I thought about doing an battery-powered electric conversion, but quickly found that the components alone would run me over $1000. I found a guy in Minnesota that did a cool corded electric snow blower conversion that could be quite inexpensive, but I would really want the portability of battery power.

So I gave up the ambitious plan and bought a replacement Tecumseh engine from  Small Engine Warehouse, which I recommend for this kind of thing. I couldn’t find a direct replacement for my machine on their web site but the guy I talked to on the phone gave me three different options. I was disappointed about the electric plan not working out so I upgraded to this 11hp beast:

It took two trips to the local lawnmower place — I couldn’t get the sheave off the old engine and then found the traction belt was worn out — but it bolted right on and fit perfectly, if a bit tighter than the old one. We still have some snow on the driveway so I took it for a little test spin. I was expecting to be launching snow onto the neighbor’s house with all that extra horsepower, but the snow is now icy and chunky so I wasn’t getting the distance I was hoping for. Next fresh snowfall I’ll see what this baby can do.