If it is like the old Ariens I have, the answer is not easily. The main shaft drives the auger and the auxillary shaft is responsible for the drive wheels. I am sure it would be possible to weld, grind, modify and re-pulley so a single shaft engine could be used, but not easily. I watched ebay for almost two years to find a replacement for my 5 hp Ariens. I like the short block solution. Good luck! Chuck

If it was made in 1970 it's a K91. Not sure about the tank you speak of. Normal tank is an oval shape about 3 quart capacity. A dark blue green was the standard color. However, a lot of them were painted red by the factory and fitted to edgers and other equip. The K91 was a popular engine as an extra cost option for Trimmer, Tru-Cut, and ProMaster front throw reel mowers from the 1950's thru the 1970's. Unfortunately, they became so expensive, that professional gardeners began to look at either Briggs 13000 (5hp) as a cheaper alternative, or the flat head Hondas (G200) or Kawasaki as a premium alternative. Too bad, because the Kohler was a nice engine, with ball bearings on both ends of the shaft, while the Briggs used sleeve bearings. You still see a few around, but they are getting pretty scarce.

Plugged in the water heater for a couple of hours each of Monday and Tuesday nights, after midnight when demand low. Co-operation with requested reduction of demand, especially from early afternoon till 8 p.m. or so, was good - some companies shut down part of their activities, some took a couple of days off. They had about 6% cushion between available supply and demand during peak consumption, today. So they didn't need to implement the "rolling blackouts" (shutting off power for 30 - 60 min., first in one area, then another, then a third) that would be necessary if demand outstripped supply. Increasing heat, daily, with smog problem through most of the area, today. Expecting hotter tomorrow. A pain for industry which needs secure supply. And for people using computers, if they lack instantly available alternate power source. joyful

While a power interruption of a few hours isn't of great consequence to people with a freezer ... longer periods can be rather hair-rising. I've thought that it might be good idea for people where they have power interruptions from time to time to gather a group of, say, four to six or so, to share in buying a generator, possibly of somewhat better quality and capacity than one person would wish to, alone, to move from house to house when the power is out, to keep the food in the freezers intact. Some people where I visited with a generator wanted me to fire up their furnace, but most have an unbreakable connection to the power box and I was unwilling to risk the possibility of the main switch getting reconnected inadvertently, thus pushing power back out on to a line that the linemen understood to be dead, possibly with drastic consequences. Where codes allow, I think that it would be advisable for people to have a push-and-twist connection between the power box and the furnace. When the power is down for an extended period, most people are not going to their place of employment, so would be free to move the generator from member's house to member's house during the day and night ... or even to help an outsider, should they so choose. It would be necessary to have at least one member who had an establishment large enough to store the generator without its being a nuisance. Such a plan would provide cheap insurance for people with a substantial amount of expensive food in their freezers ... and have you noticed how the price of that food has escalated in recent times ... while the wage increases earned by most ordinary workers have been much more ... meagre? Does anyone foresee a substantial change in that scenario, any time soon? ole joyful