Wouldn’t you feel like crap if you ripped your rotator cuff??

 

both mine are toast due to hundreds of miles of swimming....

I like electric start..

 

I use to repair small engines back in the 70's early 80's and I've had my share of pulling motors over... Sucked then and sucks now.
Everything I buy today is electric start or it dont come home..

 

I don't use electric start very often. But it's nice to have when I need it.

 

I am new to the snow throwing world, so explain this one to me please.

It takes 5-10 minutes to run and then re-coil an extension cord. It takes 3-5 seconds to pull start a snow blower. Why would anyone, EVER, use an extension cord to start their machine?
...

I don't understand why anyone bothers with snowblowers when a shovel is cheaper, lighter and also provides an easy workout. Furthermore, you don't need to start a shovel, the shovel doesn't require gas, oil, or anything else associated with a snowblower. You don't even need to hang a shovel on a wall. You can just lean it up against something outside.

If you're too much of a pink-pajama-wearing wussy to use a shovel, then you shouldn't live in an area that has snow.

 

I don't understand why anyone bothers with snowblowers when a shovel is cheaper, lighter and also provides an easy workout. Furthermore, you don't need to start a shovel, the shovel doesn't require gas, oil, or anything else associated with a snowblower. You don't even need to hang a shovel on a wall. You can just lean it up against something outside.

If you're too much of a pink-pajama-wearing wussy to use a shovel, then you shouldn't live in an area that has snow.

I take offence to your comment ! My pajamas are blue (plaid mind you) and 1 of my 4 snow shovels doesn't touch the ground in anything over 1 inch deep!! That's when I pull out the big guns. I'm a wuss and proud of it.

 

I was lazy last night and pulled out the shovel. We had got about 2 - 3" of snow through-out the day and then freezin rain on top of it. I shouldn't have been lazy, and just pulled out the Toro.

 

Your definition of lazy and mine seem to differ. When I am lazy, I use my snowblower.

 

Just my feeble attempt at being funny. Have a great weekend!

 

I yanked the rope off 2 yrs ago, so I got 22 yrs of use out of that rope, been all electric start since then.

 

Electric start is really useful when your neighbor returns your blower having broken the pull-start.

 

in those cases, you run it up on the front porch and in through the door into the living room and tell them to fix it and return it when it’s in good shape

 

So people want or need for a couple reasons.
I sold one to a lady that had shoulder issues and she insisted on getting and that's a Toro 721E.
Some people can't pull the cord fast enough so they struggle to get it started for that reason .
Plain old age starts catching up with people. I think the Toro SS are some of the easiest blowers to handle so why risk a heart attack if the pull and pull .

 

Some people can't pull the cord fast enough... ...so why risk a heart attack...

Two very good points. It's easy to assume that everyone can use a pull-cord but people with injuries or illness, or people of very slight build, may struggle. In the current era we shouldn't assume that all people using snowblowers are strong men. Differential technologies have made snowblowers manageable for a wider demographic.

Also it seems that every heavy winter I read of someone dying of a heart attack whilst shoveling snow. The risk is very real - cold temperatures and hard exertion aren't a good combination for someone with heart problems.

 

I always use electric, except if, for some reason I have to kill the engine down the driveway, or running out of gas down the driveway because I forgot to check. It's rare, but it happens.

My sole reason for constantly using electric start - I'm a lazy @ss.

 

Easy guys... 😅

 

I edited my comment for clarity.

 

My wife is lightweight and has some mild shoulder issues that we'd like to keep "minor" so everything that has an electric start available has it - lawn mowers and snow blowers. While the electric start on the snow blower is rarely needed around here, I can foresee that "up north" where they get temperatures of -30°F and the like, even a properly tuned engine with fresh fuel might be problematic to get started with a rope. Then the electric start might be more of a necessity. Like money, it is better to have and not need than to need and not have.

 

Torn rotator cuff and bicep, not interested in going through that surgery or healing process again. Draging out the extension cord seems pretty logical...

 

I just use it for the first start of the year or if it's really cold out. The older L-head Tecumsehs don't start as easy as the newer OHV engines. Maybe I'll repower some day. Get a nice 420cc engine and a little bit larger impeller pulley.

 

My Toro has an electric start. It has a pull cable but there isn't a reason to use it. When I have used the Toro snowblower, I start it, use it and turn it off, just like a car.

How many people push start their cars nowadays?

 

That's because you were taught to return something in as good of shape or bette rthan when I got .

At least that's how I am

 

I always get a funny look when I ask the those who are wanting to borrow tools if they are willing to replace said tools if they are broken or stolen while in their possession, most change their mind and look elsewhere.

I have loaned out a 100 pound sand blaster to a guy who has had it for 18 years, I'm going to send him a letter asking if he would like to purchase it or maybe even better, rent for $50.00 a year, that would be more than double what it cost me years ago.

CCMoe

 

I always get a funny look when I ask the those who are wanting to borrow tools if they are willing to replace said tools if they are broken or stolen while in their possession, most change their mind and look elsewhere.

