BEFORE YOU BUY ANOTHER SPARK PLUG FOR YOUR SNOWBLOWER, WATCH THIS!

Are you smoking dope? Buy a brand new one for three bucks. Give me a break.

I'm happy spending 5 bucks on a new one every 5 years

I still have some new in box spare plugs for small engines that I bought years ago...

That said I had one Honda GX series I just couldn't get to run right. Would start and idle fine but once it warmed up it would randomly die.

Embarassed to say I shot the parts cannon at it after all the usual carb clean/valve lash/new coil/new plug boot...

The LAST thing on my mind was a bad plug because I almost never change them.

In a fit of desparation, i tried a new plug and voila! No more issues. Turned out to be a hairline crack in the insulator.

It tested fine with the tester and another spark checker with the adjustable gap. Even the spark color was good. But I never ran it long enough to get hot whole checking...

Insert 🤦‍♂️ here...

Thanks JB - keep up the good work

Excellent video Brother

Yeah JB, I’ve only had to buy spark plugs when they were either cracked or worn. I was gonna mention to re-gap the plug before putting the clean one back in but you beat me to it….haha. Great video and very informative! What’s up for the weekend? Cheers my friend!

As much as we rely on our equipment, we change our plugs every 2/3 years. We buy our plugs in bulk so we pay less than $2 for NGK's so it's a "no brainer" for us.

I get 6 years or so out of mine. Changing yearly is ridiculous. Clean re gap yearly.

"You do you my friend"..................yep. Rock on and thanks for the video!

Good advice as always, good video, keep up the good videos as always bud!

Sooo….. monthly replacement is frowned upon??

I always add a dab of anti-seize to the threads of my spark plugs when re-installing....but thats just me....something I learned years ago..

You did battery powered snow blower owners so dirty lol

Thanks for the tip JB. One more thing you've added to my yearly maintenance list!

I used to change the plugs every year then I realized that I could just clean the plug, so now I do that. I use a dremel tool with wire wheel and spray some carb cleaner when finished to make sure there’s no pieces of the wire wheel hiding inside when I’m done.

Will try this method soon. Thanks 👍👍

Good video JB.. We go to estate and garage sales and everytime I see spark plugs I grab them.

I use a wire brush attachment for my drill. I’m lazy 😂.

Great video as usual. Any thoughts on using some WD40 with the wire brush?

I'm not sure if I saw a video or somebody told me this but are you supposed to spray WD-40 where you screw the sparkplug into? Thanks for all the great videos.

Love it. Your videos/lessons are very well done. Great examples and a steady pace. BTW, I am right there with you on plugs. I've only cleaned my plugs and I have family that replace the plugs every year like clockwork. Maybe they just have extra cash?

The spark plug must have good electrical ground and that is obtained where it threads into the head. If you are using a lubricant or anti-seize on the plug you must make sure it can conduct electricity. I suspect that a copper based anti-seize would be best but I have never tested that. Seasonally removing the plug might be the best bet.
Some people test plugs by laying them against the head. This is fine for a few pulls. If you are not getting a spark you are getting heat in the coil.  You can make a simple tester with one foot of 12 gage wound insulated wire and two heavy duty clamps that will fit around the plug threads. Make sure the other end has a perfect ground on the engine to attach the other clamp to.
For these engines it is not enough to get A spark - you need to have THE spark which is strong an blue.
The quality of some of the plugs on the market is questionable - testing before installing would be prudent.
Always check the wire to plug contact. The wires with rubber boots can fool you.

Totally agree. I always trying cleaning before replacing. Great advice. Thanks

I had a Mercury/Yamaha outboard motor that was fouling sparks plug because it was running really rich. This was great for me because I got it at a good price. While I was trying to get it running good, I had to keep cleaning or replacing the spark plugs. I found that a little brake clean and a wire brush followed by some shop air worked great.

For those who don’t have a blow torch, steel wool and brake cleaner also works really good at cleaning up a plug. Anyway, my winter trip to Bear Lake is next weekend and I’ll be sure to post some footage of what goes on there during winter.

Unrelated but we got some snow in buffalo and I found some problems with my old Ariens snowblower. Let’s say it needs some more work

I usually do the brake cleaner and wire brush method but fire is always fun.

A good addition to this is to use this time to also check the spark plug gap. I've seen the gap widen slightly and I use a good feeler gauge to reset the proper gap.

Fortunately, for my Honda mower, Amazon over shipped me a ton of NGK plugs, so I have a lifetime supply.

For lower use machines like my MTD Snowblower, I just clean the Champion plug at summerizing time.

The spark tester you used is only proving that the ignition coil is good and not the spark plug. Those in line spark testers are only checking for ignition spark coming from the ignition coil and they are not testing if there is spark at the end of the spark plug, you can still have a bad spark plug that is not providing the spark needed for combustion and still have the tester light up.

I see you got one of those mini Kobalt toolboxes too. I got a few over the holidays. What do you use yours for?

I clean it and re-gap when I clean any spark plug. Great video JB. Many blessings 🙏👍🙏👍

JB, only steps I'd add is blast the spark plug with air between removal of the boot and before removing the plug. Debris can get in that area and you don't want them getting into the combustion chamber. I like to stuff a clean non-linting paper towel into the spark plug inlet while it's empty to also avoid foreign contaminants.

Great video as always, been sharing your videos with friends and family when they have small engine questions as you're such an effective teacher and cover gaps in their manuals.

