Snowblowers....

mrbiron

I'm just looking to see what you guys/girl think about certain snowblowers.
I was given an old 88' MTD last year that i couldn't get started, pissed gas out the carb, and had a frozen auger...thanks aunty!:evil:
So i shoveled all last winter!

Not this year! I'm looking for experience and/or suggestions. Im asking now so i don't get stuck in a drift 8' high again. I have a John Deere dealership 5 minutes down the road from me and i have a Home Depot and Lowes a bit further out. Prices seem to be pretty comparable as well as warranties with the Ariens and JD's. There is the train of thought that buying power equipment from big box stores is a big NO-NO. It seems pretty much a no brainer since anything i need done, i can always throw it in the back of the truck and drive a couple miles versus trying to deal with service centers through a HD and Lowes.

Where do we stand...suggestions...? I'll Karma off the first 2 feet of snow to whomever can throw out ideas. Will be packed to withstand melting and guaranteed to be some form of H2O upon arrival.

Thanks

dkg999

Ariens 22" with the Robins Subaru motor. Unstoppable! We had 22" of snow in one storm last winter and all you could see was the spout sticking up above the snow as it burrowed underneath. The Ariens are rock solid units, highly recommended.

John in MA

Ariens, Simplicity, Toro, Honda, and Yamaha are the only quality brands. The last two are quite expensive, though. I'd avoid John Deere, personally. They don't actually make their snowblowers (I think it's Simplicity right now) and they hit you with the Deere premium for replacement parts. And if you buy used, skip Simplicity models from before 1995 or so. The old drives were failure prone.

Brands like MTD, AYP, and Murray and the labels they make things for (Craftsman, Troy-Bilt, Cub, et al.) are pretty middling. I would consider a smaller snowblower from them (say 26" or smaller) but the quality just isn't there. And many of these brands now come with house-brand engines that are generic Chinese. Since Tecumseh went out of business a lot of cheapie brands haven't wanted to pay for Briggs or Honda engines.

I prefer something in the 24" 8HP+ range in a 2-stage. It's not too small, not too large. Two men can lift it without too much trouble. You can get a used Ariens like that for $300-400. Used machines from a reputable dealer can be a good buy. Just make sure you know what you're getting.

WilliamM2

I bought an Ariens with a Subaru Robin engine last year. At 22" and 6 HP it's the smallest snowblower I have owned, yet it works better, and throws snow farther, than any I have used before. Sadly, they are not offering the Subaru engine this year, but I'd still get an Ariens.

The build quality is so much better than the 24" 8HP Noma (Murray) it replaced. I did get 16 years out of the Noma, but the axle bearings had to be replaced every 2 years ($35). They axles would get so sloppy the chain would jump off. Last year when it jumped off, it tore apart sprockets. drive wheel, drive disc, etc. The Ariens has no chain drive, direct gear driven. Hopefully it will last even longer.

mrbiron

There are going to be two definites... going to stick with the 24"+ and buying new. 24" Ariens at the Depot are in the $750-800 range and the Deere is, based on the website, in the $900-$950 range. My driveway is only a four car but i am on an incline. When the plows came by last year, we consistently had 3-4' mounds at the bottom of the driveway so i need/want a high auger frame. Those low 1' openeings on some models just aren't going to cut it.

I knew from the get-go that Deere would be more expensive the name premium would be lingering. It seems like we'll just throw that idea out the window.

Now we have Toro, Ariens, Cub Cadet.....Out of the box store specials, is Ariens going to be my #1?
Ah crap, i should have left for work 10 minutes ago....i'll finish this thought later.

WilliamM2

Ariens sells some blowers under the name Sno-Tek at Home Depot. The 24" models start at $499. Not sure what the difference is between them and the regular line, other than a plastic chute. Throw Cub Cadet off the list too, just rebadged Poulan's, so is Husqvarna. Just paying for the name.

shawn474

I have an early 90's model MTD that was given to me. If you are handy at all or know of anyone who can work on it for a reasonable fee, I would suggest going that route. I put about 100 dollars in parts (new hoses, starter cord, blets, etc.) and did it all myself and it has been running great for 3 years now (and A LOT of snow). A small engine shop might be able to diagnode the fuel/carb problem for a reasonable fee and taking apart the front end to get to the auger is a piece of cake with the schematics.

EDIT: Just saw that you definitely wanted to buy a new one. Disregard.

mrbiron

Just saw that you definitely wanted to buy a new one. Disregard.

Yeah that puppy went to the glue factory at the end of last winter. :twisted:

I had bought a new carb kit, spark plug, and a new cord. JUNK!

I saw the Sno-tek but when companies put gimmick names on their equipment, i tend to stand clear. I assume there are more plastic parts with a name like that. I will also never buy a Poulan so you are right, Cub is out. That is too bad, i have an old riding lawnmower of theirs and it's the ****.

