Snowblower Recommendations?

smglbrth

Hello Polk collective - I plan on purchasing a snowblower this year and wanted some input on what people think. I am looking at a 2 stage in the 24 inch bucket arena. The list is somewhat endless as to models/makes but I've read that they are all pretty much made by MTD, exception of the Ariens which I'm not sure about. They all seem to have the 208cc engine as well and some are the "quiet" versions.

I have read reviews and such on the Craftsman, Cub Cadet, Ariens, etc... I really like the fact that some of them have the power steering feature as my wife and daughters will be using it from time to time. I'd like to stay below the $1000 price tag, lower the better obviously. The driveway is gravel 2.5 car widths wide and around 120 feet long, Wisconsin winters.

I can already hear it from my two grown sons as we've never had a snowblower. They used to ask me why we were the only people they knew of who didn't have one. My answer? "because I have you".

Any personal usage recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Nightfall

Honda. This one is out of your price range but just to give you an idea...

Mikey081057

Move to Florida!

boston1450

Ariens are nice. I have a Troy Built 26 inch that i bought a few years back & it works well around the walkways & oil tank. I think it was around 7/8 range & i got that cabin for another hundred that i took off after the first year. PIA with light & i always got it caught on mirrors on vehicles & didnt work with me. With a driveway like that get yourself some spare shear pins

boston1450

120 ft long. Get a plow with heater & cup holder

hochpt21

I bought a 30" 5yr used Ariens for $695 here in Wisconsin a couple years ago.

Barely used got me an extra 6" and saved a few hundred bucks.

This thing is a hog. Love it.

hochpt21

Get an Ariens you won't be sorry.

MrBuhl

Ariens are nice stuff, lots of guys in New England were running those.

I will say this though, I got one of those MTDs when we lived in Boston, and it's going strong still 13 years later. Get an electric start, make sure it's two stage, and a decently wide cut. Have a tune up done every few seasons. It will treat you right.

tonyb

I think you can get one of those "Hillary" blowers in the other thread pretty cheap.

MrBuhl

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Move to Florida!

I knew a guy who was just retired in Boston. He always said this:
"I'm gonna strap my snowthrower to the top of my car and drive south till someone stops me and says, 'hey mistah, what the hell is that thing on your roof' - thats where I'm going to live".

LOL cracked me up.

smglbrth

boston1450 wrote: »

120 ft long. Get a plow with heater & cup holder

Ya..., this is what I would really like! Wow, that Honda looks like the meanest snowblower I've ever seen. It says "hybrid" however, can't stand the word anymore when it comes to engines. I'd like to move south, but not Florida.

Funny thing is my wife brought back a 1982 Ariens snowblower that her parents didn't need anymore. It has a Tecumseh motor in it (whole 2.7 HP). I did get it fired up, then I looked at everything else. Rust everywhere on the inside, great. The "tires" (which are not pneumatic) got as hard as concrete at some point so they screwed screws inside of them to get traction. They neglected to tell her it didn't run but she brought it back anyway (for some reason she thinks I can fix everything). After figuring up the time, parts (even if I could find them), paint, not to mention it could blow up at any point, nah, not going to happen. Sure, I could fix it up, for a museum, maybe.

Thanks for the recommendations so far, especially the "Hillary" blowers!

aprazer402

Holy Schnikies Man, that's a lot of real estate! 120 ft. long, 2.5 cars wide and gravel. Do you have an old pick-up you could have a used blade put on it? That's an all day job even with a blower if you get heavy snows with drifts.

mhardy6647

(FWIW) I do, actually, pay a guy to do our driveway since we moved to NH -- life's too short :-P

DSC_8245 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

I do have a snowblower to do "around the edges" or if we needed to get out before the plow guy came (although we also have a 4wd Tacoma for that eventuality, too). We've mostly done the around the edges by hand with shovels so far... it is good exercise.

Mikey081057

tonyb wrote: »

I think you can get one of those "Hillary" blowers in the other thread pretty cheap.

And then there is the Lewinsky...but be careful it might leave a stain on your snowsuit.

