# How loud do these blowers get



## topher5150 (Nov 5, 2014)

So the other day we got some good snow, and so every one that had a snowblower was out clearing their driveway. A lot of people have medium sized single stage blowers that you can hear softly puttering from in the house. So I get out there and start clearing our drive with my vintage 8hp two stage blower. I get done and get back in the house, and ask the wife why she had the t.v. on so loud, "I couldn't hear over you snow blowing" I knew this thing was loud, but I didn't think it was that loud. I'm starting to feel like the guy in the neighbor hood running open headers on his pickup truck. :icon_whistling:


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## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

They're loud enough that I wear hearing protection muffs (but I'll admit that I like the radio that's built into them).

You might want to check your muffler. Mine LOOKED fine but found out that it had rusted out internally.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

*Loud pipes, save lives. so ROCK ON WITH IT!!!!!!!!!k:k:k:k:k:*


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Your muffler may have passed from vintage to salvage.


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## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

Paint some flames on that old girl!! You will be the envy of the block....


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

i'll say this much, there is a big difference in the amount of sound that my 521's make compared to the 824 or 826. nether is what I would call quiet and it would be nice if a company made a quieter muffler but that might rob hp. I know Hondas and yamaha's ande even the clone motors are quiet  compared to a briggs or Tecumseh but they were designed for the rated hp with the quiet muffler


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## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

Those old Tecumseh Snow Kings are just plain loud regardless of muffler. The older Briggs & Strattons were quieter but still loud. As stated Honda, Yamaha, and Honda clones are much quieter due largely to having a much better muffler.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

I've had 8hp flathead Tecumsehs, and now a 10hp OHV Tecumseh, all the same displacement (318cc). I'd say they're all pretty loud. The OHV may be a little quieter (sold the flatheads, so can't compare now), but if so, it's not a big difference. 

topher5150, the quieter single-stage you're referring to, are those 2-stroke engines, or more recent 4-strokes? I had a pair of single-stage machines, 3hp and 5hp 2-stroke Tecumsehs. I'd say they were fairly loud. Maybe it was just that their tone is different than the 4-strokes, but they didn't strike me as quiet. Even at 3600 RPM, for instance, they have 3600 exhaust pulses per minute, vs 1800 for a 4-stroke, so they will sound different. 

I wear ear protection when clearing, I see no real reason not to. I feel bad if I have to clear the driveway in the morning before work, but if we got a foot of snow, sorry, it's going to be noisy


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## 43128 (Feb 14, 2014)

I once ran one of those tecumsehs without a muffler just for fun. Not a bit louder


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

What you gotta do is get your wife to go watch TV down the street a few houses and you machine will be much quieter.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

I've got a chipper/shredder with an 8HP Tecumseh engine on it and when I get it fired up it seems louder than heck. I wonder if one of these would improve neighborhood relations and spousal television viewing pleasure.

Tecumseh 37350 Quiet Muffler


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## skutflut (Oct 16, 2015)

Seems like a pretty expensive solution. Going down the street to watch TV is free! That option assumes of course, that the neighbours don't mind people wandering in to watch TV while hubby is making noise.


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## kueh (Dec 29, 2013)

I believe that a fairly easy solution would be to add a pipe to angle the exhaust down to the ground rather than laterally left or right. I watched a couple of videos where one person significantly reduced the sound signature of a generator merely by redirecting the sound.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

43128 said:


> I once ran one of those tecumsehs without a muffler just for fun. Not a bit louder


I know briggs and Tecumseh call them mufflers but maybe they are just spark arrestor which is why you didn't notice a difference


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## alleyyooper (Sep 12, 2015)

Yes some good old black pipe and fittings will change the sound a lot.
Direct it below the knees and it isn't near as loud as it is at waist level. but if you like the sound and as those NSCAR announcers say crank it up direct the sound up at ear level.

 Al


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## jermar (Dec 10, 2014)

An auto muffler won't help quiet these motors. Here is an interesting test:


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

true to some degree with the car muffler but you still have the mechanical noise of the engine


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## topher5150 (Nov 5, 2014)

RedOctobyr said:


> I've had 8hp flathead Tecumsehs, and now a 10hp OHV Tecumseh, all the same displacement (318cc). I'd say they're all pretty loud. The OHV may be a little quieter (sold the flatheads, so can't compare now), but if so, it's not a big difference.
> 
> topher5150, the quieter single-stage you're referring to, are those 2-stroke engines, or more recent 4-strokes? I had a pair of single-stage machines, 3hp and 5hp 2-stroke Tecumsehs. I'd say they were fairly loud. Maybe it was just that their tone is different than the 4-strokes, but they didn't strike me as quiet. Even at 3600 RPM, for instance, they have 3600 exhaust pulses per minute, vs 1800 for a 4-stroke, so they will sound different.
> 
> I wear ear protection when clearing, I see no real reason not to. I feel bad if I have to clear the driveway in the morning before work, but if we got a foot of snow, sorry, it's going to be noisy


I usually wait until I hear a couple of people in the neighborhood blowing until I start at it. But I shouldn't feel to bad, there's a kid down the road who has a push mower that sounds like a helicopter hovering over our street.


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## alleyyooper (Sep 12, 2015)

Try out a super trap small engine exhaust system.