HHStuart

Never had to buy a snow blower until I moved to Massachusetts. Made a mistake by buying an MTD. Couldn't start it by hand and had to use the electric starter. That broke the first year. It was also only a 5 HP which was too small. I bought a 8 HP Ariens 24 inch in 1998 and it is still going strong. I change the oil but I don't think I've even looked at the spark plug, let alone changed it.

mrbiron

It seems that we have a manufacturer, now I'm just having a hard time figuring out what size to get:question:
Also, Snotek is the Chinese version of Ariens.....not my cup of tea.
My driveway is only a 4 car but like i said in a previous post, i'm on a hill so it will definitely need a little oomph to help navigate the incline. The way that plows run around here is lovely. I have pictures of 4' mounds at the end of the driveway and it happened after every storm. I actually used my truck to knockdown the mounds (I know, uncouth).
Luckily, saturday is far enough away that i can get this figured out.

WilliamM2

The only thing Chinese on the Sno-Tek is the engine. Even Briggs & Stratton makes most their engines in China these days. Glad I bought last year when the Subaru engines were still available.

The 24" Sno-Teks also have steel chutes this year, I was at HD this morning and checked them out. The only real difference I could see between the Tek's and the Compact is the length of the warranty, 2 years instead of 3. I wouldn't rule them out. I was actually going to get one last year, the 28" was the same price as my 22" compact, but they were all sold out. They all get great reviews.

As far as size, my 6 HP 22" works far better than my old 8 HP 24" ever did. The chute height is about the same on all of them.

mrbiron

What if i roll some tubes in it? :cool:

Maybe i should hurry up and pound out some kids so they can shovel for me. Not sure if the Mrs wants me pounding out kids but then again, she doesn't want to shovel either. :eek:

jbooker82

You could always build you a V Twin snow blower out of the old one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BahOwtQrvuo

jbooker82

454 ci. is probably overkill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81y9XSQ9Ru0

mrbiron

Uh......if it can be bought at a retail store, i'll pick one up.

So i have decided that a 24" or 26" is the way to go. Now i just to swing on down and pick one up.
Do i need heated hand grips?
Does anyone make one with a cup holder ......seriously though, do they?
Is it wise to get tire chains?

Joe08867

Chains are a must.

WilliamM2

Joe08867 wrote: »

Chains are a must.

Really? I've never needed them. My neigbor has them, and his snowblower spins alot more on the pavement than mine does. With an asphalt or cement driveway, what do the chains have to bite into?

They also tend to scrape a lot of his driveway sealer off.

mrbiron

Ah crap.....a conflict!!

I assume chains can't be that expensive so we'll see how i feel. If she don't roll all that well without, it's not going to break the bank with.
After you run the blower all over the drive, do you find yourselves taking a shovel out to do touch-ups or is that completely un-necessary?

WilliamM2

I only use a shovel to push the snow about 6 feet away from the garage door. Gotta have room to turn the blower around. Have to shovel the porch off too.

jbooker82

Snowblowers use to come with tire chains, but they also use to come with regular lawn and garden tires. Now days snow blowers come with specific snow tires. The tread is real agressive and about 1" deep. They work really well and most of the time chains are not needed. Chains have the advantage on ice.

Jstas

I need chains and counter weights for my snow thrower.

Then again, at 42" wide by 16" tall, it moves alot of snow.

The tractor tires are nice and big and aired down, the get over the snow just peachy. But when I have a wall of snow and packed ice in front of me, the tractor tires just spin and slide. The chains are absolutely necessary. Even on a cleared driveway that seems to form a thin sheet of ice almost instantaneously.

No, I do not have to do touch ups. I will use the shovel to clear around, say, a car that I didn't want to damage with the snow thrower but otherwise, it clears it all out pretty good. Just adjust your skid feet to an appropriate height. You don't want it scraping any pavement because any uneven pavement will hang it up and break things like scraping edges or thrust pins.

But yeah, totally worth it. What used to take me 3-4 hours to shovel, that beast chews through in 10-15 minutes. The amount of time saved is worth way more than what it cost me to get it.

evhudsons

Thanks for the youtube link, otherwise I would have thought you guys were making this up. I've never seen a snowblower before much less heard of one. Hilarious! It looks like a Dr. Suess contraption. I thought mowing the lawn was a pain, I'll never complain again. What a PITA that must be. Do you have to use that just to take the dog out or get mail sometimes?

I'm going to laugh all night about this! I shoveled snow once when I was in the Navy. It sucks but we did it the old fashioned way.

Sherardp

John Deere makes awesome equipment, and I don't say that because I work there either. I'm not a sales guy either, but go look at the item you were considering if you like it PM me and I'll see what I can do on price.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/s3CCOUHb3Jo&quot; frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Nothing runs like a Deere.

Come on guys, support the movement here.

mrbiron

The suggestion for the Deere is back from the dead!!
I could use a small loader of some sort for some landscaping if you want to help me out with that too:cheesygrin:

Shep, you are going to have a try a little harder to sell me on the Deere. I need facts/reasoning besides liking green more than orange.
I like options...