Well, if anyone's still reading this, somehow I remain alive. Buried under more snow than I've ever seen in my life here in Buffalo and that's saying something. Remember that whole, "once things slow down for you" comment? Yeah, well, Mount SkiFletch here pictured at the end will offer some perspective :frown:. Long story short I've managed to limp the snowblower along. I've had to run it for long periods at half choke. Eventually, it warms up enough so it starts actually choking out, I pull the choke off and quickly dial back the carb rich and I'm able to keep it from faltering and run. It's definitely rich. Can smell the unburnt fuel, muffler gets REALLY hot, and the spark plug has gone full carbon by now (roughly 100 hours). Can barely get it to run with the plug like this, though that shouldn't be surprising.
So first off, enough of this cheap Chinese junk carb, where can I find a quality carb that will work with my engine? Don't care what it costs.
Second, When I pulled the plug, I put a compression tester I borrowed from a friend on the engine just to make sure. Having never used one, and not knowing what I should be seeing, here's what I got. One pull, pressure up to 30 lbs, held there. Two pulls up to 60lbs, stayed put. Three pulls up to 90lbs, stayed there too. Couldn't pull it after that. Is that what I should be seeing for this engine?
Thanks again for the info guys