Super Trapp Quiet Mufflers - Jacks Small Engines

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/advcat.asp?CategoryID=SUPERTRAPPSA

I ran one on My Honda 2 stroke dirt bike. Real quite and you could tune it by adding or taking away baffles.

 Al


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

A 212 Predator will be a lot quieter than an HM80 Tecumseh. Also, if you were next to your house the sound was probably bouncing off the windows and such. Snow is actually a pretty decent insulator as long as you are out in the open.


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## bad69cat (Nov 30, 2015)

You could try putting some stainless steel wool in the muffler to diffuse some sound - just don't overdo it. it should help.....may have to re-tune the carb a bit to compensate


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Interesting idea with starting with redirecting the sound. I have heard of people directing the sound up, towards the sky, on generators. 

Angling it up, and away from the operator, might be worth trying. I'd lean towards directing it up, vs down at the ground. With aiming at the ground, it will still reflect off and head back somewhere, maybe towards the operator, or your neighbor. 

I wonder how much improvement, if any, there might be by running a larger engine at a lower RPM. A 10hp running at 3000, with suitably larger pulleys, vs 8hp running at 3600, for instance. Giving you the same auger and drive speed, but at lower RPM.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

detdrbuzzard said:


> I know briggs and Tecumseh call them mufflers but maybe they are just spark arrestor which is why you didn't notice a difference


That is pretty much all they are anyway.mg::emoticon-south-park


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## Geno (Nov 29, 2011)

loud mufflers.. big fat L-60's (or even N series) .. ah- bring back the 60's/70's. back then kids/young adults thought the loud exhaust made the car a 'hot rod' but only really made the neighbors mad. as far as OP, I'd throw a new muffler on just to see if that helps.


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## wdb (Dec 15, 2013)

POWERSHIFT93 said:


> *Loud pipes, save lives. so ROCK ON WITH IT!!!!!!!!!k:k:k:k:k:*


Most Common Motorcycle Myths Debunked: Part 1



94EG8 said:


> Those old Tecumseh Snow Kings are just plain loud regardless of muffler.


Word. Gas hogs too. My BearCat w/8HP Techumseh was brutal sounding and I had to take a gas can with me from the shed to keep the beast fed. In comparison the Yammie and now the Honda are whispering sippers. I can run the Honda for hours without refilling.


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## Kielbasa (Dec 21, 2013)

Hey Hey Hey... Wait a minute here. You are outside and your wife is inside watching TV? What is wrong here? Why isn't she outside helping you? Just kidding, I understand, because I do not want anyone helping me either. Let here stay inside and watch TV. opcorn: But loud enough where she hears the machine through the walls over the TV? I find that a bit hard to believe. Sometimes at my house it is just the opposite where you can hear the tV outside blasting away through the walls. Of course this is on a day of not clearing the property. But this is what happens when you get older. 

As far as the noise goes. Unfortunately, it is something we need to do to get our properties cleared. The noise will never be eliminated. And for the up to 2 hours or so to get your own property done, what is the big deal? Everyone will or should be doing it at the same time to allow for a lot of noise pretty much at the same time. But there will always be that guy who does it at a different time. Just something we have to deal with. I would rather deal with that than the loud stereo systems in the cars thumbing 2,3 and blocks away and the motorcycles that are illegally way... too loud all summer long, morning, noon and night. It is just so nice to be in your own home say... watching TV after a long days work and mining your own business while you are having your supper or watching TV and this loud annoying sound coming from a motorcycle blocks away is annoying the S _ _ T out of you. To me that is a bigger issue.


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## topher5150 (Nov 5, 2014)

Kielbasa said:


> Hey Hey Hey... Wait a minute here. You are outside and your wife is inside watching TV? What is wrong here? Why isn't she outside helping you? Just kidding, I understand, because I do not want anyone helping me either. Let here stay inside and watch TV. opcorn: But loud enough where she hears the machine through the walls over the TV? I find that a bit hard to believe. Sometimes at my house it is just the opposite where you can hear the tV outside blasting away through the walls. Of course this is on a day of not clearing the property. But this is what happens when you get older....


Our driveway is about 6 feet from the front door, and the tv is right next to that door on the wall in a 60+ year old house.


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

I can't hear what you are saying my 69 Camaro with open headers is idling in the garage.


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## Kielbasa (Dec 21, 2013)

My Lincoln Town Car is in the garage idling and I can hear everything. :laugh:


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## scrappy (Dec 7, 2014)

skutflut said:


> What you gotta do is get your wife to go watch TV down the street a few houses and you machine will be much quieter.


Or hand her the snow shovel... what do you want peace & quiet Or a clean drive??


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## topher5150 (Nov 5, 2014)

scrappy said:


> Or hand her the snow shovel... what do you want peace & quiet Or a clean drive??


Well that was part of my argument for getting a snow blower so she wouldn't have to shovel :blowerhug:


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## Dabber (May 29, 2016)

topher5150 said:


> Well that was part of my argument for getting a snow blower so she wouldn't have to shovel :blowerhug:



That was my winning argument also!!!:icon_whistling:


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## topher5150 (Nov 5, 2014)

Dabber said:


> That was my winning argument also!!!:icon_whistling:


That and I found a leaf blower in the dumpster at work sold it and bought the snowblower fro the same price.


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## Sid (Jan 31, 2014)

I assume you guys have the garages doors open, CO, and all that jazz..I will be looking for your posts next winter. Be safe.
Sid


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