We bought the yarbo one year ago. Got it in March as we waited for it to be shipped. Got it in time for summer. Used if four times before the battery charger had issues. They sent another. Same issues. They send another. By time we did summer was over. Only could hope it works for winter.
Got it mapped, started using it first time. All four shear pins broke. Replaced them.
Then this is what happened next five days:
Day One: Chute froze.
Day Two: Auger froze.
Day Three: Brought inside to defrost got both working.
Day Four: Worked fine.
Day Five (Today): Chute froze. Network issues. Front camera disconnected. Took it inside to defrost got it working. Took it outside again.. chute froze. Took hairblower to it got it working.
So now, it’s hopnig it stays working. The softer more packier the snow, the harder it gets to throw it. Instaed it creates mounds that it drives over. So you have to go manually shovel those mounds out. Needs some weight in front. I think its too light a machine. Maybe some weight in back.
Also, get rid of zero turns. It just turns and turns until it digs itself stuck.
And going out to fix track slippage. Because snow is compacted in some spots, it gets stuck, digs down into it and you have to go move it to get it going again.
We love it.. when it works. It’s just getting it to work consistently that’s the issue.
The cover for the snowblwoer should be left on permanently and a moving chute cover so ice doesn’t freeze the chute. Maybe stick some way of heating it so it doesn’t defrost. Or cover it with something so snow or ice can’t attach to the base.
Also, put some weight on it. or get some better studs on it as the studs just dig down when stuck but doesn’t get you unstuck.
While learning how to fix issues is great, I’m at the point where I just want a month of it working on its own with no help from me.
It should move the chute periodically when it’s cold. Did you remove the plastic diverter? If so, wonder if putting the screws back in would help.
Do you have the auger antifreeze mode on? Also, I recommend removing the studs. They are only really useful for ice and will scratch up concrete and asphalt surfaces.
We have gravel driveway with some sloping and ice that collects so we need them on. The auger anti-freeze is on. The chute is the issue. It seizes in cold weather and that’s what I’m trying to figure out a way that gets it owrking consistently without having to take the snowblower module inside to warm it up so the gear thaws. it’s moving now. By hand. But as soon as i get it outside.. it seizes.. unless the yarbo is active. But in between uses.. and over night.. it seizes.
See pics. That is the gear that runs the chute. It’s exposed to moisture etc.. which causes it to freeze. The metal also is a conduit for moisture and freezing. That is what is causing the chute to freeze. We take it apart.. and defrost teh cog.. and the chute spins no problem. But somehow it seizes.. quickly… when put outside especially at temperatures at minus 10 or lower. Which is what we at right now. WE have it inside. Warming up. We going to take it out and hopefully it works.
well.. chute thawed.. now deflector frozen… hahaha.. yarbo.. the snowblower… Our motto is if there’s not one problem.. there will be two.. or three…. parts being frozen in wniter.. obstructed… like basically if you own a yarbo, you are its repair guy also as yarbo needs serious help to get it working… auger freezing.. map issues… chute freezing.. deflector freeznig. If this was a jeopardy the question would be.. what is nothing. The question would be. NAME A PART ON THE YARBO THAT DOESN”T GET AFFECTED BY COLD WEATHER. What is nothing Alex. That is correct. You win jeopardy.
where is the deflector.. its funny it has obstructions because it’s been sitting in a warm house all morning. I literally just put it out there.. withni the time it takes to attach it.. the warning now is deflector issues… by time I get my snowblower to work.. it’ll be summer.. thats when my lawnmower has never worked. I’ve had this machine for just under a year.. and all i’ve done is fix it. Yarbo.. is a failing machine.
I personally think yarbo only sent working machines to influencers and the rest of us became unpaid research and development crew who had to buy it to be forced into that role. Yarbo is a toy. Not a tool. And here I am fixing an overpriced toy that has never worked for me. Not the lawnmower.. now two cores.. not the snowblower… it literally finds reasons to break. LIke it can’t handle being outside in the snow at all whatsoever.. it needs to blow snow in a place that has sunny hot weather.. like mexico.. it is capable of blowing snow in mexico… during sunny warm days. above 20 degrees celsius.. that is when the yarbo works in winter.
