I spoke to the repairman at the local small engine repair shop. They do warranty work on this brand. He told me that the hand warmer unit is apparently deflective and he has changed out several of them this season under warranty. It takes little time to install the replacement unit once the part is in stock. I will be hauling my machine there soon!
Hopefully it will be kicking out heat soon, although it seems our big snow is done here in ND! I am OK with that!
I recently purchased the ST224 and also found that the heated handles seem to do nothing. The machine works just fine other than this issue.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.