Have you had to put extra wear and tear on your snowblower getting through the Bomb Cyclone? Not getting the performance you want out of your Cub Cadet snowblower? These tips will help you resolve common issues and make clearing snow easier.
Warm Up the Engine
The engine needs to be warm before it will produce enough power to run the drive system and augers. Cub Cadet includes a manual choke on their snowblowers to help with this process. Start the engine with the choke fully closed, then gradually open it. Once the engine runs with the choke open all the way, your snowblower is ready to use.
Keeping Warm and Safe
If you’re using a snowblower, you’re out in the winter weather longer than you’re usually used to. Add in the chance of getting snow blown back into your face, and you can get uncomfortable and even dangerously cold in a hurry.
Thicker clothing and reduced skin exposure can keep you comfortable, but it’s also important to wear an outfit needs to be free of any loose items that could get caught in the machinery. Skip the scarf and get a balaclava or wear a jacket with a heavy hood, and make sure any adjustment cords on your coat and hood are out of reach.
A snowblower cab may look like an overgrown umbrella, but it can shield you from wind and snow, dramatically improving your comfort when operating your snowblower. Cub Cadet also offers heated grips on most models to keep the circulation in your hands so you can operate the controls comfortably.
Remove Snow Before the Storm Stops
Using your snowblower to remove snow before accumulation reaches 6 inches will make the job much easier on your machine, let it throw snow farther, and let you cover a wider strip with each pass. In turn, it also reduces the height of snow banks, helping the snow melt faster.
Slow Down
If the snow exiting the chute isn’t making it past your driveway, you’re trying to move more snow than your machine can handle. Increasing the throttle speed, reducing the ground speed and taking on smaller strips of snow with each pass will help. Snow density can vary a lot so a dense snowfall may be a lot heavier than a previous storm that left light, fluffy snow even if the later storm had more accumulation. Whether you’re using a 1X, 2X or 3X, in most cases you should only be using 1/3-1/2 of your auger’s total width at a time.
Check for Newspapers
By now, you’ve made sure that rocks, chains, and other obstacles are out of your driveway, but there’s one obstacle that can surface and quickly jam your machine: a newspaper. If you have a subscription or you end up with a trial copy or a free weekly in your yard now and then, make sure it has been removed before you start clearing snow.
Wait to Refuel
Run out of fuel in the middle of clearing snow? You could go ahead and refill the tank, but doing so means you’re pouring a volatile liquid next to a hot engine. Spill a little, and you’ll end up with a fire. If it’s time for a refuel, take a break and give the engine a few minutes to cool.
Know the Right Way to Clear Jams
There are 6,000 snowblower-related injuries in the U.S. every year, and nearly all of them are caused by operators being careless when clearing a jammed impeller.
Always shut the engine off and wait until the augers come to a complete stop before you try to clear out the housing. Never reach into the housing with your hands: even a stationary impeller is a danger due to its sharp edges and finger-pinching fit inside the housing. If your model doesn’t include a clearing tool, use a broom handle or a shovel to break up the jam.
Sheer pins may look like regular bolts, but they’re made from soft metal that will break if the impellers stop moving. Replacing them with off-the-shelf bolts will maintain the power transfer between the transmission and the auger, which can result in serious damage and injury. If a pin breaks, it’s because something happened that could have broken major components on your machine.
Getting Parts and Accessories for Your Cub Cadet Snowblower
Whether you need some new sheer pins, want to add a cab, or need to do some major work on your snowblower, you can get everything you need from www.cubparts.com. Our site lets you search for parts based on your snowblower’s model and serial number and will show you factory descriptions and diagrams so you can be sure you’re ordering exactly what you need. We’re a certified Cub Cadet dealer, which means we can ship OEM parts across the U.S. and Canada.