# Discuss-FAQ-First Time Buyers



## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

This is the collaboration thread that lets everyone communicate

To understand the purpose of each thread and who might be be interested in each thread please read this
Info - FAQ Threads Explanation

Other useful links are

Faq:FAQ-First time Buyers
News: News:FAQ:FirstTimeBuyer
Ideas:http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum...irsttimeb.html
Discussion:http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum...irst-time.html


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Hello everyone. I made a few posts as examples. 

Please join in or this won't work... let's get some good info and help out our new members.
Hopefully we won't need to be repeating the same old stuff over and over again as the same questions crop up.

The next time you see a newbie asking a common question... consider making an entry on the FAQ and pointing them to the FAQ.
That way you'll never have to say the same thing twice or 100 times or 1000 times 
Don't agonize over the post.. we can improve it over time. I think you get the idea from my examples... not perfect... but good enough for now.

One easy option is to find what you said last time it was asked and just cut-n-paste it as a FAQ topic

As a reminder - please don't post replies onto the FAQ thread unless it is intended to be part of the First Time Buyers FAQ
If you want to make general comments or offer advice etc post them HERE on the discussion thread
That will avoid needing to clean up accidental posts on the main FAQ

If finding these threads sounds like a pain... my sig points to the FAQ and post #1 on the FAQ gets you to this discussion thread - 2 clicks and you're done

If you've been following the Database thread you'll notice there's a bit of banter that I'm hoping will get cleaned up soon.

If you see me or anyone post something that's incorrect on the FAQ or perhaps needs to be improved then this discussion thread is the place to communicate what you'd like to be changed.

Make sense? 

Thanks


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

One polite way of saying RTFM might be something like..

Hey check out the FAQ and get back with any additional questions there's some good stuff over there
FAQ here: http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/general-snowblower-discussion/119737-faq-first-time-buyers.html

For some reason, newbies don't seem to be searching for answers. Maybe they can't figure it out.
This is an attempt solve the repeating-question problem
If it gets good enough we may make it a sticky but I'm not convinced everyone knows what a sticky is

If it fizzles and dies... oh well... I tried 

I notice we have 100 members and 2000 lurkers right now
Any lurkers want to come and join in?


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Great idea Stuart! I like it..
I will definately add items to the FAQ thread as they come up..

I'll also "sticky" it so its always at the top of the "general" forum, and easy to find.

thanks,
Scot


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Do we have any takers to write a topic on the following.

*Starter options - Why you may care - How to decide

*Pull rope does it have one? If not can you be stranded
Pull rope - is that all you need (Shoulder injury, older or infirm)

Plug-in AC 

On-board DC (Battery storage capacity, motor specs, Battery charge time, Mean time to failure and cost to replace.. others?)
External DC (car battery? ac-dc converter?) Batteries are bigger, last longer, lower cost - fact or fiction?


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Do we have any takers to write a topic on the following.

*Fuel Systems - Why you may care - How to decide

*EFI - Carburetor - etc


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Do we have any takers to write a topic on the following.

*Transmission Options - Why you may care - How to decide

*Hydro - Friction Wheels - etc


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Do we have any takers to write a topic on the following.

*Chutes **- Why you may care - How to decide

*Length
Manual - Cable - Electric
Metal - Plastic


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Do we have any takers to write a topic on the following.

*Impellers**- Why you may care - How to decide

*Clogging
Size & RPM
Strength
Design peculiarities to optimize volume moved
If you know Tons/hr and Throw does it even matter (treat the system as a magic black box you cannot see inside)


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Do we have any takers to write a topic on the following.

*Augers **- Why you may care - How to decide

*How to check metalwork - hint lift at the corner and see if buckles
Width 
Height
Serrated edges
Drift Breakers


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Do we have any takers to write a topic on the following.

*Impeller Kits - Why you may care - How to decide

*Basic concepts - tighten up tolerance
How will it affect warranty

Buy one versus make your own
Impeller Kits
Heavy duty rubber options
Mention tire sidewalls


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Do we have any takers to write a topic on the following.

