# Lifting blower by handlebars?



## Snowslinger (Feb 1, 2019)

The step up to get in my shed is about 10-12” off the ground. When putting it away I found it easier to roll the blower up to the shed and tilt the auger housing up until it’s sitting inside the shed and then just lift the whole weight of the back of the blower up on that pendulum and then scoot side to side until the wheels are in.

It feels solid when I do it but are those bolts and that design holding the handlebars designed for that type of torque?


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## Lottstodo (Feb 16, 2018)

because I am cheap and do not like to put more strain on my back than necessary , I would grab an old pallet and cut one end to make a ramp then cut blocks to required height to meet door and drive it up.


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## sturgissteele (Feb 7, 2019)

I would think it wouldn't hurt. I'd do it, if needed. 

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## Snowslinger (Feb 1, 2019)

Lottstodo said:


> because I am cheap and do not like to put more strain on my back than necessary , I would grab an old pallet and cut one end to make a ramp then cut blocks to required height to meet door and drive it up.




I have a little ramp built but sometimes - like today, I’ll pull it out and let it sit in the sun or clean it off or whatever and don’t necessarily want to start it up just to drive it 2’ back in the shed. Plus it’s sometimes slippery and I haven’t yet run some kerfs across it to help with that.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Build a ramp , pressure treated .... 4x4 coming off shed, probably 3 or 4, 4 ft lengths, hanging on joist hangers also .... then some 3/4 p.t. boards crossing over them.


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## Lottstodo (Feb 16, 2018)

To answer the question, that will be, yea it is ok until they break. Unfortunately metal gets weaker the more times it is stressed in one location and as well add in some rust on the inside and you increase the chance of something happening.
The handles have been engineered to accept the downward pressure needed to operate it for such as turning or backing up or motoring forward.
The weakest point will be where the first bolt hole is on the handle towards the operator where it is attached to the frame.


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## Snowslinger (Feb 1, 2019)

Lottstodo said:


> To answer the question, that will be, yea it is ok until they break. Unfortunately metal gets weaker the more times it is stressed in one location and as well add in some rust on the inside and you increase the chance of something happening.
> 
> The handles have been engineered to accept the downward pressure needed to operate it for such as turning or backing up or motoring forward.
> 
> The weakest point will be where the first bolt hole is on the handle towards the operator where it is attached to the frame.




Okay thanks. I thought there may have been the chance that they would be designed for this torque.


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## russ01915 (Dec 18, 2013)

Buy a set of these and attach boards 2X8's or 2x10's. You can screw to floor of shed and leave them there if door closes properly or leave them loose and remove them when not needed


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## Prime (Jan 11, 2014)

Ive had the handle on the right side of my 2008 honda HS928 break under normal use. So in my opinion, do not put undue stress on the handles. I repaired the handles myself in my shop. The price I was quoted for a new set was $300. + So Im a bit more conscious of the stress I apply to the handle bars.


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## WVguy (Nov 24, 2018)

russ01915 said:


> Buy a set of these and attach boards 2X8's or 2x10's. You can screw to floor of shed and leave them there if door closes properly or leave them loose and remove them when not needed


I have a set of those I've been using since 1986 (33 years) to get stuff in/out of my pickup truck, they still work fine. Cheap, quick & easy, what's not to like?


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Have I've ever used handles to lift a machine: yes. Do I think it's a good thing to do: no. I use ramps to get machines in and out of my truck. IMO the metal in the handlebars of most blowers is sized to control a blower, not lift it. Again, my opinion, you're stressing the handlebars along with the mounts in a way they weren't designed to consistently do. Eventually there's a chance something is going to fail.\

My 2 cents.


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## toofastforyou (Jan 29, 2019)

Lift by the handles?…Ha! Have you ever tried to lift a ST327T? That thing must weigh 350 pounds !! 

Claude.


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## AL- (Oct 27, 2014)

You have the option of having a welding shop reinforce them. Need to be sure they could be reinstalled OK. Might cost quite a bit - I did my own so I guess that's why I thought of it.


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## PaulMys (Jan 23, 2019)

Even if I did not have a ramp on my shed, I would at least stack some 2X lumber in a step pattern to get it in or out. 



But, as said above.... A simple ramp is very easily/cheaply made by even the most novice DIYer.


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## gibbs296 (Jun 22, 2014)

Many machines are made to be serviced by grabbing the handlebars and tipping them up onto the bucket. I'm pretty sure that's the same level of stress. If the machine is a POS this may not apply. Most should be just fine.


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## Bondo 287 (Jan 31, 2019)

Lottstodo said:


> ..............
> The weakest point will be where the first bolt hole is on the handle towards the operator where it is attached to the frame.


 Absolutely. Mine's not a ramp issue. But I'm lifting it to bring it out and put it away. Noticed this the other day. Weather if fails or not, it's an obvious stress area.


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## AL- (Oct 27, 2014)

Bondo 287 said:


> Absolutely. Mine's not a ramp issue. But I'm lifting it to bring it out and put it away. Noticed this the other day. Weather if fails or not, it's an obvious stress area.