I have loaned out a 100 pound sand blaster to a guy who has had it for 18 years, I'm going to send him a letter asking if he would like to purchase it or maybe even better, rent for $50.00 a year, that would be more than double what it cost me years ago.

CCMoe

I worked automotive for 30 plus years .
Not many tools I don't have by now .
Local parts place has a loan a tool program ...needed a puller about a month ago .
Counter guy commented about how fast I returned it after I got it ....think I had for about a hour lol .
Did what I had to and took it back .

 

I have three blowers all have electric start. I know this is an older thread but I can't figure out why it takes the OP'er 10 minutes to to get an extension cord out???

My newest Ariens I use at home sits inside the garage next to an outlet, there is a 6' cord that hangs there for the E-start, I don't use it much because that blower starts on the 1st pull but my wife will use it.

At the cabin I have a older Ariens 1980's? After sitting a while it starts very hard, I'm sure it could use a carb or a card re-build but once running it runs great, it also sits near an outlet with a 6' cord at the ready.

My newest blower an even older Jacobson 1970's? If it's been a while I use the E-start, if it's been running recently I will give it a pull or two and if that don't work I grab the cord.

 

I keep my blower outside (covered). I don't know if my house is weird, but I have an outdoor outlet right next to the garage door that has an extension cord pretty much plugged in 24/7 for all kinds of stuff - that's what I use. In fact, during the Winter, I only use it for the blower, so I actually just keep it plugged into the blower, then cover the blower with the extension cord plugged in.

 

Where can I plug this in?

 

I have a couple of these reel style extension cords made by NOMA.
I've had them since the late 80's when I was "working on the tools" as a Field Service Rep for Westinghouse Industrial Services.

I was also taught to properly coil extension cords by the senior techs, or else sh*t would hit the fan.

 

I was also taught to properly coil extension cords by the senior techs, or else sh*t would hit the fan.

I have an extension cord socked away that dates from my cub DIYer days. It has a witness line on the insulation, running from end to end, that makes it very plain whether or not the cord was wound correctly. Mine...isn't, and the degree of twist is such that there's no way to fully restore the proper appearance.

While the cord is still serviceable, I don't need to use it except as an emergency spare and as a reminder of the importance of learning to do things the correct way. We don't want the excrement to contact the rotating blades.

The example of that old cord serves to illustrate why I'm now so fussy about how I care for my OPE, firearms, motorcycles and the rest. I don't buy junk, and a good long service life from anything that I own and use is the best return on investment that I'd want.

 

My brothers MTD had a broken rope so he decided electric it was UNTIL the cord connections broke too. I loaned him a SS Lawnboy while I located another electric start motor and put another cord on his recoil ...and waited for a mild day to reassemble. Schedules and cold weather let some time pass. When I returned, he said my SS Lawnboy was used a few times and then it wouldn't start for him. I walked over turned on 3X prime add choke and a quick pull it fired right up. Behind me I hear F!@#$^% off LMAO He has had shoulder surgery, and I suspect wasn't pulling fast enough in the cold

 

Both of my snowblowers have had electric start on them. My MTD of 26+ years, before I switched to a Club Cadd in 22. I have always used the electric start rather than using the pull cord for both of them.
Why?
It is faster and easy to use, to me time is money also. The extension cord is dedicated to the snowblower, a 5' cord that is hung next to the electrical outlet in the garage. Simply plug into the outlet and snowblower, push the start button and the snowblower will fire up.

The only time I will use the pull cord is if the snowblower has been stop when throwing snow. I will start the machine where it has been stopped since I don't want to push the snowblower to the garage. Usually, will start on the first or second pull.

It is just me why not use the electric start since it is there, and it is easier to use.

 

I have not used the 120V electric starter on my Ariens since the first day I received it from my neighbor. This year I have noted that the 306cc EFI engine starts on the third pull every time. More than my Honda, but not bad. I find myself holding my breath each time, hoping for a one or two pull start...

Update: I discovered that if I prime the EFI twice by cycling the on/off switch again, the engine WILL start on a single pull.

 

I used the electric start on my Deluxe 28 SHO the other day, just to exercise the starter, hadn't used it since November, just to exercise the starter.

From day one, the LCT 306cc engine will start 99% of the time on the first pull.
Once in a while, like it's first start of the season this past fall, it took 2 pulls to start, but never more than 2.

I have changed the oil every year and replaced the Torch brand plug with an NGK after one season. Nothing else, no adjustments, never touched the carb or even removed a cover.
It has been an excellent, trouble free engine for the past 6 years.

Hope I didn't just jinx myself

 

My single stage is in the garage and has been used quite a bit this season already. My 2 stage is in the shed under the desk. We had a lot of blowing snow the past couple of days. I'm going to have some fun later and fire it up to blow some of the drifts from the side of the house and a path to the shed under deck. I'll be running a cord from the deck to get it started. Its pretty cold out and I'm confident it'll start with the recoil, but the electric start is so much easier!

 

We had a lot of blowing snow the past couple of days. I'm going to have some fun later and fire it up to blow some of the drifts from the side of the house and a path to the shed under deck.

Stop rubbing it in!!

We've had less then a measly freaking 1/2" of snow in town all winter thus far...