ST PAUL, Minn. — I know, it's hard to think about snow when the grass is still green.
But have you given any thought about your snow blower this winter?
If not, you probably should, because shops like Merriam Park Repair are already seeing their first big wave of repairs this week.
“It started probably on Monday when we first started hearing the word snow in the forecast,” repair technician Ben Wilkes says.
The biggest problem they see is clogged fuel systems from left over gas.
"All of that gas gets old and it just eats away at the fuel systems and it gums everything up," Wilkes says.
That's the main reason why blowers won't start, and why they stop running in the middle of the driveway.
Wilkes says smaller single-stage blowers also have rubber and plastic parts than can wear out.
"And the worse this gets, the less you're going to be able to throw the snow," Wilkes explains.
A basic tune up will cost you around $100 depending on where you go and what kind of blower you have.
Wilkes says they try to keep the turnaround time to a week or less, but as the season goes on that goal will be harder to maintain.
“We might get up to 10 days or longer when we’re busy, but we try to keep it at the one-week turnaround if we can,” Wilkes says.
Other small engine repair shops in the area are also busy this week.
Workers at Robbinsdale Marine say they’ve already brought in more than 100 snow blower this week.
