# Help with an Atlas 520 snowblower



## Duane3

I just bought a used Atlas 520 snowblower,but the guy didn't have the manual for it.Would anyone know where I could find one,or at the very least would someone know what the proper fuel oil mixture would be for it.If it matters it is a 5 HP Briggs and Stratton.

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer me.


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## paulr44

Duane3 said:


> I just bought a used Atlas 520 snowblower,but the guy didn't have the manual for it.Would anyone know where I could find one,or at the very least would someone know what the proper fuel oil mixture would be for it.If it matters it is a 5 HP Briggs and Stratton.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer me.


As far as I know, Atlas went out of business years ago. My Dad had one in the '60's. Don't think you'll be able to find a manual, much less any parts.

You ask about the fuel oil mixture - is this a 2-stroke? Wasn't aware they made one, for that matter didn't think Briggs made a 2-stroke snow engine until the '80's. If it is, there's a cut-off for running 2-strokes on today's 50:1 mix, and given the age of yours, I'd run 32:1 or even 16:1.

If the engine is exposed, and has an oil fill plug near the bottom of the block, it's a 4-stroke. 4-strokes don't use mix, they use straight gas in the tank, and 5W30 in the crankcase (for winter use).


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## Duane3

paulr44 said:


> As far as I know, Atlas went out of business years ago. My Dad had one in the '60's. Don't think you'll be able to find a manual, much less any parts.
> 
> You ask about the fuel oil mixture - is this a 2-stroke? Wasn't aware they made one, for that matter didn't think Briggs made a 2-stroke snow engine until the '80's. If it is, there's a cut-off for running 2-strokes on today's 50:1 mix, and given the age of yours, I'd run 32:1 or even 16:1.
> 
> If the engine is exposed, and has an oil fill plug near the bottom of the block, it's a 4-stroke. 4-strokes don't use mix, they use straight gas in the tank, and 5W30 in the crankcase (for winter use).


The guy that sold it to me said it was a 2 stroke,but I'll look for the drain plug just to verify that.Thanks for the info.


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## bgbass

Call MTD tech. line at 800-228-9683 they can look up parts for atlas


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## paulr44

Amazing. Haven't even seen one in decades. Nice to hear you got support.
Paul


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## hdman97

Duane3 said:


> The guy that sold it to me said it was a 2 stroke,but I'll look for the drain plug just to verify that.Thanks for the info.


Are you sure he didn't say 2 stage? refering to the snowblower.


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## Duane3

hdman97 said:


> Are you sure he didn't say 2 stage? refering to the snowblower.



No,he said 2 stroke.Maybe he meant to say 2 stage.


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## Duane3

Yep,it has a fill plug near the bottom of the block so that takes care of that.

Thanks for the info guys,I appreciate the help.


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## hdman97

Most 2 stage blowers I've seen are 4 cycle,and 2 cycle are single stage.


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## paulr44

hdman97 said:


> Most 2 stage blowers I've seen are 4 cycle,and 2 cycle are single stage.


This is true for the most part for the last say, 40 years. But, previous to that, numerous units were made with a four-stroke engine, and a single-stage, high-speed auger/impellor. Kind of a predecessor to the Toro S-200 series, but all metal, and very dangerous. Atlas, Reo (Reo was bought by Wheel-Horse), and Toro much such models. I think Lambert made one too. Remember the Toro Power-Handle, or Snow-Hound? I worked on a lot of Reo's, even into the 1980's. Also, Sears/Crafts. had an unusual one - a single stage, but the auger-impellor sat sideways like a 2nd stage impellor, so the intake was controlled and managed by forward motion alone. Had funky rods, like studs welded onto the impellor blades to chop up chunks.
Paul


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## pyro_maniac69

power handle? do you mean powershovel by chance?

and I have never seen a 2 stroke 2 stage, I don't even think a 2-stroke would have enough torque to do something like that


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## paulr44

pyro_maniac69 said:


> power handle? do you mean powershovel by chance?
> 
> and I have never seen a 2 stroke 2 stage, I don't even think a 2-stroke would have enough torque to do something like that


Toro Power Handle was just that - an engine on a plate, with a handle, a clutching and a throttle control. You could put it on an lawnmower, edger, snowblower or tiller, possibly more but those ones I've seen.
See 1956 in link:
http://www.thetorocompany.com/companyinfo/history_1950s.html


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## Moodie-1

According to an Atlas owner's manual for the 2-cycle A3222J & A3222ESJ models the proper oil is TC-W 2-cycle oil and the mixture should be 1:32 (4oz. oil per gallon of gas). I just bought a used Atlas (also without a manual) and found this website for downloading manuals: http://www.hammerwall.com/Manuals/Atlas/593/ . Now all I need to do is find out which model I own (haven't found any ID labels on it yet), I'm guessing it's the single-stage. Odd that all the single-stage manuals on that site are all for the same model (even though the site specifies otherwise). It probably doesn't matter, though. Checking the other manuals it seems that only the single-stage units need to have oil added to the gas, not the dual-stage units.


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## duffer72

No need to worry about ratio, just buy a good name brand 2 cycle oil, mix a small bottle to a gallon of gas and it will work fine, that is all we used in the shop for over 25 yrs and never had any problem, we used stihl or tanaka oil when we could get it, you can also use echo, stay away from store brands and ones such as homelite, etc. My CCR2000 toro is now about 30 yrs old and still going strong on this mix.


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## 30yearTech

duffer72 said:


> name brand 3 cycle oil,


Hmmmmm, I don't believe I have ever run across any of that type of oil before. Where can you buy it, and what's the engine that uses it look like?

Got any pictures?


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## duffer72

Its half way between a 2 stroke and a 4 stroke. Took a minute to catch on!!!


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