I had ordered a Troy-Bilt Storm 2620. That basically means it clears a 26" path and has a 20" intake scoop. It has a 208 cc gas engine. It's a 2 stage model, which means it is also self-propelled (single stage means you have to push it yourself) because with a sloped driveway, pushing uphill on a snowy surface didn't seem like a safe idea.
I was originally going to order it direct from the factory (Troy-Bilt) because it was $100 cheaper and free shipping. But then I noticed in the fine print that the item would be shipped freight and I would be responsible for unloading it (or arranging and paying for secondary local delivery). And that the box was a dead weight 200+ pounds, I wasn't thrilled with the idea. 200+ pounds, 5' height off the back of the truck... No.
The local retailer is Lowe's, so I went to visit. First, I wanted to examine the dispersal chute that some reviewers had complained about. Second, their website offered free in-store pickup (it was a special order, not regular stock).
When I got there, the only Troy-Bilt displayed was a different series entirely, was 15' up in the air, and I couldn't check out the chute. But the desk clerk said that if I ordered it through the store and not the website, it was the same price, plus they would fully assemble the machine. So I ordered it at the store (prepaid of course - which did not turn out to be a problem of any sort).
They would call me when it was ready for pickup.
So they called a week later. Well, they called but it was their computer message machine trying to talk to my answering machine and the results were garbled. 2 days later, I got a call from a real person, saying the assembled snow blower was ready for pickup. I visited the next day. It took the service desk 10 minutes to get a clerk up front. Off he went to retrieve my assembled snow blower...
20 full minutes later, he wheeled a cart out. With a sealed box on it... That box was fastened so solidly that it looked like tornado testing equipment! I pointed out that it was supposed to be assembled. The clerk said there were just 2 braces to attach. I looked at the picture on the box and saw cables, adjustment braces, a chute control rod, etc.
I looked at it for a moment and decided it was going to take 30 minutes just to take the box apart, so even if "assembly" was only screwing one knob onto a control lever, it wasn't worth it. Besides, if I assembled any meaningful part (and it appeared I would), I would be blamed if it didn't operate properly.
I told them to take it back and assemble it fully.
2 days later, they called again and said it was fully assembled and ready to go. I got there and it was! I checked for any unconnected cables or loose bolts. They loaded it onto my trailer and I got it home safely. No problem getting it off the trailer either. I have ramp boards. So the snow blower was sitting there in my garage.
Naturally, I wanted to make sure it was operating. So I opened the owner's manual package and there was an assembly instruction guide. I checked every step of it to see if they had done it properly.
They hadn't... I was not terribly surprised! The first thing I found wrong was the dispersal chute control. The chute is supposed to swing from full left to full right via a joystick on the handle bars. I went left just fine. But it only returned as far as straight forward. I fussed with it to see if it was just sticky. Nope, it stopped solid at straight forward.
So I looked at the control to see how it worked. The handlebar joystick turns a rod that goes to the chute and a gear changes that to rotary motion. There is a cotter pin connection, and the rod can be "pinned" in half turn rotations. Don't worry about that, it just means that the rod can be "pinned" in the wrong position. The assembly guide did not specify exactly how to do it correctly, but it was strictly mechanical, so I figured it out easily enough.
I couldn't find anything else in the basic instruction guide that seemed wrong, but I did look the machine all over for loose bolts and such. When I looked at the skid plates, something looked odd. The skid plates are metal bars that keep the bottom of the snowblower scoop just above the driveway surface so that the scoop doesn't catch every driveway crack or get worn off (as the blade of a snow shovel has a reinforcement bar along the front edge).
So the skid plates were above the surface! They can't "skid" if they aren't touching the driveway. I went searching through the actual user's manual to find out about that. The manual said that the skid plates are factory adjusted upward for shipping and they should be adjusted to the desired height before us. Well Lowe's hadn't done THAT either. Surprise surprise...
Loosening the bolts holding the skid plates was a real chore. They must have been put on with an air compressor wrench. Like the way that car tire lug nuts are put on so tightly it take Goliath to loosen them if you have a flat. (BTW, I make the car shop put on my lug nuts with hand tools, not the air wrench)
I tried a regular crescent wrench and could not loosen them. I resorted to pounding the wrench with a deadblow hammer. I succeeded only in slightly rounding the nut. I pulled out my socket set (and recalled one reviewer mentioning he had broken a 3/8 inch socket drive doing just that). My 1/2 inch drive doesn't have a socket small enough, so I had to use my own 3/8 inch drive. It took a lot of effort, but the bolts finally came loose.
I figured the scoop didn't need very MUCH clearance, so I placed a 1/4 inch board under the scoop and lowered the skid plates down to the garage floor. When I tightened them back up, all looked good.
OK, other than the electric starting cord, that's the same process as starting my riding lawn mower. But I've been doing that for years and know where everything is. Well, without the priming and without turning the key. Anyway, I steeled myself to begin the process.
I plugged in the snow blower. Moved the throttle to start. Opened the choke fully. Pushed the primer 3X ("there's no place like home, there's no place like home" - LOL!) and pressed the starter button. It felt like a NASA countdown!
No where in the instructions do they tell you to RELEASE the starter button immediately... So while I was listening for the sound of the engine, I missed hearing a grinding sound of the starter still be forced to turn over. Maybe 5 seconds of that before I released it. No damage I hope...
The engine was running, I turned off the choke dial, I adjusted the throttle lower, and disconnected the electrical cord. It runs smoothly and purrs like a kitten. I let it run a full minute while I tried out the augers ("the spinny things that throw the snow"), the forward gears, and the reverse gears.
Now all I need is some snow...
2 comments:
It's a good thing you are mechanical and could figure out how to fix the things Lowe's didn't assemble right; it's a shame when people don't take their job seriously=people should be more conscientious about their job and do it right...It's a beautiful machine and I know you will appreciate it soon!...Love that it "purrs like a kitten"! :)
Mum says you get what you pay for. She deals with a local firm rather than a big box store. Might be a few extra bucks but they do it right. Plus they deliver!
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