I don’t even have time. I literally put it out there.. went inside to get my phone to start it.. and teh deflector froze.. after the entire maching being in a warm house all morning. I hook it back up.. adn its frozen in that time. If its not the chute. its the map. If its not the map. its the deflector.. if its not the deflector. the battery is cold.. if the battery isn’t cold the auger is stuck… if the auger isn’t stuck.. the gps signal lacks.. if the gps signal lacks the chute freezes.. etc etc.. two full days of doing this back and forth. fixing one.. then another thing doesnn’t work. it’s been my entire experience since owning a yarbo since day one. Two cores replaced already. Now I ahve to go buy after market itemns.. heat traces.. covers.. wd40.. to ensure a snow vblower made to work in winter.. actaully works in winter.. how about yarbo doing something more than selling snow modules that don’t work in the winter. why do I have to spend hours and days on it to get it to work. That’s not snowblowing. Thats babysitting. My honda gas powered never had days like this. Minus 40.. started up no problem. This is stupposed to be a time saver.. when does the time saving come as when i need it to work..i have to go diagnose potential multiple issues. Oh is it too cold for you /….. awww.. winters tough.. your a snowblower.. lets warm you up so you can work in snow. Let the market it as that and see how many snowbloers they sell. The thing is if they told us you had to do ALL THIS to get it working. i never would have bought it.
and i just went to move the chute.. its moving.. the deflector.. its not obstructed or frozen .. i can move it.. its only the app that says .. no man. its broken.. go fix it .. .. fix what.. if it moves.. what about it do I need to fix? I move it by hand.. but won’t move with the app.
Oh and chute drive issue error just returned. How long was that… one minute.. within one minute of my snowblower being inside to warm up to thaw it.. it now has two issues… its like its doubling up.. one issue isn’t enoughl.. we had thawed it.. so lets create another issue… this machine DOES NOT WANT TO WORK. It does literally everything to not work. It doesn’t want to be outside in the cold. It wants to blow snow on the sun.. where its warm.
Please move your yarbo snowblower to a warmer location. Error M001. Put that in your advertisements and see if people buy it. A snowblower that needs to be constantly warmed up to get it to work in snow. In a year.. two cores.. and now a snowblower module… I’m going to go buy a honda gas powered snow blower.. as those things work in winter. Yarbo does not. No refund either. Because getting it in between seasons.. not even gettnig to use it until three monthts after getting it.. having two cores break in weeks.. take months to replace.. only to get a snowblower module that hates the cold. Yeah.. only influencers got working models. I got the parts they found on the floor, that they threw together.. and then sold to me. Apparently. Have to pay a neighbor who laughs at your yarbo. I highly doubt anyone in my area, will be buying yarbos. They’ve seen me struggling with mine while their driveways are clean. I spend my days fixing yarbo.
I think you should try this. Maybe it will help. Certainly won’t hurt to try.
Something is certainly unusual about your situation. Use critical thinking - How many other people on this forum do you hear talking about their chute and deflector freezing like yours is?
Respectfully, I think you need to calm down and let’s figure this out as a group. There are lots of helpful people (including me) on this forum who love to help with strange issues. But the constant fuming and multiple posts are a bit off putting.
Ok. So what’s different about your Yarbo. Somehow snow/water is getting into the mechanism and freezing, right? Let’s try to figure out why that is.
Maybe the module connector cover isn’t installed and screwed down. Could certainly contribute. If moisture is already inside, it’s got to completely dry or else it’s going to persist. WD40 certainly could help remove moisture.
I never noticed the gear up there for the chute. I wonder if the 25 updates enclosed that?
I’m also running on a gravel driveway, and it would do better with bigger spikes on the tracks for icy conditions.
I’ve had some challenges with freezing up (is -20C), but only in ice buildup on the tracks. Overall I’ve found it working better when it’s colder and the snow is lighter. When it closer to 0C, the heavy snow and soft ground caused me more trouble.
I usually bring it into the garage to warm up overnight when it’s particularly cold. Not ideal, but then I know it’s going to be ready to go in the morning.
As others have said, there’s definitely something different about your unit. Mine is the same vintage (bought last winter, was delivered in time for mowing the lawn, and this is the first time plowing the snow).
What’s the high and low temperatures where you are?
Yes well.. its been a plethora of error messages.. even the camera had an error message at one point. The deflector still has an error message. But doesn’t matter as now the chute is frozen again. That means going to detach the module and bring it inside to warm up. I’m thinking of shoveling the snow in my driveway.. putting it in my house… and then having yarbo snowblow it from teh comfort of being inside a warm house. The only place this snowblower might work. Because it 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000% doesn’t work in the cold .. at all. It needs a heated jacket to work in winter.
