Go Back   EcoModder Forum > Off-Topic > The Lounge
Register Now
 Register Now
 


Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 03-07-2013, 01:14 PM   #11 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
JRMichler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Phillips, WI
Posts: 1,013

Nameless - '06 GMC Canyon
90 day: 37.45 mpg (US)

22 Maverick - '22 Ford Maverick XL
90 day: 41.9 mpg (US)
Thanks: 188
Thanked 466 Times in 287 Posts
Snowblower engines normally have the intake coming from a warm place. They also do not have air filters.

Warm air makes carburetors run richer, so snowblower engines are set up to run lean when cold.

__________________
06 Canyon: The vacuum gauge plus wheel covers helped increase summer 2015 mileage to 38.5 MPG, while summer 2016 mileage was 38.6 MPG without the wheel covers. Drove 33,021 miles 2016-2018 at 35.00 MPG.

22 Maverick: Summer 2022 burned 62.74 gallons in 3145.1 miles for 50.1 MPG. Winter 2023-2024 - 2416.7 miles, 58.66 gallons for 41 MPG.
  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 03-16-2013, 11:52 AM   #12 (permalink)
The PRC.
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Elsewhere.
Posts: 5,304
Thanks: 285
Thanked 536 Times in 384 Posts
Mine uses less fuel than yours

__________________
[I]So long and thanks for all the fish.[/I]
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Arragonis For This Useful Post:
Cobb (03-16-2013)
Old 03-16-2013, 01:39 PM   #13 (permalink)
(:
 
Frank Lee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: up north
Posts: 12,762

Blue - '93 Ford Tempo
Last 3: 27.29 mpg (US)

F150 - '94 Ford F150 XLT 4x4
90 day: 18.5 mpg (US)

Sport Coupe - '92 Ford Tempo GL
Last 3: 69.62 mpg (US)

ShWing! - '82 honda gold wing Interstate
90 day: 33.65 mpg (US)

Moon Unit - '98 Mercury Sable LX Wagon
90 day: 21.24 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,585
Thanked 3,555 Times in 2,218 Posts
I used that kind up until this year, and we get a lot of snow!
__________________


  Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2013, 03:10 PM   #14 (permalink)
The PRC.
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Elsewhere.
Posts: 5,304
Thanks: 285
Thanked 536 Times in 384 Posts
Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.
__________________
[I]So long and thanks for all the fish.[/I]
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Arragonis For This Useful Post:
Cobb (03-16-2013)
Old 03-16-2013, 05:57 PM   #15 (permalink)
Master EcoWalker
 
RedDevil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Nieuwegein, the Netherlands
Posts: 3,998

Red Devil - '11 Honda Insight Elegance
Team Honda
90 day: 47.72 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,711
Thanked 2,245 Times in 1,454 Posts
Hmm. Grill blocks for cars work in the cold because it was designed to cope with heavy loads under high ambient temperature, and is overdimensioned in cold conditions.

The snow blower on the other hand is probably not optimized for tropical temperatures. I havent been to the subtropics very often, so bear with me, but I never saw snowblowers being used there at all.
So it may just be that the engine and its warm up time were designed just for winter conditions, and rushing the warm up puts it in a situation that was not anticipated by its designers. It will probably be fine, but you are venturing where no snowblower has gone before.
__________________
2011 Honda Insight + HID, LEDs, tiny PV panel, extra brake pad return springs, neutral wheel alignment, 44/42 PSI (air), PHEV light (inop), tightened wheel nut.
lifetime FE over 0.2 Gmeter or 0.13 Mmile.


For confirmation go to people just like you.
For education go to people unlike yourself.
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to RedDevil For This Useful Post:
Cobb (03-16-2013)
Old 03-16-2013, 06:05 PM   #16 (permalink)
The PRC.
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Elsewhere.
Posts: 5,304
Thanks: 285
Thanked 536 Times in 384 Posts
Why not mod your snow blower into, er, nothing - and buy a shovel.

