I have a Craftsman 9hp 28 inch snowblower, circa 1991. I usually run it for an hour or until the tank is empty which ever is less. I do this to prevent engine damage from overheating. I usually let the engine cool for at least a half hour. We got a lot of snow and was wondering if others give their snowblowers a rest or am I being too cautious.
How long should I run my snowblower before resting it
- Thread starter irad
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I might have the same blower, I got it used this year and its got a replacement engine. I figure 30 seconds is good to let it idle after being run at full throttle. These aren't F1 engines.
If it's in a good state of tune I'd run it till done. Can't think of any reason not to. It should have all the cooling air it needs to run fine. Far as I know they don't make any changes to the cooling fans of small motors for snowblower duty so it shouldn't run hot ever.
If it worries you, get a an IR heat gun and see what temps the head and sump are running after an hour of working. I bet they're lower than you would expect.
Do you use this same regimen when mowing your lawn in 90 degree heat?
Tomorrow I'll check how hot the oil is.
The only thing I cool down is my truck. And it's to cool the turbocharger not the engine.
An air cooled engine isn't very hot, and they cool down rapidly at idle or zero load. If your engine was getting so hot that it could cause damage, I imagine you'd be experiencing some form of predetonation.
An air cooled engine isn't very hot, and they cool down rapidly at idle or zero load. If your engine was getting so hot that it could cause damage, I imagine you'd be experiencing some form of predetonation.
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If you’re really worried about the snow blower overheating or working too hard, make sure the snow isn’t accumulating around the cooling fins on the cylinder and head. Sometimes when I’m snow blowing, snow will get all over the snow blower...perhaps it prevents some air flow to parts? But I have never worried about it one bit. Never a so blue issue, just change the oil once a year and the plug every couple years and I’ve had no issues.
I think you are being overly cautious. I start it and shut it down as needed. Short of running on low oil, it is hard to damage a snowthrower engine, overheating included. It is a machine, it doesn't need a "rest time".
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It will be at full temperature after 5 or 10 minutes. You then are 'running it hot' for the rest of the hour. It's not going to get any hotter from 10 mins to an hour to two hours to three hours. I'm with the 'run it until done' crowd. Run it until you need to add gas. Fill it up and run it some more! You will need a break before it does.
If anything the melting snow and evaporating water would help to cool the engine. This carries away more heat than air ever could.
I see no reason to let it run to cool down. I move the throttle to idle and shut it off. I do leave it outside for awhile to full cool down before bringing it into the garage.
The fins around the head should be kept clean from leaves/grass and mouse nests.
The fins around the head should be kept clean from leaves/grass and mouse nests.
I have a relatively small driveway so my snowblower doesn't see much runtime in a winter. I barely go through a whole tank of fuel. While I don't let mine cool down before shutting it down completely, I won't shut off and start it multiple times. I just let it keep running the entire time so I can go through the gas that's in the tank and avoid crappy gas messing up he carburetor.
I will put an entire tank through physically pushing the thing through as deep of snow as I can. Then refuel and go back for more. The machine stops when the job is done or when I'm just too exhausted. Never an issue on several different machines.
I wouldn't worry about it overheating. The only snow blower I've seen that overheated had a giant mouse nest packed into the fan shroud, and was run for quite a while like that. These things are air cooled, and the cooling is even more efficient given the ambient temps they are usually run in. Like others have stated, take a temp gun to the engine block and you'll be surprised just how cool it is after an hour of running under load.
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