*Skids- Why you may care - How to decide

*Considerations when looking at the machine

Front skids - rear skids 
Adding front skids if rear skids are already there - and why?

Heavy duty long skids and why ( concrete slab misalignment etc )


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Do we have any takers to write a topic on the following.

*Gimmicks versus Genuine usefulness introduction

*It's difficult but try to express the spectrum of opinions not just yours
This will be tricky one to get "right"

Furry Dice - obvious example to make the point and add humor and warmth

Hand warmers (Hint: Gloves? DO you need them anyway? High Latitude temps versus Milder USA)
LIghts - None - Led - Regular ( Hint: Just how dark is it? )
Various commonly available differentiators - for each one - pros & cons & bling & gadgets


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

*Hello First Time Buyers*

Do you want to propose a topic that will help or could have helped you or you think may help others?

We don't know what you don't know or didn't know
Sometimes we take for granted that which we have learned and forget that we had to learn it at one time or other

None of us are born intuitively knowing ANYTHING

This is a FAQ for people who may not know - please help us help you


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Do we have any takers to write a topic on the following.*

Buying Options - 

Dealer
Big Box
Online
* 
Vendor support differences best avoided or should be evidence based with fact-checking to your best ability
Give it your best shot in good faith. moderators can fix if necessary.. no big deal

Hint
Nip over the border Canada-USA (prices) - Are all dealers REQUIRED to support all purchases from anywhere?
Types of support offered
How close are they
reputations if multiple vendors in your area 
Is the dealer multi-vendor or dedicate brand vendor - keeping options open
Assembly who does it you or them -can you trust them - considerations and why it's important to know
List of suppliers to avoid (This may start empty but grow over time - each entry could contain date first noticed as an issue and description of why to avoid - specifics useful or post references
etc


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

From a simplistic view, there are 5 major stages in the life-cycle of a system (iterations and agile development is not being discussed here)

1) Concept
2) Design
3) Prototype
4) Development
5) Death

The FAQ is now at stage 3 in the simplistic model

I've designed it in a way that can scale over time and become a great resource
At this point the development is left for the members to choose to jump in or not
If that doesn't happen, then this is also at stage 5

There is an enormous wealth of knowledge on this forum
If you choose to make it coherent and generally available to others everyone wins
Otherwise this was just a cute idea and the same 300 questions will be repeated ad-infinitum

The exact same design could be used to make a parallel FAQ for Maintenance&Repair

*At this point my activity will end. Looking to see evidence that we are not already at stage 5

To avoid ambiguity please "like" only if you think the FAQ is/was a good idea ;-)
*


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## Paulie139 (Sep 25, 2017)

Traction - Why you may care - How to decide

Tires vs Tracks

Tracks offer more effective traction which is advantageous on sloped surfaces and/or underlying ice and they have adjustable auger housings that allows operator to "lift" the housing off of the surface - advantageous for gravel surfaces. Downsides of tracked units (versus wheeled machines) are that they can be more difficult to maneuver, are typically more expensive to originally purchase and repair, are more complex to maintain (more moving parts) and there is less of a selection market-wide.

Weight

Weight of the machine can be your friend or foe, depending on the circumstances. For the vast majority of the time, however, more weight will work to your advantage by helping to "push" the unit into/onto the surface you are clearing, giving you better traction. In the number of small instances when the engine fails, your close friend becomes a worthy adversary, so just be aware of that and take it into consideration.


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Paulie139 said:


> Traction - Why you may care - How to decide
> 
> Tires vs Tracks
> 
> Tracks offer more effective traction which is advantageous on sloped surfaces and/or underlying ice and they have adjustable auger housings that allows operator to "lift" the housing off of the surface - advantageous for gravel surfaces. Downsides of tracked units (versus wheeled machines) are that they can be more difficult to maneuver, are typically more expensive to originally purchase and repair, are more complex to maintain (more moving parts) and there is less of a selection market-wide.


