Had two in Maine. 15-18 feet of snow average a year. The old Husky made by MTD was more reliable but liked both. Kept wearing out plow trucks, went to snowblowers. much better!

Also thought I would mention that the heated handles are pretty much worthless as I have yet to ever feel them become warm. You will still need good gloves to operate this unit as the handles do not get even remotely warm enough to warm your fingers - even if you wrap your fingers all the way around the handles.

Sheeeeat... We wash our balls in water colder than it is right now up here in the Great White North! Heck its going down to -5 (F) degree tonight... That will put wind chills somewhere in the -10 to -20 (F) below.... My point being, where were these Canadians putting this $hit together and testing the stuff!? Kentucky!? LOL!

I am stuck with the machine now, so I will find a reliable fix -- however you expect more from a piece of equipment like this! This kind of oversight on a crucial aspect of the snow thrower is unacceptable, and don't get me wrong - this little puppy is being WORKED! But you buy heavy duty for a reason, and that reason is because you want something that will last.

Sans these issues which I have since cleaned and spray lubed the chute, and I figure something is frozen up at the cable for the drive to where its not actuating proper - I was able to clear the snow and it didn't leave me totally screwed... But I will have to fiddle with it tonight and see what is going on. The drive cable just happened today so I haven't had a chance to look at it. The chute froze up last night "after" doing our two massive driveways. Maybe they will read this and fix future designs, like perhaps warming the chute instead of the worthless handlebar warmers - or better yet better heaters on the handles and another one on the ring of the chute pivot, or maybe another design all together?

Maybe if I am not completely frozen I can take a photo or twenty, get to the bottom of this. 

Rastus wrote:

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There's always something designed in there to fail in a short time !

I'd move down south into Kentucky where there is no snow to worry about year 'round, just nice warm weather...

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 I wish! Ice everywhere, little snow maybe an inch but very cold. Yesterday 13F with wind chill. 

Shawnee_B wrote:

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Mine both used to freeze up out in the barn, even if I got them cleaned off pretty good. The newer one was worse for frozen things than the older one. I used to keep a blue tarp over them and a droplight under the tarp. Really made a difference.

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Good luck finding them 100W bulbs when they burn out! LOL

Seems after heating mine in the garage it has unfrozen.. I am going to lube every pivot and clean it up - see what happens with the next system.

I had honestly hoped that this unit was going to be as reliable as my Husqvarna lawn mower, but perhaps there is a learning curve with this equipment where there are just places you have to tend to in heavy snow... I only found it odd because last year when it was new I didn't have one lick of problems with it all season... then this season problems right out the gate? I'll keep everyone posted.

I considered getting one with a manual crank to change chute direction but I liked the speed in which the slide handle operated as I frequently have to adjust the direction and angle of the shooting snow in my application.

Just for clarification, as others reading this may not know - but you're in Kentucky right?

I mean how often do they see temps in the negative (F) in Kentucky?

Or was this when you lived more North?

Maine huh, yeah that gets pretty intense up there... How was the lobster? Always big and always fresh?

Well, think I may have blown the engine on the snowblower tonight... Not sure but it seems that way as blue flames are coming out the exhaust at times and it is stalling. Also seems like reduced compression...

Might be having to call AMEX if they don't warranty the engine. Have to dig into it tomorrow to see after the heater gets fired up... crankcase is full of oil to the line per specs... just changed it this season too.

Thankfully it waited until after I cleared about 6-7 inches of snow in both driveways but I think it's clear that this snow thrower was not tested well and has proven to be quite a lot of trouble going into its second season! 

Not what I expected, had such good luck with their lawnmower... Oh well, live and learn I guess! I'll keep everyone posted on my findings.

Hey SELLC, if they're not asking for your help, you've nothing to worry about.

It seems that "everyone" that lives in a climate like yours, should have one in the same way that everyone has their own lawn mower.

Don't feel bad, help only if they ask. And if it takes-a-shit while on their property clearing a drive-way, they may just help-you-out with repairs !

Well it would appear that the engine IS NOT blown... Apparently when operating these things at a 45 degree angle the floats like to stick - hence the blue fames out the exhaust. Since it was rich as can be, obviously there was a washout of the cylinder that made it appear the compression was not that of what it was. After warming up once again, cleaning and then re-starting it was back operating at optimal performance.

