HOWARD, WI (WTAQ) – Just like a car needs service, so does your snow thrower.
The harsh winter weather, which has combined plentiful snowfall with extreme conditions, is wreaking havoc on a number of snow throwers.
Many people have been in and out of Kimps Ace Hardware in Howard the past few months for parts, service, or a new machine.
Staff at Kimps say that this isn’t uncommon when snow throwers are put thru usage to this extent.
“Some years you use it three times and some years you use it thirty times,” explains store manager Jeff Baranczyk.
He says that extra work is starting to wear down certain parts on a number of machines.
“The belts are wearing, because of the extra use and because of the heavier snowfalls,” says Baranczyk. “Same thing with the drive disc parts.”
Not only is high usage creating problems, but the attributes of recent winter storms aren’t helping as well.
“Some of these snow storms being bigger with wet, heavy snow that’s harder on the equipment,” he explains. “Now we’re contending with snow where it warmed up and then all of a sudden it got super cold, so now it’s ice.”
Some of the best advice for keeping automobiles running well can also apply to snow throwers.
Baranczyk always recommends that customers come in to have their machines serviced regularly and before a problem is detected.
“Give that engine a tuneup, give it an oil change and a fresh spark plug,” he explains. “Clean out that carburetor if it needs to be cleaned out.”
In terms of the demand for new units, he says it’s hard to just keep up at the present rate.
“We’re practically almost out of snow throwers,” explains Baranczyk. “We were receiving shipments of forty-plus snow throwers per day and selling those within twenty-four to forty-eight hours.”
With that high demand, he estimates they’ve sold more snow throwers this winter than in the past five years or so.
Now the question becomes whether or not the snow will continue and the demand will persist.
“Unfortunately it’s going to turn off like a light switch in probably two or three weeks, maybe, and I run the risk of having extra inventory here at the end of the season when all of a sudden nobody wants them anymore,” he explains.