That's a great start and that's all we're looking for
Go ahead and post it onto the FAQ please and YOU own that topic forever ;-)
For future reference..
There's no need to propose anything here.. just go straight to FAQ and post it 
- Make sense?

However.. if it was on the FAQ already. I or anybody else might offer suggestions here and that's what I'm about to do
I could use 2 strategies
a) Give full text for you to cut-n-paste into your Topic to help you as much as I can
b) Just give some general advice which is the lazier option but still good feedback
So I will go with (b) and say this....


---------------------------------------------------------
*@paulie139 *
<link here> (I can't actually link to it because it's not there yet ;-)
How about adding the impact that WEIGHT has on traction?
---------------------------------------------------------



and thanks for creating your first Topic
if you come up with a second one.. just post it straight on the FAQ
See how it works?


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Trying to explain better how this works....
--------------------------------
There are 2 threads FAQ and COMMENTS

If you have written a new TOPIC that you think is good enough for the FAQ....just put it on the FAQ ... you're done!
Hint: Remember to add a Title for you TOPIC using advanced editor

If we see your new TOPIC (on the FAQ) and have a suggestion... we can't update it so all we can do is tell you....so we post suggestion on the COMMENTS
You read that...you think it's a good idea so you update your TOPIC on the FAQ ... we're all done
Then rinse and repeat forever as the TOPIC on the FAQ gets better and better



In the real world there will be some niceties and banter... but all we really need are those three things above Let's call this BANTER

So read that again and notice that you do all your posting on the FAQ...... we make suggestions on COMMENTS
The only time you (as a FAQ contributor) do anything on the COMMENTS is to take care of the BANTER or to comment on a different TOPIC you don't own

You may have to read that blue stuff 3 times ;-)
The design is restricted by the forum software - this is the best I can think of :-(
--------------------------


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

*@paulie139
*
I understand this double-thread concept is confusing at first and a bit clunky but it's the best thing I could design using this forum software :-(
You''ll get he hang of it real quick once it's become clear
Just teething troubles on a clunky design


#17 Is looking good - Trouble is it's still on the wrong thread ;-)
It's on the DISCUSSION thread but needs to be posted as a new post on the FAQ thread
see my sig to get to that quickly 

Can you cut-n-paste it into a new Topic on the FAQ thread please?
(remember to add a title to the post using advanced editing)


And here's another suggestion to show how the feedback DISCUSSION thread works

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you know how to inline images (I don't!!)
If not attachments are good enough for now

We could add some bling to your Topic if you were to find two (or 3) images
1) A Tracked machine
2) A wheeled machine
3) Something representing traction via weight... I'm Thinking of a tug-war-team "digging into the ground for traction" With big heavy guys

Caution - we need to be vendor neutral so we need to share the love on images
We don't want them all to look like Honda or Ariens or Toro or Yamaha
Mix it up a bit
-------------------------------------------------------------------


*My hope is to make this fun.... not an onerous chore *

Once people see how the FAQ shapes up... they may want to join in too! (hence lets get some early bling to give sex-appeal)

Of course, you are not ever expected to react to every suggestion!
It's your Topic so you are the ultimate "Executive Editor" 
Perhaps you might just reject an idea and (preferably explain why)
Or thank the suggestor and add it as a good idea for later
Or.. go ahead and do it or something you think is similar but even BETTER
maybe you'd add a video too (probably not in this case)

If we ever get a FAQ rolling for repairs, an obvious idea would be a DonyBoy video
With our explanations & his that would be awesome!!

In this case it would have been faster for me to do the post myself ;-)
But that doesn't scale well and what happens if I get bored
I'm trying to get some shared-ownership and enthusiasm going
This could be really great or fade and die

It's up to US and like-minded people


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## Paulie139 (Sep 25, 2017)

Yes, the double-thread is what is throwing me off. I completely understand the format is not ideal for what you're intending to do but keep at it, we'll get it. 

So what I posted above needs to go on the thread titled "FAQ - First time Buyers", correct?


