[OM] Re: [OT] Plastic repairs

[Chuck Norcutt]

I own an 8HP Murray Canadiana (used to be built in Toronto but now 
defunct) but I think all snowblowers (and most lawnmowers) manufactured 
in the US and Canada (and probably the universe) are now manufactured by 
MTD regardless of the brand.  Just check the similarity of them all. 
Pretty much the same parts since MTD has gobbled up manufacturer after 
manufacturer.  So, the first advice is that since MTD builds just about 
everything shop based on price.  There are precious few real feature 
differences between brand names since the names are artificial.  They 
only point back to who the real manufacturer used to be.

The second piece of advice is to skip the big horsepower dual stage jobs 
like mine and get a 5+ horesepower single stage like this:
<http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100045101>
They are much smaller and lighter but much easier to operate and more 
efficient.  I haven't tried one yet myself but a close friend who lives 
in Glens Falls, NY (getting pretty close to Canada) who has owned 
several big dual stage blowers over the past 30-40 years says he 
purchased a single stage blower and will not go back to the bigger iron. 
  He first bought a 3-1/2 horsepower single stage and it wasn't up to 
the task.  But he quickly replaced that with a 5-1/2 horsepower single 
stage and he loves it.  Cleans just as well as the bigger guns and does 
it faster and easier and doesn't bog down even in show much deeper than 
it is tall.  The rubber auger also sweeps the snow right off down to the 
pavement.  See if you can find a friend who has one for a first-hand 
report.  I think they're all two-cycle engines so you'll have to mix the 
gas and oil but that's also why they're so light weight and maneuverable.

ps:  You only get one guess about who actually manufactures the "Yard 
Machines" brand.

Chuck Norcutt

Wayne Culberson wrote:

> Is this an invitation for us Canadians to move south? :-)
> Sounds good to me.
> 
> Wayne,   who needs advice on buying a snowblower.

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