That's where one of mine cracked. Gets both up and down stress. I'm not certain if doing this caused the crack. It's an old Ariens that I bought used and supposedly it can be lifted to maintain.


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## ColdinMontana (Nov 18, 2018)

Guess it depends on the machine. My beast weighs 350+ pounds, not coming off the ground, especially by the bars.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

gibbs296 said:


> Many machines are made to be serviced by grabbing the handlebars and tipping them up onto the bucket. I'm pretty sure that's the same level of stress. If the machine is a POS this may not apply. Most should be just fine.


I don't believe that's accurate. When you're rolling a machine into the service position, the main weight is on the auger housing and you're levering the machine up via the handlebars. I don't know the math on it, but I'd suspect it's considerably less than even 1/2 the weight of the machine. When I bought the original Searsasaurus chassis, it took 4 people of lift it into the truck (including me) yet I could roll it up to the service position by myself. You're levering it one way and lifting it the other.

Maybe some with the sufficient math background knows the equation that would show it one way or the other.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

If you want to help support them, and take some stress off the handlebars, you could add a connection between the bars, and the tractor, or the bucket. 

For someone just worried about the handlebars due to pushing down on them, to raise the bucket, they could use something that's only strong in tension, like a cable. 

In your case, you're also worried about the stress on the bars from pushing them up, so you need something that's also strong in compression. This could be angle-iron, or angled extruded aluminum, etc. Maybe even round conduit, or something similar. 

If connected from the handlebars, ideally near their top, to the tractor frame, or to the bucket, they'll kind of form a triangle. And the handlebars will no longer be under as much of a bending load. The piece you add will be in tension (when pushing down on the handles), or in compression (when pulling up on the handles), reducing the bending stress on the handlebars. 

Someone showed doing something like this using conduit, I think. I can't find that thread. But here's another discussion about reinforcing handlebars. 

https://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/honda-snowblowers/117689-anyone-share-experience-welding-handle-bars.html


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## gibbs296 (Jun 22, 2014)

HCBPH said:


> I don't believe that's accurate. When you're rolling a machine into the service position, the main weight is on the auger housing and you're levering the machine up via the handlebars. I don't know the math on it, but I'd suspect it's considerably less than even 1/2 the weight of the machine. When I bought the original Searsasaurus chassis, it took 4 people of lift it into the truck (including me) yet I could roll it up to the service position by myself. You're levering it one way and lifting it the other.
> 
> Maybe some with the sufficient math background knows the equation that would show it one way or the other.


If the guy tips it back and then puts the bucket into the shed and then lifts the rest of the machine up by the handlebars half of the weight (approx) is still on the bucket in the shed.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Here's the results on one machine I got where the handlebars were bent up (possibly from lifting it the wrong way but never said how they got bent and broken). The repair wasn't pretty but it lasted long enough for me to find another parts machine I could take the handlebars off.


I welded up some steel rod onto the bottom to reinforce it to make them usable, at least temporarily.


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## gibbs296 (Jun 22, 2014)

Ouch, nice work on the repair, just wondering how they got bent? I hear of quite a few car vs snowblower in the garage incidents. I wouldn't have thought bending handlebars by lifting could happen. It would be nice to hear from anyone who has bent some. So....if a bucket is starting to ride up on the snow one is trying to blow are people saying not to lift up on the bars to try to hold her down? Just askin'


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

gibbs296 said:


> So....if a bucket is starting to ride up on the snow one is trying to blow are people saying not to lift up on the bars to try to hold her down? Just askin'


I'm certainly not saying that. If the handles can't handle being lifted somewhat, to help hold the front down, then they were too weak already, IMO.


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## SimplicitySolid22 (Nov 18, 2018)

I am with Russ and VW.



These are similar to Russ's and a couple bucks cheaper:



And they come in the mail in two days if prime member








Then go to home depot and buy some two by 8's on the cheap...or maybe you already have some in stock.


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## rminnehan (Nov 21, 2013)

The metal on some of the snowblowers is so cheap and thin it seems to bend if you look at it wrong. And handle mounts can come loose. Don't push your luck. Build a ramp or pull it up backwards so the tires go over the thresh hold.


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## SnowH8ter (Oct 8, 2018)

Snowslinger said:


> It feels solid when I do it but are those bolts and that design holding the handlebars designed for that type of torque?



I suspect you'll be fine. I would frequently yank the old Mastercraft around such that the tires were airborne and there have been no signs of distress as regards the handle mounting arrangement.


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## AdkGal (Feb 8, 2019)

I have set of the ramp ends as well. I also cut 2x8's in 4 foot lengths, and a set of 2 x 8's in 8 foot length for loading into a truck. I just swap the ends according to the lengths I need at the moment. All the ramp boards are pre-drilled so it's really easy!

AdkGal


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## AdkGal (Feb 8, 2019)

I have a set of the ramp ends as well. I also cut 2x8's in 4 foot lengths, and a set of 2 x 8's in 8 foot length for loading into a truck. I just swap the ends according to the lengths I need at the moment. All the ramp boards are pre-drilled so it's really easy!

AdkGal


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