It's That Time of Year

One of our employees shared this photo from last night's major snow dump here in the Northland. According to one news item we heard this week, Florida was the only state in the Continental United States that did not see snow this month.

One difference between the Northern tier states and the rest of us is that Northlanders are equipped to deal with it. Snow shovels are suitable for in town perhaps but once you are set back from the road a pace the essential piece of equipment is a snow blower.

Whether you have an Ariens, Toro, Craftsman or some other brand, the one thing they all have in common is that they all share a pair of common maintenance needs. First, like all two-stroke and four-stroke engines, they need lubrication. When was the last time you changed your oil? This is just a reminder that if you have not read your user's manual in a couple years (or since you bought the thing) it may be a good move to check it out.

Just so you know, we don't just make racing oils or passenger car oils. We make oils for nearly everything with moving parts, and that includes you snow blower.

But lubrication isn't your only need. Due to changes in fuel formulation, you will need to address a potentially serious issue with regard to the gasoline you use. You know how it is. You have gas sitting on hand for your snow blower in winter and lawn mowers in summer. You may not be aware that if moisture is introduce into the container as it sits in the garage, phase separation will occur. This can be bad for your equipment.

The solution her is a product called Quickshot. If you're not concerned about phase separation you will still want to make sure you are using a gasoline stabilizer since gasoline is not formulated for long term storage and will oxidize in a relatively short period of time if it sits idle.

When springtime comes, there's still another product AMSOIL recommends as you put your winter equipment -- whether snow blowers or snowmobiles -- into storage. That's AMSOIL Engine Fogging Oil. It's a really great product as it protects internal parts during the off season while your equipment sits in storage. According to the write of this blog entry, his push lawn mower never started so easily in the spring after an idle winter.

Alas, winters make us a heartier breed. But their much easier to deal with when our machines are running properly.