[nobog]

Pre-Season (by a long shot) review of my new Snapper M1227. I needed a 2-stage blower and end of season seemed like the right time to buy. Bought out of state so no sales tax but the delivery fee wiped out those savings. My major critera was a metal discharge chute which other than a Ariens is almost impossible to find. I just cannot get myself to buy something with a plastic chute. So the Snapper it is. Get it home and look things over, seems sturdy, but wait - there's more! The manual adjust chute deflector doesn't work. The "hands free" device (so your right hand is free to adjust controls) doesn't work. Since the chute deflector was binding, I made a new shim (.25" - the black spacer in the photo) vs the OEM .030", this stopped the binding. The hand free mechanism, not shown - under the plastic handle bar shroud - was fixed with another shim to allow the locking pin to engage. Spend another couple hours making sure everything is lubed and aligned properly.

Lets start her up! 3 pulls and everything fine. Now for the fun part - the electric chute rotator - yup, electric and it works perfect. No more cranking! And it spins at a pretty good clip. My wife asks if it will work when its -20 deg, which is a good question. Handlebrs are at the right height and anlge for me (6'2").

So... The bottom line is I have no idea how good it will blow snow, the fit and finish I would rate a C, dealer prep I would rate a F. But the electric chute rotation I would rate a A (the button shown next to the right hand grip).

Look for another review in 10 months or so..

 

[2008 Impala]

Good find. For the record my Dad got our Yard-Man in 1997 with the plastic chute and it is just like new.

 

[rscurtis]

I sold these the last few years I was a Snapper dealer. That is a Simplicity built machine. We had very good luck with them. Well made but still simple.

 

[nobog]

Snapper M1227, 1st report

OK, a few significant snowfalls so time for a real review -

The Good - blows like there is no tomorrow, shoots the snow 50' - when its moving (see The Bad). Electric chute rotater works perfect. Starts easy.

The Bad - the manual chute defector is useless, it simply doesn't work. The cable is too wimpy and folds onto itself before any movement takes place - junk. The power drive doesn't work - oh it works occasionally and I have taken the bottom plate off 3x to clean the drive disk but something is way wrong. Works for 10-20 minutes then nothing. So this makes the thing useless, so it doesn't matter how far it blows the snow or how cool the rotator is. I will heat up the garage tonight and follow the procedure exactly to adjust the drive tonight but everything looked OK on the previous "exams".

I should be spending my time sitting by the fireplace drinking Tom & Jerrys....

Major dissapointment. JK

 

[Fcubman]

Is there sufficient spring tension holding the rubber wheel against the drive disc? Is snow getting in there, making the disc wet, then drying before you get in there….

 

[nobog]

The "manual" gives a spec for the springs that hold the disk while engaged and it is supposed to be 3" to 3.375". I measured and it was less than 3". But there is simply no way to tighten the cable anymore without it engaging during idle - which would make the thing move without engaging the drive.

So I made a new roller (a lathe comes in handy) for the cable where it takes a bend from the bottom of the chassis to the handlebar. The new roller is a larger dia which takes just enough of the slop out of the cable without engaging the disk at idle. The springs are about 3" now.

I have yet to try it but there is little else I can do except buy a Honda.

Not happy in WI.

 

[Fcubman]

Sounds like crummy engineering - bet they get a lot of warrantee claims. Maybe a call to the dealer would reveal a recall for updated parts. (Or not…) Your sig sorta nails it!

 

[Don B.]

I understand your unhappiness towards this Snapper but a Honduh? no way.

 

[marlboro180]

nobog,

I had similar issues with my Craftsman. I resolved the issue by taking off, and leaving off, the bottom plate so I can get in there easily and wipe down the friction plate and wheel every so often. Seems to always be full of crud, which makes it inoperable.

I just give it a quick shot of brake cleaner and wipe the crud off.

Maybe yours had a little oil on it from assembly? Besides the spring issue- nice solution for that BTW.

Go test it out in the yard - inquiring minds want to know!