Mikey081057

An Eskimo brought his snowblower into the repair shop. The mechanic said "what's wrong with it" and the Eskimo said "it's leaking oil like crazy" and the mechanic said " help me put it on the bench".

They put it up on the bench and the mechanic said "looks like you blew a seal" and the Eskimo wiped his beard and mouth and said " no... it's just snot"

F1nut

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Dabutcher

I use a thirty year old John Deere 826. Best snowblower JD ever made! Too bad they do not make snow blowers any more. Good luck. D

Willow

I have a 24" Craftsman. Going on year 4 now and works great. Self propelled, electric start (with pull option). Besides a bit of rust here and there its been great for us. Living in Ottawa, Ont. It has never let me down. We live in an area of mixed weather, we get the warm winters (freezing rain and heavy wet snow) from Southern ON and the freeze your nuts cold from the north and Quebec. So from slush to hard packed brittle cold snow it cleans it all. Changed the oil 2x so far and still original spark plug and I use premium gas in it.

mrbiron

I have a 28" ariens that i bought new a couple years ago. I use the electric start and she hops right up and runs. Based on the length of your driveway, 24 is WAY to small. Go used and find something with a bigger inlet.

As for your driveway being gravel......i hope your lawnmower likes rocks.

Willow

mrbiron wrote: »

I have a 28" ariens that i bought new a couple years ago. I use the electric start and she hops right up and runs. Based on the length of your driveway, 24 is WAY to small. Go used and find something with a bigger inlet.

As for your driveway being gravel......i hope your lawnmower likes rocks.

I too was going to suggest as wide as you can otherwise you'll be going up and down your driveway, too many times.

charley95

I bought the 24" 2 stage Honda last year, HSS 724. It's a beast, time will tell if it's a good unit. I did not like the idea that all of the others had chinese made engines. Check out snowblowerforum.com

motorhead43026

Willow

motorhead43026 wrote: »

And let me guess your name is "snow"

gdb

I am considering this model from this seller, it seems like a good one at a decent price. ~ http://www.snowblowersdirect.com/Ariens-921044-Snow-Thrower/p17660.html

charley95

gdb wrote: »

I am considering this model from this seller, it seems like a good one at a decent price. ~ http://www.snowblowersdirect.com/Ariens-921044-Snow-Thrower/p17660.html

You might want to make sure you can get local warranty service after buying one online. I read where a guy last year on snowblowerforum.com got a defective Ariens from them last year. He stated that SB's Direct was terrible to deal with. When I bought my Honda locally last year the dealer took $200.00 off for cash. Some guys love the Arien's and some hate them. A Honda 2 stage will cost you double the price of an Arien's. So far I love my Honda but it wasn't cheap. Snowblowers today are not made like they were 20 years ago. Good luck!

Mikey081057

Www.wisesales.com

Good guys to deal with.

No affiliation

shawn474

I got one (26' MTD) free on craigslist as a curb alert locally.....went and picked it up. Owner said it was "broken" and he purchased a brand new, huge Ariens and didn't want to mess with it. I replaced the drive belt, cleaned the carb and it has run flawlessly for the last 6 years. Problem is I feel guilty when my neighbors are shoveling so I always end up doing 4 or 5 driveways whenever I am out.

aprazer402

Might want to look around your area for a combo like this. You can use it for mowing and other things as well. http://omaha.craigslist.org/grd/5142036968.html

gdb

Perhaps an all-electric snow blower is in your future. Be the first on your block !

smglbrth

gdb wrote: »

Perhaps an all-electric snow blower is in your future. Be the first on your block !

Ummm, no... I absolutely love my older 2 cycle Lawnboy push mower. If I could get a 2 cycle snowblower I'd have one already, if that tells you anything...

Ya, might have to look into bigger models, dxmn...

gdb

smglbrth wrote: »

gdb wrote: »

Perhaps an all-electric snow blower is in your future. Be the first on your block !

Ummm, no... I absolutely love my older 2 cycle Lawnboy push mower. If I could get a 2 cycle snowblower I'd have one already, if that tells you anything...

Ya, might have to look into bigger models, dxmn...

Was just kidding. I used to have a lot of fun on 2 stroke Yamahas and Suzukis.