HOW TO BREAK IN AN ARIENS SNOWBLOWER ENGINE FOR BEGINNERS

Being a an automotive mechanic I forget that small engines like that don't have oil filters to collect all the shavings.

Another great video and as per usual very timely since we should be getting some snow here in Minnesota soon. I was just curious would you use this same full synthetic Super Tech oil on your lawnmower? I only ask because this oil is pretty reasonably priced and I am never opposed to saving money. I definitely value the opinion of someone of your small engine knowledge.

Looking to buy an Ariens Platinum 28" rapid track SHO. Im trying to see if any of you have slop in the chute direction handle or maybe the employees at Ace Hardware put it together wrong. $2899 a lot of money for a handle that jiggles about a good 1/2" - 1" when in place. What is some of you Ariens owners experience with this? Seems like it would be an annoying constant rattle while running. Thanks for input

Interesting note. I changed the Oil today on my Ariens Deluxe 30 EFI after just under an hour of use clearing snow. This was the break in oil change. The oil wasn't nearly as dark as what you show nor did I see much in the way of sparkling metal pieces. I got this from lowes so no chance they did an engine break in. Maybe the EFI engine is a little smoother from the get go. The manual still recommends changing the oil within the first month.

Synthetic oils are like synthetic boobs: They just stand up to the test of time longer. 🤣

What's a snowblower?

Thank you for another video - I just bought a new snowblower and followed these same break in steps so again thank you !!!

I used your advice on my new Troy bilt 24 inch snow blower yesterday.I can't believe the amount of metal sparkles that came out of that oil change after running for only 30 minutes!I really appreciate your detailed,first time snow blower owner/operator videos.Using your advice on previous videos before starting for the first time, I purchased engineered fuel with no ethanol.The only no ethanol gas is about 300 miles away from me,and may not be available now in Ontario Canada.I specifically lubricated with the brands that worked so well for you over the years.Even removed the wheels to apply a generous amount of anti seize to the axels.Thanks so much for sharing your vast knowledge on the proper care and prevention of costly repairs.

What idol speed do you let it run at for that half hour? I have a new Ariens Deluxe 24 inch and I would like to break it in.

You need to get a toro power max 826 oae it is the best show blower that I have used and I have used a lot of snow blowers in my life the quick stick is amazing I have had it for 3 years now and I have had no issues with it

Be careful when you take the oil drain plug out. I just did the 30 minute oil change and the entire drain tube came out. Had to wrench the cap off it was on so tight

You rock thanks for making this and saving us from even more problems in the future.

Great video as always!

Oils are such a controversy... Especially on the internet! LOL

Ahhh, the winter is on its way..

Hope your blower is ready if you’re in the southtowns !

I just bought a new Honda snowblower. When I call and ask the dealer if they did a break in, if they say yes, should I ask them what their break in process is? If they ran it 10 minutes for example, should I just do the 30 like in your video?

I plan on buying the Costco synthetic oil. I think it was Scotty Kilmer that said they're all pretty much the same.

Ty Jb Happy holidays

You’re getting snow today I think!

This may be a controversial question/statement, lol.. but I was always advised to use conventional oil (not synthetic) until at least the first owners manual published oil change hour interval. Something to do with synthetic not allowing rings to seat properly and causing the engine to burn more oil than normal. Anyone have real world experience running synthetic out of the gate for small engine break-in without issue or is the “conventional first” thing just a myth?

Thanks for all your incredible knowledge at all levels for maintenance of the ariens snowblowers. You know your stuff. Greatly appreciated!

Thank you! Have a 28" Brand New never put gas in it for 2 years. Yep, oil is cheaper than an engine.

You are 100% correct on SuperTech Full Syn. I have a 2004 MTD 5/24 blower and 2010 Honda HRR216 mower. I've used SuperTech in them 80% of the time. Both run great and have no excessive internal wear. Of course, as noted, proper break in and oil changes are key.

Great videos as always, watching your vids got my snowblower that sat for over 3 years back in action. Thank you for your knowledge JB🤜🏽

Greetings from a fellow Buffalonian...grew up there but been gone since 1984. Not living in the mountains of Utah near Park Cithy at 7800 feet elevation with a 300' gravel driveway! My first winter at this location. 30" coming here through Monday a.m. Many neighbors have Kubota cabbed tractors with blowers, that's not in my budget right now, so I splurged this summer and got an Ariens Kraken...it's fueled up and ready to start snarling. I reread the manual and thought I was ready...til I saw this video. A break-in just makes sense and a couple bucks worth of oil is good insurance on this $4,700 machine. Checking out your other vids too...great channel, brother!

