35 bar falls 29.87 Omph NE windchill 35 Samhain
Waxing Gibbous Dark Moon
Another aspect of northern living involves snowblower maintenance. Each November those of us with long driveways go out into the garage, poke around until we find the 2-stage beast that will work with us through the winter.
Start it. Hmmm. That’s good. It runs.
Oil can to its tin-man parts. The rotating blower (the second stage), worm oil in the auger’s worm gear (the first stage), oil at various other points where metal grates against metal in the service of snow removal.
Ooops. There’s a mostly frayed wire leading to the snow deflector. Not critical.
Rust has bloomed over the snowblowers 15 year service here. With a wire brush and scraper the paint flakes away and the surface of the rust becomes smoother. A spray of paint here and there covers the rust with a paint designed to mitigate oxidation.
Check the oil. In this the oil hits the full top of the dip-stick. It looks clean. So, we’re ready for winter to do its worst.
Just as soon as we get gas.