I fixed the FIL's snowblower that wasn't starting, the plug was fouled. That thing ran rich for a while. I didn't have all of my tools, so I sprayed some carb cleaner on it and it looked brand new, I was very surprised at how well it worked. Needless to say, the carburetor needed a deep clean.

Same thing for the spark plug, I always have a spare for my generator and my snowblower, and they've been sitting in their box and will likely stay there forever. I changed one bad plug in my life, I don't know why it failed but it was all rusted out after leaving the generator next to my chlorine bin in the shed... lesson learned on that day.

The number of times I have had to track down odd problems that ended up being a spark plug that otherwise looked good are legion! Like many things automotive/engine related, they just don't make them like they used to. There are other failure methods that you can't see with your eyes. Such as the metal crimp seal around the porcelain. You can NOT always tell it's bad by eye, and will pass the spark tester test. Sometimes you can feel it is physically loose, but most of the time it leaks just enough to lower your compression to cause starting & over heating issues. Another is a crack in the internal carbon conductor, or increase in resistance of it. These can NOT be seen by eye or spark tester, and will only act up once up to normal operating temperature. These two issues cause a weak spark, not a no spark issue. Which will leave you attempting to clean & adjust your carb in vain. All of these will not be found by your spark tester. The spark tester will only detect a no spark issue, not a weak spark or reduced compression.

If your paying $5 to $15 for a singular spark plug, you are being taken for a ride by buying the singular blister packs at a big box (rob you) store. Take the part number with you to an auto parts store. You should be able to get it for $3. Want it a bit cheaper, order it online. I have never paid more then $1.50 to $1.99 for a standard copper cored plug. Sometimes you can find them on clearance online for under a buck. I will buy a few when at those times. I have never paid more then $3.99 for a platinum plug, and platinum plugs tend have longer electrode tip life, but suffer from other failures more often. Be smart, shop around, and don't mess around with trying to squeeze every last spark out of a part that has a known high failure rate. Being frugal is smart, but you must be smart with being frugal to truely save money. Otherwise you end up blindly hemorrhaging money chasing odd problems that could been resolved for $1.50.

I think I screwed up , changed the oil , but didn't realize it was synthetic, 5w-30. , leaking all over , draining again , refill with the correct motor oil . fingers crossed . what do you think ?

@GarageGear HELP JB!I just bought my dream ARIENS COMPACT 24 model 920029. Used from Craigslist.
It started right up and all gears worked great. Looked clean. I opened the gas tank and didn’t smell anything funky! I forgot to open the oil and check🤦🏻‍♂️I should know better since I watched your video on the buying a used snow blower check list. Here is my issue.. After opening the oil to do an oil change, I noticed a chunky pasty white gunk going down the oil tube. I tried to scrape as much as I could out of it with that dip stick and immediately turned on the machine ran for 10-20 mins and drained the oil.
I put 20oz which looked
Good
On the dipstick then looked it up and saw it was 16oz. So I drained it again and put the 16 oz.
Machine starts right up and not making any strange noises. Do you think I’m in the clear or is there something else I can do to protect the engine from the condensation in the oil and the overfill of oil? Guy said it was stored outside for a bit. 2021 model. TIA! - Steve

Awsome video jb been awhile I been pretty busy with my new job and working on mower/snowblowers for the side

I have not changed my sparkplug on any of my equipment ever nor either of my Echo Weedwhacker or Echo Handblower in around 15 years as well.... In fact, although I agree should be done more often, the fuel & air filter as well which I finally did those 2 last season.... However, still have not had one problem ever, 15+ years later.

PS that Ariens Mountaineer snowbloer I bought this year was NUTZ! Super, SUPER happy I bought it & it's nearly already paid for. Now what to do with that 3X Crub Cadet I still have, wanted to do a 1031 exchange but nvr did....

Great information JB!! I've been buying spark plugs on an as needed basis but this makes so much more sense!!! However, this year I don't think I need gas or a spark plug cuz I'm still waiting for the snow to come here in Southern Ontario Canada lol..."Round The Outside" my friend 🎉 lol thanks again for sharing

For the time vs cost, it's just easier to buy a new one.

You forgot to mention to check the plug gap before replacing it.

I've done this many times especially on previous 2 stroke snowmobiles, using sand paper and brake cleaner

Is there any advantage to upgrading to platinum or iridium plugs in small engines? Most if not all spec the basic copper plugs. Your videos are most informative and entertaining.

Hey JB, did you blow up your new snow blower with all the yards of snow you are getting. Hope you are well. I’ve had to mow my lawn twice this year already 😅! I put a lot of iron down and it is in mid season form. Love it, hope you and Mrs GG are doing great.

Love the Wonka reference!

Always thumbs up got me laughing when you do that arguing with yourself very comical I agree with you and thank you for the video

Great job ,thanks!! You made the work a lot easier!!

Why didn't you check the gap

I needed to change the spark plug on my Craftsman snowblower. When I removed the boot, I was surprised to find a rubber gasket around the insulator that I've never seen before. I thought it came out of the boot but I couldn't get it to stay in. When I put the sparkplug back in and tried to put the boot on it wouldn't fit. The boot only fits without the gasket. I'm not sure what to do. I've removed the plug 3 times before & this is the first time I've ever seen it. Help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Torch is a great idea. I use that on my spark arrestor and they come out like new. I also use a little carb cleaner and then finish up with electrical contact cleaner for the final cleaning. I also put a little anti-seize on the threads to make removal easier at next cleaning. Great tips

This. Guy is good