# Extreme Cold Tips Needed For Snowblowers?



## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

Minus 9 degrees this morning and more extreme cold coming our way along with more snow.

What do you people who live in very cold areas do different from the rest of us to maintain or prep your blowers ? I know you should keep them in a garage or perhaps a heated area but a lot of snowblower owners don't have a garage.

I know to make sure your impeller is not frozen to auger housing before using it. I know about making sure your tracks are not frozen to the ground or floor before moving. Do you have to use starting fluid in below weather starts or does a well tuned carb. start OK?

what about gas additives for below zero weather? is Stabil okay or do you need something else.?

I am trying to give people around here the best information possible to keep their snowblowers working under extreme cold conditions.

thank you.


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## rslifkin (Mar 5, 2018)

If it's well tuned and in good shape it should start without starting fluid. But if it's really cold, depending on the vapor pressure of the gas in the tank and how good the carb is at vaporizing primer fuel, you might need electric start to get it spinning fast enough / long enough to fire. Pull start can get a little questionable when it's really cold. Appropriately thin oil for easy / fast cranking is important too (0W-30 or 0-40 would be good in extreme cold).


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## aldfam4 (Dec 25, 2016)

In cold weather here around 0 degrees or below, I usually will prime a couple more times. If my snow blowers need the usual prime of 2 times, I will go 4 times. It does make a difference for me.


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

* Trust me -9 is nothing compared to what we have here in the FROZEN TUNDRA. if everything works now it will work when it is cold oot. SO DON'T GO LOSING ANY SLEEP OVER IT. k:k:k:k:k:k:k:k:k:k:*


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## rslifkin (Mar 5, 2018)

Another thing that can help if using electric start is to do the normal choke / prime sequence and then crank it and hit the primer again while it's cranking. Sometimes that gives a bit better fuel vaporization on that last primer shot and gets it to fire. Making sure you've got good, strong spark helps too.


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## tcislander (Feb 19, 2015)

Recreational fuel, with a premix of Seafoam in all my small engines.


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## Ian Ariens 924 (Dec 22, 2015)

A machine in good tune, with fresh non ethanol fuel and a good sparkplug , it should start.An electric start will help too.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

The only thing I do different for "real" cold, which for me is around +10F, negative 12C, or colder,
is I give a squirt of starter fluid straight into the carb bowl before startup, and use electric start.
(my '71 Ariens doesn't have a primer button that squirts fuel)

Probably not strictly necessary, but I find it helps with starting under those conditions.


Scot


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

When the polar vortex hit a few weeks ago, I tested cold starting my machines. Only my powerlite has a primer. 

All of my non primer machines took TWO pulls @ -4 degrees F. Every machine I own has been rejetted.


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## strtch5881 (Oct 6, 2018)

All the above and let the engine warm up at half throttle for a while. I usually engage the auger for a half a minute also.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

sscotsman said:


> The only thing I do different for "real" cold, which for me is around +10F, negative 12C, or colder,
> is I give a squirt of starter fluid straight into the carb bowl before startup, and use electric start.


Scot, how do you spray it right into the carb bowl? Do you pull the fuel line off the carb, or drop the bowl?

If I'm using it, I just spray it into the carb's throat, at the choke plate area.


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## ColdinMontana (Nov 18, 2018)

My new Ariens Pro has been starting 1st pull in my unheated garage. Still breaking it in with the Dino oil too.

I can’t understand why manufacturers want you to start a stone cold motor on “Fast" throttle setting. That’s murder on an engines internals. I start it on half to two-thirds throttle when cold. Then give it a 2-3 minutes before putting it to work.


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## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Yeah, now I keep the throttle just above idle while starting. The governor should still have the actual throttle plate pretty much fully open, making it no harder to start than if the throttle lever was set to full speed. But as soon as the engine starts to spin, the governor closes the throttle plate down, to hold a low RPM, and the engine never has a chance to get to a faster speed while it's ice-cold. 

I should probably start it sooner in my getting-ready process, to give it a little longer to warm up. But I try to give it maybe a minute, so at least the oil can get moving around, etc, before putting a load on it.


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

Always use synthetic oil, warm up a little longer, and take it to bed with me, I mean bring it in to the house (only kidding)

If everything is right with the engine, oil, valves, ignition, carb, the engine will start without ether.


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## WVguy (Nov 24, 2018)

ColdinMontana said:


> I can’t understand why manufacturers want you to start a stone cold motor on “Fast" throttle setting. That’s murder on an engines internals.


Nonetheless, all the small engine manufacturers seem to be going to the "no throttle" model. It would be interesting to talk to a few of the engineers who design these engines - maybe it really doesn't do that much extra wear on them to run fast with NO LOAD on a cold start? Especially with the variable viscosity oil that is universal now - the last time I looked for straight 20 or 30 weight oil at the auto parts store I didn't see any.

Now, I'm 68 years old and every small engine I ever saw until about six or eight years ago had a throttle on it. We bought a Lawn-Boy mower with a Briggs electric start engine on it to leave at my wife's father's house so she could do the lawn there - I was still working so didn't have time and she doesn't have the shoulder strength to start a mower with a pull cord. That mower still runs fine although it hasn't been used regularly for the last five years (FIL passed away) but I have to say I've seen no ill effects from not having a throttle.

