Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): honda hs55 air filter, dust in the air, snowblower

Question
I just bought a very good honda hs55 snowblower with serial# 1002254 with a GX140 engine number 1275536.  Was looking it over and took off the filte cover and noticed there is no filter on it.  Should there be one?  I found the owners manual online and they show nothing of checking one. If you look up the gx140 engine they show threee different types.  So should I have one and if so what type?  Thanks

Answer
Most snowblower engines do not use an air filter.  You might think a filter would be benificial to the engine but for the most part there should be very little dust in the air when using your snowblower.  The same is true for small boat outboard engines...they rarely have filters.

I have used a lot of old snowblowers and have never had a problem with the engines failing due to dust or dirt entering the carburetor.  

You could put one on if you really want but I wouldn't worry about running an air filter on your blower.

Eric