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I have a question:
should I try harder to avoid popping the breaker
on the snowblower?
I've had my E-15(HA) for 3 years now, and I didn't have to
use the snowblower last winter as far as I recall - I used the dozer
blade and that worked out fine. But I mounted the chains and hung the
blower on Thursday night after I got home from work, because there was
about 4 or 5 inches on the ground, another 2 or 3 falling, and
another 6 or 8 in store for Sunday.
I had no trouble with the Thursday storm - I wasn't too
agressive pushing into the powder and the pile at the end of the driveway
was not too heavy. But Sunday when I headed out as the snow
changed to rain, it seemed harder to find that balance between pushing too hard
on the pedal (Alltrax / Curtis potbox) and the chute clogging. So I guess
I over heated the protection device a few times - probably about 5 times in the
course of an hour or so.
Is that bad for the system?
I'm guessing that I probably need to overhaul the
electrical connections - my machine had not been stored indoors all its life
when I got it, and even under the best of circumstances I guess the connections
increase in resistance over time. Should I replace the heavy-gauge
wiring outright? Should I measure resistance of various segments and only
replace the "problem" areas, defined somehow? Should I disassemble the
connections, use emery cloth or wire brush, and Kopr-shield and
reassemble?
Should I make an effort to calibrate the Amp-meter and
then follow the "red-line" guidance offered by the meter? I'm sure the
shunt resistance is too high, since full-speed up a medium incline on my lawn
even without the mower running pegs the meter - I know I ought to replace
at least that wire with the specified length and gauge (and measure the
resistance to verify) so the meter is right. But would staying mostly out
of the red-line zone reduce maintenance requirements over the long-term as
well?
I guess I partly know the answer - increased resistance
means lower voltage means higher current draw means higher wiring
temperatures. So ultimately I should be doing this service to reduce
the resistance. But in the short term, will the protection device on the
snowblower protect the motor sufficiently? Or should I always do my best
to avoid popping it?
thanks,
Joel
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