I have found that using silicone spray around the neck of the chute, along with a regular cleaning of the area before use prevents freeze ups. This is obviously a friction/wear area that needs attention prior to every use - especially in very low temperatures or when clearing salt/snowpack at the foot of the drive. 

So while I have had some surprises with the machine, and it has been somewhat of a learning curve - I'm still glad to have it every time the snow piles up. I won't lie, I expected better but given the past snow blowers I have had, this is about the best I have ever owned with its dual stage chopper and thrower.

 

Just teasing. I snow blowed anything over a few inches. I had a good plow rig a few years, 6 foot Fischer, hyd pump off my engine, on a GM heavy half 4x4. Very nice, warm, fast but plowing takes a toll on trucks! Sold it got the old Husky (actually MTD made) and a new one, best available in 2008.

I tell ya. Cover with a 8x8 tarp, small watt droplight. It drys EVERYTHING that make them sticky or balky. My chutes always worked great, older one was awesomemosis.

Cool find about the angle messing with the float!

I did blow paths everywhere. All around the house besides drive and walks. Exercise patches for doggies etc. Even with snows where the blower was submerged! It still blew, just have to blow twice to get it all. My paths were 4-6 feet OVER my head, and still with the 2 stages it blew over.

Yea I shoveled alot too. Like every single day cause somehow it snowed every day! :)

Love to. Only prob more south is more people! I'm kinda a hermit.

KY is a cool state, a true commonwealth. State cuts trees along the highway, you can go cut it for firewood and they are happy you did. Just a tiny example of why I am here when I have lived so any places. This state doesn't mess with it's residents, it wants them and wants them happy.

Think I would like down-under fr sure. Most the getting used to it, novelty, but after that. Is It KY? Can I have my gun collection? Buy some shine? (heck I can make that)

Sounds cool Mate. Thought of it all my life, not kidding. I lived CA a year, Long Beach area. That was mid 80's. Mucho liberal but I enjoyed and fit in fine. Cost of living, apt wise was killer. Food and stuff was a deal. Too bad, was a cool place. I'd be at Newport Beach every early AM watching the small fish boats come in. Loaded on a jeep and trailer then the fish went out on a table, whatever they caught long lining that AM.

I'd probably love OZ. But permit? Hmmmm Outsider gun dealer, manufacturer, collector, got a few silencer/suppressors? Be interesting!!!

SELLC wrote:

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Rastus wrote:

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Oz is fine Shawnee ! Probably not too different to California in most places to be quite honest, though here in Tasmania is more like your Kentucky I'd say, at least as far as the cooler climate & people population go lol ! ( It gets cold for sure, but the snow stays up-in-the mountains generally. No need for the snow-machines).

If you have a permit, I'm confident that you can keep your gun collection. And for sure shine is illegal, but "ask no question, tell no lie" !

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Just did some research on Tasmania, lol... All this time I thought Tasmania was a fictional place where WB's Tasmanian Devil come from! LOL!

Come to find out it looks like a tropical island utopia just a stone throw south from Melbourne! I always wanted to visit Melbourne, I even first started hosting my websites thru Melbourne IT - but it became difficult to communicate because of the time zones and having to use more cost effective internet phones to call them. At the time I was relatively new to the whole WWW and needed a lot of support. 

1.Didn't you just recently move to the island Rastus?

2.IIRC you had gone dark for a period and come back with news that you moved...

3.I just figured you moved somewhere else in Australia, not a tropical island! LOL

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 LOL !

R1. I've been here now about 12-years ! I had to come down this way, as the Maritime College here offers International Tickets, so more job-opportunity-potential.

R2. Hmmm...Not sure about that one mate, but I'd always been wanting to bring the rest-of-my-stuff down here from the mainland, but irregular work contracts meant that I had to hang on to my $$$, & wait for the right time to do so. Ideally, I would have liked to grab a place ( apartment ) in Queensland, & Tasmania, so that I could have nice warm weather all-year-round when I was off-duty, but I was only lucky enough to get a little place in Tasmania...For now at least anyway...

R3. No, I haven't moved, but I just grabbed the rest of my stuff that was still hiding in various places at my folks place. With the SLC giving me irregular running the last few years, it wasn't until I bought this wagon with the Fireball V-6 in it, that I had reliable-enough transport to do the recovery mission with...And even then the transmission took-a-shyte whilst I was visiting, meaning I had to find a cool $400:00 to get the engine-warning-light off-my-dash, & get 1st & over-drive gears back...Apparently the 2nd-1st solenoid had a dump, & also fried the Main Engine CPU in the process lol, but luckily, some S/H units were available...

