There are upsides of gas-powered equipment, like lawn mowers or snowblowers, and those are primarily related to their power. They'll typically be able to handle more (longer grass, deeper, heavier snow) than their electric equivalents, and for longer. This effectiveness is why I like them and in those two cases have not thus far been an adopter of electric. I watch my neighbors have to go slowly over their grass, and it doesn't even provide that clean of a cut, and quickly run out juice when there's cumulative snowfall.
There are downsides too, of course, and I'm not even talking about environmental effects. I'm referring more to the headaches that small gas engines can provide. Generally I'm pretty good with small engines, thanks largely to my time on a golf course grounds crew. There we got to use all kinds of different equipment and became adept at using the choke and throttle to get things started and successfully running. Simple maintenance isn't too bad either, like changing oil, though I've paid someone else to sharpen my mower blades. I've never once regretted buying a nice Honda push mower. That engine is as reliable as their car engines and in-season never takes more than one pull to get started. After a winter when the gas tank has been emptied it only takes two, with no prime. The only real problem I've ever had with it was with the self propulsion in 2021, but that was an easy fix (see here).
What I'm trying to say is I like gas engines for certain things but have never had to do any real repairs either. Then last week, in the middle of the Minnesota winter, I yanked the cord right out of my snowblower (and tossed it to the ground in disgust). This was a secondhand purchase from less than a year ago so at least we had very little invested in it, but it's only our first winter with it too. I wanted to try and fix it myself, saving money and having a short turnaround time. Plus if I was successful I'd get to learn something along the way. Here's how it went.
To get started I texted a friend who's interested in these sort of things and a bit more handy than I am. Together we agreed it shouldn't be all that hard to fix the pull cord, since the rope had only lost the last inch or two at the end, and started to look at YouTube. A couple videos looked pretty close to my snowblower's setup and gave me confidence I could do this.
This one was helpful because, even though the snowblower is a different brand, the pull starter is attached exactly like mine, bolted onto the back with only two screws. When I saw it'd be easy to remove and reattach, I had no problem proceeding. The two screws have 1/4" tops and considering their size and age (they're a little rusty), it was a no brainer to use a socket wrench to remove them. One side needed the narrow extender piece and the other side did not. They came off easily and the pull starter was off the snowblower as expected.
That first video included the guy replacing the pull starter entirely, which I also could've done as my machine is also older, but I preferred not spending $50 on that part. This next one showed how to re-wind and re-thread the rope I already had to get it working again. Mine broke the same way as his, where the rope snapped near the very end, and the rest of the mechanism (like the spring and metal pieces that turn the actual engine to make it start) was still in working order.
Like in the video, some needle-nose pliers helped in removing the snapped-off rope inside the starter. Outside in the garage, a lighter worked to singe the frayed end of the long remaining rope, so it would hold together well when I threaded it back in. Next I needed to re-wind the spring-loaded wheel. Holding the outside of the starter with my left hand and winding the inside part with my right, I went around counter-clockwise seven times, then stuck a screwdriver in there to hold it in place. What was important was lining up the two holes for the next step. I kinda assumed seven times around (the number came from the video above) would be enough, though didn't check myself how much would be required. Luckily it worked out.
Then came, presumably, the most difficult part, threading the rope back inside the system. At first I tried to use some wire to pull the rope through, but that was a bust. In fact it was easier to just push the rope through both holes and pull it up with the needle-nose on the other side. Afterward I tied a knot as tightly and as close to the end as possible and pushed it down into the wheel, being held in place by the screwdriver. Once the screwdriver was removed, the spring spun the wheel and wound up the rope exactly as desired, with the handle firmly held in place. It was ready to be reattached.
From here all I needed to do was reattach the starter to the engine on the snowblower using the two screws and socket wrench. This went smoothly and I was able to start the start the snowblower again. A successful fix, and one where I didn't spend any money at all.
I'm glad I gave it a try.
Comments