 

[nobog]

Thanks for the feedback. I did the brake cleaner thing (3x as mentioned) but I don't see an excess or any source of significant oil. It was wet (water) in there but I don't really see any sure way to seal things up. But... I did put some foam weather strip on the pulley cover to help keep snow infiltration to a minimum. While I was at it I completely removed the manual chute deflector lever thingy and now just have a good 'ol fashioned giant wing nut to lock it in place, not at nice as a lever but at least it works.

I will post after the next snow. Jim

 

[Fcubman]

Water will make it slip, for sure.

 

[nobog]

OK, the "next" snowfall came and went and the drive is still useless. A email to Snapper goes unanswered. I'm frustrated I can't fix it myself. So its off to the dealer. They replace the rubber drive wheel (remember this thing is virtually new) and adjust things and apologize for my problem - no charge as it is covered under warranty.

So now the wait for more snow....

JK

 

[Fcubman]

Let's hope they got it fixed. The suspense must be tough!

 

[nobog]

Well... 3" of snow and a couple of very small drifts later...

Its back to the dealer :banghead3

If they sold Ariens I would trade that thing in :fing20:

JK

 

[nobog]

The fix ?

OK kids, looks like this is it:

Snapper pn 1687478. This is labeled as a Gasket Kit and not a service bulletin or recall.

This includes:
Seal Plate assyembly (PTO)
Seal strip
Rubber engine base seal
The entire belt cover
misc nuts and bolts
comes with 8 pages of installation instructions

The entire engine needed to be R & R to install this kit.

The dealer claims he has over one hour blowing snow on the unit with no problems. I wasn't able to pick the unit up in time to clear the 2' drifts from our weekend storm so I can't verify operation.

Oddly, I got a reply to my email from Snapper from over 5 weeks ago. They claim they can't help me because I didn't leave the model #. I gave them a link to this post and I am a registered owner - so they know (or should know) who I am. Snapper: this is disgusting plain and simple.

So... no I have not personally tried it but I have high hopes. I should be ready for next season now!

Jim

 

[MissouriSnowMan]

Re: Snapper M1227, 1st report

The chute actually works exceptionally well if installed correctly. Slide the upper portion of the cable only through the slot on the left. Push the cable rain cap through the bottom of the circular retainer plate. The base of the cable stop will press against the circular retainer plate and lodge itself in place when the chute lever is operated. I worked the chute about 20 times after this installation and it works perfectly. I do admit that this install procedure was nowhere listed in the Snapper M1227E (Model 1696173) assembly instructions. It should be noted that this model has a true gear-driven transmission which should eliminate drive problems likely caused by a worn or damaged friction disk.

MissouriSnowMan is online now Report Post Edit/Delete Message

 

[MissouriSnowMan]

Re: Snapper M1227, 1st report

I'm glad to see that this model will throw snow up to 50 feet. The lack of a separate throttle, however, still concerns me. I have read that the governor link to the carburetor will adjust engine speed to compensate for load. Does anyone know well this compensation works?

 

[nobog]

Update: after seeing this thread still active I noticed I never followed up after the "fix". Well... its fixed.. and it works. Last winter we had some good snow and that 12 hp motor really does throw the snow. For less than 6" I usually just use the Toro single stage (unless its good and wet) and for 12" or big drifts I use the tractor -so its had limited use. The best part is the motorized chute, they should all be like this.

Jim

 

[MissouriSnowMan]

The Snapper M1227 is not rated at 12 HP as the name would tend to suggest. The Briggs and Stratton 1150 (250 cc with OHV) is rated at 11.50 ft-lbs of gross torque when tested at 3060 RPM. The maximum rated RPM is typically 3600. For this type engine, typical shaft horsepower is about 8 HP as calculated below:

179 cc = 5 hp

205 cc = 8 to 9 Gross Torque = 5.5 to 6.5 hp

250 cc = 11 to 11.5 Gross Torque = 7 to 8 hp

305 cc = 13.5 to 14.5 Gross Torque = 9 to 10 hp

342 cc = 15.5 to 16.5 Gross Torque = 11 to 12 hp

389 to 420cc = 18 ft lbs = 13 to 15 hp