's a tiny hole, only wide enough to accommodate the cable at it's skinniest, so I can't just disconnect the cable at it's head. It's gotta come apart somewhere in the middle. I'll post more on this later then I have pictures.

5) On both sides, there is a small but visible gap where the belt cover meets the body of the blower:

http://powerequipment.honda.com/Content/images/Models/Features/hs720-metal-auger-housing.jpg

Even in this stock photo, you can see there is a tiny gap above those two bolts. Mine is a little more noticeable than that. I was thinking of taking that cover off and maybe trying to bang it flat with a mallet? And/or cutting a thin strip of rubber waterproof weatherstrip and filling that space. Doesn't seem like a good thing for water/snow/ice to get in there.

I will have more questions, but if anyone has input on these points I'd appreciate it!

From the 10 minutes I played with the machine, I love it! It throws like a beast!


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## Center Mass (Mar 11, 2015)

Wolf, I too have expereienced the same issues with my 520 as you have with the handle vibration and the chute binding and being stiff in one direction.

Even with heavy insulated work gloves on after about 20 min i takes focus to keep going since I can't really feel my hands any longer.

I like and will try the inner tube idea.


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