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

I am working the issue with Scot to see if we can rename these threads so you can tell the difference over on the right under "Recent Discussions"

I missed that problem when I first named them - Mea Culpa

Also I'm scratching my head trying to help figure out how to know which Topics are looking for an author 
and who owns which topics to keep this coherent so we can figure out at a glance what's happening

Stay tuned for my next best-attempt to sort that out

*Hey does anyone want to join in? Look at my avatar 
*


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Paulie139 said:


> Yes, the double-thread is what is throwing me off. I completely understand the format is not ideal for what you're intending to do but keep at it, we'll get it.
> 
> So what I posted above needs to go on the thread titled "FAQ - First time Buyers", correct?


BINGO!

By the way "above" is relative... I sort my threads with newest on top ... so for me it's "below" ;-)


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

A bit of gratuitous marketing on my Avatar

Maybe I should turn it into a T-shirt ;-)


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

stuart80112 said:


> BINGO!


I could have asked Scot to slide it over of course but having you go though the motions gets it clear in your head

I think I've finally reverse-engineered what I created in the first place so I think I get it now ;-)

That makes two of us... we need 3or 5 more for critical mass


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

BTW - as contributors of Topics let's avoid hitting "LIKE" on the main FAQ thread

I'm watching those to see if anyone is liking what they see

I'm also working with Administrator to see if we can get Polls to show up more clearly over on the right above "Recent Discussions" - fingers crossed
That will allow us to see who likes what they see and get more visibilty.

Also working with Scot to fix the thread names looking like duplicates when they are truncated under "Recent Discussions"

I also have a few other ideas... 

One problem I see already is that the Discuss thread doesn't scale well.. we'll soon have 100s or 1000s of posts (if it gains critical mass) and things will get lost 300 posts downstream... still thinking!


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

@*Paulie139*

Sweet I see it.

Pictures? (pretty please)

Did you forget to add a title to that post (see advanced editor options) I hope it's not already too late
I was asking Scot about that yesterday because I knew it would happen ;-)

If you can't change the title we may need to pull Scot or Administrator into the loop
I don't understand why they thought it was a good idea to lock-down the title :-(


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

@*Paulie139*

I'm getting anal-retentive here ;-)

May I suggest that the title could be 
Traction - Why you may care - How to decide

The current name focuses on Tracks&Wheels (but not Weight) - If we keep it "generic" it will always apply if another factor creeps in

If you buy THAT then there's no need to also repeat it in the body of the post so the top line can go

BTW no need to PM - just post here - Those who don't care won't read it
Those who DO care will see how this discussion is working 

One other thing... to keep it nimble - if I don't say so.. just assume every one of my posts begins with

"Hey that's Great...thanks... here's a thought"
and ends with 
"This is looking real great isn't it "

It gets things done more quickly without the niceties ;-)

One other thing... if you want to market your FAQ.. consider doing on your sig what I did on mine


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

*@paulie139*

This FAQ thing works!
Check out my cross-reference to your Topic here:
http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/1300369-post4.html


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## Paulie139 (Sep 25, 2017)

You? Anal-retentive?

I never would've thought....

:grin:

I just realized that another sub-topic would be tire chains. And I all I know about them is that they're available. I've seen some people here on the forum state that with the way the newer tires are nowadays, chains may not even be necessary while others swear by them. Having zero experience with them, I'll refrain from commenting.


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Paulie139 said:


> I just realized that another sub-topic would be tire chains. And I all I know about them is that they're available. I've seen some people here on the forum state that with the way the newer tires are nowadays, chains may not even be necessary while others swear by them. Having zero experience with them, I'll refrain from commenting.


I just added a new thread for prototypes
Go ahead and create an entry on that thread
It basically is a super-basic version of a TOPIC with just bullets and hints to help a Contributor understand what the topic is about and give hints what to include
Prototypes are baby Topics waiting for adoption by a Contributor

So now we have 3 threads!!
It solves losing Prototype on the discussion thread among 3000 posts


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## Paulie139 (Sep 25, 2017)

So when you say "prototype", you mean prototype TOPICS and not prototype SNOWBLOWERS, is that correct?