So while it is counter-intuitive and goes against the teaching and experience I've had all my life, I have to wonder if different metals and lubricants now negate or at least minimize the need for a throttle on small engines. I mean, if it was really needed, they'd still be there, wouldn't they? Given that the designs for a throttle are well entrenched and it isn't breaking any new designing or manufacturing ground to put one on (i.e., it's cheap) does it really reduce the cost of a small engine enough to make a noticeable difference in the retail price of one?

I really don't know. I'm not an engineer and don't even play one on TV, just throwing that thought out there.


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## rslifkin (Mar 5, 2018)

Starting at full RPM definitely causes extra wear, but they probably figure it's like a generator that does it out of necessity. It'll cause some extra wear, but chances are they can still make it last longer than 90% of people care for it to. 

Personally, I start with the throttle a little above idle on my Pro 28 (about 1/3). If I start it at idle, it'll get stuck chugging along at 1200 RPM and not come up to idle properly after it fires. At 1/3 throttle it runs just about 1800 or so after start and gradually come up closer to 2000 as it warms up (fully warmed up idle is about 1700, it'll idle down to about 1400 - 1500 if I drop it all the way back when cold).


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## broo (Dec 23, 2017)

Never had to use starting fluid.

According to my manual, when very cold I must start with 1/2 throttle. When it's -10C or warmer I can start at full throttle.

When very cold I let it warm up a bit longer. Stabil won't change anything for the cold starts. If the impeller is full of snow or slush after using it, I put a milkhouse heater in front of it for a few hours until it all melts down. The shed isn't insulated, but I have electrical outlets in it.


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## SnowH8ter (Oct 8, 2018)

Blower has always slept in the cold. Earlier on it was under a custom cover but most yrs in an unheated shed. Some other stuff:

- always employed synthetic oil;
- gas tank is always full (I've never used a fuel additive/stabilizer);
- check impeller is not glued to the housing;
- extra priming is necessary when mercury descends past -20c (old Mastercraft was easy - prime until fuel was dripping from carb inlet);
- at -30c and below, dry crank the engine with e-starter through two five-second cycles to loosen things up; and
- once started, let her run for a minute of two before getting down to business.

I'd run the throttle to the max detent and back it just off the detent to start the Mastercraft. The Husky won't go unless the throttle is at max.


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## sr71 (Mar 25, 2013)

Ok... the obvious for outside storage.... throw a tarp over her to keep the carb from icing and also to help prevent the linkages from freezing.


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## bumper (Feb 12, 2019)

Ian Ariens 924 said:


> A machine in good tune, with fresh non ethanol fuel and a good sparkplug , it should start.An electric start will help too.


Fortunately, in northern NV, non ethanol fuel, for the first time in years is available at Wally Mart. Much easier on small engines too.


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## guybb3 (Jan 31, 2014)

sr71 said:


> Ok... the obvious for outside storage.... throw a tarp over her to keep the carb from icing and also to help prevent the linkages from freezing.




Because I didn't do this, my Tecumseh blew up when I started it @ bitter cold temperatures and the engine raced on start up. The carburetor linkage was frozen and by the time I got it throttled down (only a few seconds) it was too late. I now work hard at keeping my machines inside. Synthetic oil also.


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## Johner (Dec 30, 2020)

POWERSHIFT93 said:


> * Trust me -9 is nothing compared to what we have here in the FROZEN TUNDRA. if everything works now it will work when it is cold oot. SO DON'T GO LOSING ANY SLEEP OVER IT. k:k:k:k:k:k:k:k:k:k:*


Might be a little water in the carb, would a hair dryer help, would higher octane be better, OHV's check clearance.


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## dr bob (Dec 12, 2015)

After a little tinkering/inspecting during spring storage prep, I decided that the "throttle" adjustment is no more than a throttle-opening-limiter, as it keeps the governor from opening the actual throttle plate. With the push towards reducing emissions from small engines, it makes a certain amount of sense that manufacturers want the engine to go immediately to full speed on a main circuit, where the engine warms up faster. Kinda like your new car, where they tell you to drive off immediately on cold start. That's so the catalysts will heat up quickly. For small engines, getting the head and intake warmed up reduces misfires so HC and CO numbers drop almost immediately on start. My casual observation is that engines last a whole lot longer if the cylinder/block is allowed to warm up at roughly the same rate as the pistons, so the piston doesn't grow faster/bigger than the hole it lives in. Most small engines are splash-lubricated, so warming the oil up a bit on start offers a better chance of oil actually finding its way to crank pins and valve gear. Considering the above, my snowblower gets started with the throttle barely cracked off of 'turtle', choke just off of full-choked position, and goes to no-choke and full-turtle as soon as my hands can get to the knobs after startup. I let it run for a few minutes while the augers, impellor and housings get cold, then engage both drives to verify all is well with no odd noises. Then open the throttle, let the governor manage engine speed/load, and go move some snow around.

I have a pressure washer with a Honda engine, no throttle. It could really use a throttle for starting, and in a perfect world the engine load/speed target would be based on demand. There are some commercial units that supposedly have that, but I haven't had a chance to see how they do it.


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## Russell Stephan (Feb 9, 2021)

Starting fluid on steroids -- propane!


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

Have learned a lot since I first posed this question. I use synthetic oil, non ethanol fuel , and keep my equipment well tuned and they start right up no matter how cold.


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## LouC (Dec 5, 2016)

If I was using a 4 stroke snowblower I’d use 0/30 syn oil + fresh fuel, with the Toro 2 stroke I mix up a batch of fresh 50:1 pre mix with full syn TCW-III 2 stroke oil. Full choke one prime and hit the electric starter button it starts instantly in near zero weather.


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