And I thought we brits were soft
__________________
[I]So long and thanks for all the fish.[/I]
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Arragonis For This Useful Post:
Cobb (03-16-2013)
Old 03-16-2013, 06:20 PM   #17 (permalink)
(:
 
Frank Lee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: up north
Posts: 12,762

Blue - '93 Ford Tempo
Last 3: 27.29 mpg (US)

F150 - '94 Ford F150 XLT 4x4
90 day: 18.5 mpg (US)

Sport Coupe - '92 Ford Tempo GL
Last 3: 69.62 mpg (US)

ShWing! - '82 honda gold wing Interstate
90 day: 33.65 mpg (US)

Moon Unit - '98 Mercury Sable LX Wagon
90 day: 21.24 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,585
Thanked 3,555 Times in 2,218 Posts
Are you thick? I've been shoveling exclusively for decades. I was just given this thing- put gas in it three times now; still shovel for the light snows. I've put way, way more energy into that shovel than I have into this blower! Eventually shoveling three foot deep snow gets old, just like my carcass. My favorite snow is that hard, heavy, icy, lumpy, dense crap the plow loves to fill the first 10' of my driveway in with every other day.

I like my engines to warm up fast- the moving parts like each other better that way, the oil gets kicked around more, and I can open the choke fully sooner and open the throttle all the way.

All I've done is the same thing that's been on all my Corvairs and VWs for the last 50 years: slow the cooling air down from a gale force to a breeze for the first few minutes when it's cold. Sheesh.
__________________



Last edited by Frank Lee; 03-16-2013 at 09:19 PM..
  Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2013, 06:45 PM   #18 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 2,643
Thanks: 1,502
Thanked 279 Times in 229 Posts
I bet this is the easiest of all to make an "EV". All you need is a motor to turn 3500 rpms, a battery, switch and charger.
  Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2013, 07:01 PM   #19 (permalink)
(:
 
Frank Lee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: up north
Posts: 12,762

Blue - '93 Ford Tempo
Last 3: 27.29 mpg (US)

F150 - '94 Ford F150 XLT 4x4
90 day: 18.5 mpg (US)

Sport Coupe - '92 Ford Tempo GL
Last 3: 69.62 mpg (US)

ShWing! - '82 honda gold wing Interstate
90 day: 33.65 mpg (US)

Moon Unit - '98 Mercury Sable LX Wagon
90 day: 21.24 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,585
Thanked 3,555 Times in 2,218 Posts
I've thought about that... actually I thought of using a/c and a cord; since I don't have to cover the entire yard like an electric mower would, I think the inconvenience of managing the cord wouldn't be so bad. Plus batteries hate cold.
__________________


  Reply With Quote
Old 03-16-2013, 07:06 PM   #20 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
razor02097's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: ohio
Posts: 306

Tetanus - '95 Geo Tracker 4WD Base
90 day: 29.43 mpg (US)

300 - '82 Suzuki GS300 L
Last 3: 60.78 mpg (US)

Jeep - '98 Jeep XJ Cherokee Limited
90 day: 12.82 mpg (US)
Thanks: 28
Thanked 50 Times in 37 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arragonis View Post
Mine uses less fuel than yours

Hrmm.....

A 180lb male shoveling snow for an hour burns about 500 calories per hour (reference from sparkpeople.com)... a Jr bacon cheeseburger is $1.29 (reference from a local Wendy's) and is 400 calories (reference from Wendy's.com)... so it's $1.61 per hour. The average snow shovel holds about 4/10 cubic foot of snow. A cubic foot of snow weighs 15 lbs (both referenced from http://dailyperk.perkstreet.com/how-to-shovel-snow/). So each shovel will remove about 6lbs of snow which means it would take 334 shovel fulls to move one ton of show. If the man can shovel 1 scoop for ever 4 seconds it would take approximately 22 minutes to move one ton of snow. This means if the person worked one hour straight taking 4 seconds to remove one ton of snow that person would move 2.72 tons of snow per hour.

An average 4 stroke snow blower can run about 3.5 hours on 1.5 gallons of fuel... which means at lets say $4 per gallon fuel would mean it would use $1.71 worth of fuel per hour. That snow blower can move approximately 35 tons of snow per hour.

(Reference from powerequipment.Honda.com)

This means the human would have to work 12.87 hours to move the same amount of snow. In theory if the human could do that work and consume only jr bacon cheese burgers it would cost $20.72..... plus the person would die of exhaustion...which is bad.

__________________



Project Avalon: E bike build
  Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to razor02097 For This Useful Post:
Frank Lee (03-16-2013), slowmover (03-20-2013)
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools




Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com