Is the break in at full throttle?

Thanks for all your help. Yes, oil is cheap. Especially when a full oil change is less that 1 quart!!!

I just bought a 24" PowerSmart. I put it together yesterday with the help of your videos. I didn't get all the manuals you showed in your PowerSmart unboxing video. I was looking for information on engine break-in but didn't see that information. All that was said was to run it for 15 minutes and then re-check the oil level. I thought that was strange. We got some snow last night here in Nova Scotia. Today will be my first test run for the snow blower. I still need to watch more of your videos tho first.. Lol.. Thanks for the videos.

Hey JB, question for you.
The hand lever to control the tilt (up/down) part of the chute.. mine seems to pop out of the grooves. For instance, I set it in the middle for a shorter arc of snow.. but the handle pops out and jumps to the lower level (which makes a longer arc)

Hope you understand what I mean. It’s the handle not the two nut adjustment on the chute.

How can I adjust this?

Cheers!!


Update: got it figured out. Simply tighten the spring under the handle. Lol.

Adjustments after first snow of the season. 👍

I started watching your videos prior to my purchase and your video helped me decide on Ariens ( my other choice was a Toro ). I purchased a new Deluxe 24. I haven't even started it yet. I went out and bought every lubricant you recommended, including a stop at Wally World for Super Tech 5W30 synthetic oil. Today I added an hour meter ( again thanks to your video) and lubricated the entire machine with Fluid Film per your directions and greased the chute gears and shot silicone at and into every moving piece I could see. A "dirty thirty" oil change is next. I also added headlights-it looks awesome! I love your videos and the way you present them. Not only are they knowledgeable but you make them fun to watch. Thank you JB for all you do. PS, felt the vibe and joined the Tribe!!

You'll be happy to know that Ariens has updated the engine manual to recommend an oil change in the first month. I just bought the Deluxe 30 and the manual now states this. I just did the change after about 1 hour of operation and the oil is indeed gray and not brown! You were correct! I enjoy your video's, thanks.

A warm day here in Eastern Ontario today so I followed your video and ran my brand new Ariens 28" Deluxe SHO as you recommended for 30 minutes, drained the oil and added new life blood. The colour of the oil was shocking and I could see the metal bits shining in my basin. Thanks for the clear instructions and tips. I think I'm ready for the first real snowfall, whenever it happens.

Hey, I did some research on my Sno-Thro and discovered it's either a 1965 or 1966 model 10M4 The most telling giveaways were the hard tires and the base of the chute having a punched hole "gear" style base instead of the regular exposed cog like on most. Those and the white handlebars and the 4hp Tecumseh engine all combined are identical to the 10M4 I saw on an Ariens 60's & 70's website by a guy named Scott Lawrence. It was apparently an entry level model and the only one to have the hard "flat-free" tires. Thing is still built like a tank though, lol.

thank you so much Im planning to buy an Arien snowblower 30" deluxe,do you think the platnum or pro a lot better or worth it

thanks
should i use oil with zinc after the first 10 snowplows? or use the syn 5 w 30

i bot new snowblower with oil zinc now but after the 1/2 hour of more like 10 plows then use any oil sny 5 w 30?

Wish I would have seen this video last week before running my brand new Ariens blower for last week's snow. Definitely gonna go out and change it before the next use!

Costco's Kirkland brand full synthetic oil is also very good and inexpensive. On sale you can find it for around $32 for two 5-quart jugs. That's a bargain!

Man i wish you were my neighbor 😊

I just changed the oil in my new Ariens Compact 24 after 40 minutes of run time. Holy smokes! It looks like metallic paint. Dark and sparkly. Thank goodness I didn't run it any longer. I can't wait to see what the next oil change looks like. I promise it won't be too long, because I really want to protect that 1400 dollar investment.

Man, wish I would have watched this video 2 hours ago…

So dirty thirty is the phrase of this year.

Picked up a Pro 28 Hydro EFI,Alpine edition (wheeled version)at my local Ariens dealer last week,and just did the 30 minute (Dirty30)oil change today with the Walmart brand super tech full synthetic 5W30…
Thanks so much for your informative content and tips,will also be doing the 5hr oil change…Now hoping for a blizzard to test it out!!!shout out from the east coast of Canada New Brunswick👍🏻👍🏻!!!

What ratio of amsoil break in oil yall using?

Great content

Should the engine run at full speed for the 20 min break in ? My platnum 24 SHO will arrive in 2 days