Tasmania is NOT a tropical island. It's just south of the 40-degree-lattitude which means 4-seasons in a year, of near equal distribution. It's like a huge version of your Jackal Island off the Virginia coast-line, though sometimes the cold & short day-light hours through winter make it feel like Nova Scotia LOL ! Any colder than it is, & I'd move. Year-round motorcycling on super-twisty-roads with little traffic was the main draw-card to staying.

Melbourne is great ! I lived there for 10-years before coming here to Tas, & grew up in a town near-by Melbourne, called Geelong...The 1st Mad Max film, I think you guys call it Road warrior  from 1979 was filmed on it's northern out-skirts, & southern beaches, & inner Corio bay...

Anyhow, the traffic & urban spread in that last 10-years has made the place a metropolis, & shit to live in IMO. There's houses & industry all around the bay that you see on the map, meaning all townships are a part of Melbourne now...Bummer, but that's population growth for you !

-- Edited by Rastus on Thursday 14th of February 2019 07:23:19 PM

SELLC wrote:

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Well, going into the 2nd year of ownership and I have already had two issues with the cables that control the chute direction and forward/reverse lever! Was able to free them up and complete the job but I have serious doubts about longevity with the controls.

Something to think about, as I am well out of warranty and wonder to myself how this could happen in just the 2nd season of operation. 

Very disappointed, however the engine has started and run well and everything else seems to be working fine... Problem is, the controls for the chute and clutch are very important and it won't matter how reliable the rest is, if you can not control this big snow thrower it becomes pretty much useless. I am going to look into it more today but the chute froze where the metal part meets with the plastic - ice formed in that channel where it pivots and it prevents you from changing the directions of the chute with the hand control lever. Not sure on the clutch for forward/reverse movement, but it appears to be hanging up too - preventing it from being fully depressed and locking in the blades - also makes for uncomfortable operation. 

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Thought I'd update this thread since we have had a few snow days this year and I have had to use the machine a few times... I was able to keep the chute from freezing by lubing it up and cleaning it a few times during the season, but now I am starting to have some cable bind in the lever mechanism. I always knew these cables were a bad idea.

I also noticed small cracks forming on the plastic housing for the chute, really this should have been made of metal... the ONLY reason I can understand them making it out of plastic is to ensure you have to replace it... same with the cables.

On another note, I did find out what was causing problems with the drive cable, turned out to be a worn out drive belt and that eventually snapped. Finding the Husqvarna belt, even at the store I bought this unit from proves to be a challenge. The factory belt is not very expensive but it's about $10 more than what a Gates brand cost... the big thing with the drive belt is that when it does break the unit will no longer have any forward or reverse. 

For people who have their drive belt break and are unable to find a factory belt local I have found that Gates belt, part # A36 works great and is a third of the cost of the factory belt! Not only that, your local auto parts store should stock it and that's the main part since these belts usually break at the worst times and the need for a replacement is such that you don't have time to wait for one being sent. Again this is for the DRIVE belt, not the auger.

 

ST224 DRIVE BELT IN GATES BRAND - FOUND AT YOUR LOCAL AUTO-PARTS STORES IN STOCK.

While I have had issues with the chute binding up along with a few cables, the snow thrower has been otherwise very reliable on the engine side going on four years now. Starts on the first pull...

I would suggest keeping a drive and auger belt on hand, along with a set of new cables and sheer pins if you dont want to get stuck waiting for parts when something goes as it appears that at least after four years, these are the Achilles heel of the ST224 snow thrower.

Otherwise I'm still pretty happy with the unit.

Once my auger belt breaks I'll update what Gates belt works for that but for now I got about 4 years out of my auger belt and 2 1/2 years out of my drive belt. I'm also planning on checking around for new cables so I'll let everyone know what I find out about them once I cross that bridge. For now I am just lubing them up and keeping them free from ice, although they do hang up now and again and are nowhere as smooth as they were the first two years.

 

Whoahhh...

Sure looks cold there mate...

Just remember next year to go electric all-the-way ;) ! Lesson learned for many I'd say !