to my snow shoveling friends...

[Toonces]

Oh, God's country.  I see.

Well if Hell is hot, I guess it makes sense that God's country is the opposite.   :o

[mirth]

I've lived in Maine for most of my life and I generally do not mind the winter here. This season has been relentless however, below average temps and above average snowfall since December. Today is a mix of sleet, freezing rain and rain. Up to half an inch of rain on top of this snowpack is going to play hell with things. I think this is the fifth storm in 8 days or something. It does try a man's spirit.

The upside is that we rarely have any other sort of severe weather that plagues the rest of the country and world. Very little in the way of tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. Even the extreme cold here is seldom as extreme as what hits the northern plains. The cold air tends to moderate once it reaches us.

[MIGMaster]

I'm with ya - I 'll take snow over the other stuff anyday !

[Barthheart]

Not me! Ya don't have to shovel rain!!!  >:(

Raining like mad here today.... then it's supposed to got to -9C overnight... skating on my driveway tomorrow.... :P

[Gusington]

I was out in the driveway chopping ice like mad, in the rain and dropping salt.

[W8taminute]

My 12 year old snowblower is starting to require repairs every other snowstorm this year.  Nothing major, just replacing sheer bolts and such.  I've tried every kind of bolt from stainless steel, copper, brass, and heat resistant industrial motor bolts, nothing seems to stop them from snapping. 

[Staggerwing]

Maybe the snow's mass per cc has been increasing over the years due to all the heavy metals in the environment.

[Barthheart]

My 12 year old snowblower is starting to require repairs every other snowstorm this year.  Nothing major, just replacing sheer bolts and such.  I've tried every kind of bolt from stainless steel, copper, brass, and heat resistant industrial motor bolts, nothing seems to stop them from snapping.

Try a good (read: not Chinese) quality Grade 5 bolt. Stainless and the other materials won't take the stress. Zinc coated for rust reduction.

[Staggerwing]

Arn't sheer bolts and pins supposed to shear for a reason, like the mechanical equivalent of a fuse? If you beef them up too much you could damage the more expensive bits of the blower when throwing heavy snow or if something hidden in the snow jams the auger or impeller.

[Barthheart]

Arn't sheer bolts and pins supposed to shear for a reason, like the mechanical equivalent of a fuse? If you beef them up too much you could damage the more expensive bits of the blower when throwing heavy snow or if something hidden in the snow jams the auger or impeller.

Yes that is exactly what they are for. But it sounds, to me, like he might have problems with other bolts. If it is in fact his shear pins that are breaking all the time then there are other problems with the blower.....

[W8taminute]

Barth you bring up a good point about the China thing.  I have to admit I've not been able to find bolts not made in China at my local hardware stores.  Maybe I need to order a batch online that are US made.  Zinc coated bolts is one option I haven't tried yet so I'll look for those as well.  Meanwhile I still have 3 made in China bolts left in my inventory so I might as well use them up.

[W8taminute]

Arn't sheer bolts and pins supposed to shear for a reason, like the mechanical equivalent of a fuse? If you beef them up too much you could damage the more expensive bits of the blower when throwing heavy snow or if something hidden in the snow jams the auger or impeller.

Good analogy there Stagger! 

[Gusington]

Do you have a traditional hardware store near you? For a few extra pennies you can usually get 'Murican made, zinc-coated, etc.

[W8taminute]

^We used to have an old fashioned hardware store in our town.  They went out of business last fall due to the Lowes and Home Depot that opened at opposite ends of the town.  It's too bad because those mom and pop hardware stores usually have quality merchandise.

Now that you mention it though I probably could lookup some stores in neighboring towns and see what I can find. 

[bob48]

My 12 year old snowblower is starting to require repairs every other snowstorm this year.  Nothing major, just replacing sheer bolts and such.  I've tried every kind of bolt from stainless steel, copper, brass, and heat resistant industrial motor bolts, nothing seems to stop them from snapping.

Most steels become brittle at very low temperatures, but grade 304 stainless steel is usually good for cryogenic stuff.