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Paulie139 said:


> So when you say "prototype", you mean prototype TOPICS and not prototype SNOWBLOWERS, is that correct?


Bingo! starting to make sense eh?
See post 1 on that thread - I always start with a description for the thread


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Paulie139 said:


> So when you say "prototype", you mean prototype TOPICS and not prototype SNOWBLOWERS, is that correct?


By the way.. look at #5 through #13 on this thread to see what a prototype looks like

Scott will move those over to the prototypes thread soon


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## Paulie139 (Sep 25, 2017)

stuart80112 said:


> One other thing... if you want to market your FAQ.. consider doing on your sig what I did on mine


I suppose if I had, say, Scot's, orangputeh's, Kiss4aFrog's, YSHSfan's or your experience and expertise, I would do that, but I'm FAR from that at this point. I'm getting there, though. Give me a full season with my own machine and we'll see where my comfort level is at that juncture.


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Paulie139 said:


> I suppose if I had, say, Scot's, orangputeh's, Kiss4aFrog's, YSHSfan's or your experience and expertise, I would do that, but I'm FAR from that at this point. I'm getting there, though. Give me a full season with my own machine and we'll see where my comfort level is at that juncture.


Actually .. what I meant was... put a link to the FAQ on your sig to spread the word by osmosis


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## Paulie139 (Sep 25, 2017)

stuart80112 said:


> Actually .. what I meant was... put a link to the FAQ on your sig to spread the word by osmosis


LOL - gotcha!


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

@*Paulie139
*I just saw your prototype - thats good enough for the FAQ if you don't mind owning it going forward
It may not give the answers but it asks the right questions. It's all good.
EDIT: Strike that it's not ready for the FAQ - people don't take chains on off typically but leave it as is it's a good start

BTW: 
I am working the issue of transferring ownership of a TOPIC if one of the Contributors gets bored or dies or whatever
That makes it less of a commitment and may encourage participation... you can get out if you want to 

I am also trying to find out if two or more people can be joint owners of a post. I doubt it because that's document-management concept
and requires version control etc etc. But it would be handy if anybody could fix or improve any TOPIC at any time
I really doubt if we'll get that fancy because the underlying system never dreamed I'd be doing this kind of thing.
This is a Red and Green duct-tape and JB Weld solution but it should work


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## Paulie139 (Sep 25, 2017)

Could you elaborate a bit on the B4B column - I'm not quite getting my head around it. And perhaps I'm answering my own question here but I'd like confirmation if that's the case. 

I'm looking at the Ariens Platinum 28 SHO Track. 

It's B4B value is 29.33 which represents 29.33 tons of snow thrown in one hour per every dollar of the $2099 that I spent to purchase the machine, correct? 

So, the higher that value, the better - the more "bang for your buck" - also correct?


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

@Paulie139
Can leave it as is but we have precisely 2 snowblower pictures at present - both the same brand!
I can see how the two images show the differences succinctly so lets leave it
The next blower needs to be another brand though. No ruffled feathers by the FAQ ;-)
I'm not suggesting you do this, but the post could have had (say) Honda Yamaha Ariens Toro or even MTD Husqvarna etc etc
Good enough


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

FYI I have dropped the geeky prototype and switched to Ideas
Scot just renamed the threads for us. Thanks Scot 

To get a description of all the threads and their meaning and use check #1 in the News thread
http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/general-snowblower-discussion/120009-news-faq-firsttimebu.html

The design is clunky but it will work and will scale now that we have a distinct Ideas thread
*All we need now are CONTRIBUTORS ;-)

Please think about giving back and sharing your knowledge and expertise - We'd love to have you.

*Maybe take a look at the IDEAS thread and see if you create a TOPIC for the FAQ
http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/general-snowblower-discussion/119985-ideas-faq-firsttimeb.html


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