(ET) Blower in wet snow

[Chris Zach <czach computer org>]

Snowed again here at Boo manor. That nice heavy wet snow that falls 
about 2-3 inches deep but weighs a ton.

Once again took the E20 thru it. Glad I had the chains; they're noisy, 
but they totally end the slipping problems.

This time I was blowing the stuff that causes clogs. Snow poured out of 
the chute like wet soup. When I swung the chue from left to right, it 
clogged. So I stopped and took a look:

Yep, totally packed with snow. However (once the auger stopped) I was 
able to push it out of the throat from below with no problem. I wound up 
with a perfect cylinder of snow. No snow stuck in the throat; it's as 
smooth as glass. What happened was it stuck to the top part of the chute 
(painted) then when I turned the chute that snow stayed there and 
clogged the tractor.

So if you don't turn the chute while blowing, the tractor doesn't clog. 
I really do think that POR15 is a great idea in the chute throat.

That #5 battery is getting worse; the last half I was running with it's 
light on (indicating it was under 5.3 volts) and current draw kept going 
up. Need to replace it, and wire in those Hawkers.

Chris