snowblower advice needed

Weird time to buy a house but we did. Moving in 3 weeks, place has a big driveway-gonna need a blower-what are good brands, brands to avoid, feature, new, used??? Thanks

I had a lower-priced Yard Machine (MTD) blower that lasted nearly 20 years without more than a new pull rope on occasion … sold it last year as it was getting too old for me. Replaced with a Ariens which seems to be a preferred brand up here. Research I did before getting the Ariens suggests it is one one of the more reliable brands. I think if you stuck with a good reputable brand and bought from a local servicing dealership you will do fine. Gotta say, though, that hand warmers are a pretty good feature to have on those frigid days!

I have a 20+ year old Ariens. Still runs fine. Starts on the 2nd pull. Have replaced the cord a couple of times. Came with a starter that quit about 5 years ago.

Got a buddy that picked up the Cub Cadet, 3 stage with heated grips, power steering and loves it.

I’ve had an Ariens for 10 years without a hiccup. Convinced my dad to buy a new Ariens last year when his ancient Toro 521 died.

I’d go Ariens or Toro unless you have a lot of cash for a Honda.

I have Murray blizzard 29″ that have had for 16 years.Good running machine!

Whatever you do get electric start and bigger is better when buying these machines IMO!

The one I really want when I upgrade is one of those Honda ones they are spendy though

I would say arians as well i have an old John Deere’s and an old Toro but if i was to buy new it would be ariens. There are a lot of good old ones around for 300 to 400 dollars. Put an impeller kit in them and blow snow for days.

Whatever you buy don’t go small always go bigger than you think. You would rather have more than enough than something that’s underpowered with wet heavy snows. I personally have a John Deere lawn tractor with a blower and move a lot of snow quickly. I also use it as a plow on smaller snows. There’s times it has its cons. Ice under snow. Really really deep snow (just takes time and need to go back and forth a bit) still wouldn’t have anything else personally.

My Dad and I both have had Troy-Builts for at least 25 years and have had no problems other than wet slushy snow, which most snowblowers have. But, I have installed the pieces of tires on the second stage impellers and never have had an issue since with wet slush!

My dad shared the neighbors’ ariens for 30 years until he finally acquired it. then recently set it out front for sale and sold it in four hours! So he bought a bigger brand new ariens, and sheared an auger pin the first use-blowing 5 inches of wet heavy snow. Maybe bigger isn’t always better

fishtoeat wrote:

My Dad and I both have had Troy-Builts for at least 25 years and have had no problems other than wet slushy snow, which most snowblowers have. But, I have installed the pieces of tires on the second stage impellers and never have had an issue since with wet slush!

Do you have a photo of this? Does it help that much more?

Anything with a Briggs & Stratton engine. I’d avoid Ariens or any others that have their own Chinese manufactured engines instead of a Briggs now.

Just got in from blowing snow for the second time today with my 18 year old Ariens. First time was just over 20” of snow, this last one was the plow bank which was over 3’.
I’ve got a 125’x 30’ driveway and it has done a great job here in northern MN. Only repairs so far are a pair of drive belts, and auger belt, oil changes and a few (ok maybe more then a few) shear pins

Would buy another in a second but hoping this one makes it another 8 MN winters before I retire and snowbird

The old MTDs were bullet proof. I still have one and I have a John Deere. I do not recommend the flapper style single stage for any application. Go 2 or 3 stage self propelled. Having a light attached is a nice upgrade. I can only imagine heated grips. Keep shear bolts handy and remember to lube the grease verks. And as previously mentioned, go bigger than you believe you need. You wont be sorry.

There’s a guy on you tube that has a tutorial that I watched. It’s basically taking a piece of tire tread and attaching it to each second stage impeller with two tek screws. It closes the gap between the impellers and chute and eliminates the clogs. I used old tire treads, but the attached link is what I’m talking about.

This is what I meant by an impeller kit I used an old rubber mud flap it added about 4 feet to the distance it would throw on my John deere and it hasn’t plugged since

Oh nice! I need to do that to mine hate the slush clogging. Now just need to figure out where to get the rubber pieces

I’ve had an Ariens 11 hp, for about 16 or 17 years. Has electric start, but never use it as it starts first pull every time. Great machine, and love the hand warmers. End of last year first and only maintenance, not counting oil changes, of auger drive belt, and drive disk. Total maintenance cost for 17 years of $55, and easy to do your self. Highly recommend.

My old Toro does a terrible job but it keeps kicking so I still use it.

That thing about the paddles…wow. I need to take a peak at that toro. I might want to modify!

My airens is an ’85 I think, 8 HP. Every three years or so I pull the carb and give it a good once over. It has a locking differential for the thick stuff, I honestly don’t think I’d trade it for a new one.

If you do your preventative maintenance every year on a snow blower it should last for years, regardless of what brand it is or engine it has. Ethanol-free gasoline will help it last longer too.

Another vote for Ariens.

-J.

About 8 years ago I was looking at both a Honda and Simplicity Pro. I went with the Simplicity and have been more than happy. There is a huge difference between the standard simplicity and the pro. I have had a plow on the truck for the last 7 years so I only use it now on the sidewalk and when I plow a path through the back yard. The thing is impressive, but priced almost the same as the Honda. I think I paid 2k for it. Pictures are last year when I decided to blow a path to the shed in March.

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I have a 10hp with a 30″ path, its a older Yard Machine MTD. Love that the old thing and it works great. If I was looking to get new one I would look at getting a Ariens snowblower. If your made of money a the Hondas with tracks are awesome!

The slam dunk purchase if you’re in it for the long haul is to buy a Honda. You won’t find anyone who has regrets after buying a Honda, they are absolute animals and one-pull starters forever. Rock-solid performance and reliability, if I had to replace my current Honda, I’d have a tough time looking at anything else but another Honda. The only problem with Honda is that they are a buy once, cry once proposition. The good news is that you’d have to live a damn long time to ever have to buy another one.

Another thing about Honda is that there is only one line of Honda models–high end. And they are available ONLY from Honda dealers. There are no cheapened “big box” models when it comes to Honda.

Ariens is very good, but prices have crept up to the point where there’s very little difference between Ariens and Honda on comparable models. I’m not talking about Ariens “big box model” low-end machines here, but the better models that compare to Honda’s build quality.

Be careful with other brands! There are a LOT of brands out there that are actually just name badges put on MTD-built machines. Do your research. I’m not going to name names here because somebody is going to get all offended that I’m calling their baby ugly.

Bottom line: I would avoid all MTD-built brands. Why? A snowblower is a machine that doesn’t get used a lot hours-wise relative to other outdoor power equipment, but when you want it to work, you REALLY need it to work and when it does get used, it gets worked like a rented mule. You can let your grass grow for a week while your mower gets fixed, but a driveway full of snow isn’t going to go away and with snowblowers, the wait at the shop during a snowstorm rush could be 2-3 weeks!

Grouse

I have a Bolens 8hp that I bought in 1985. It has never let me down and is an absolute beast. That said, I moved it up to the lake 10 years ago. It still works great.

That said, when I moved the Bolens to the lake, I replaced it with an Ariens. The Ariens is superior.

Additionally, most of the machines out there now are all basically the same MTD machine. Murray, Cub Cadet, Troy Built, etc. are all MTD. They all have a pretty small impeller and a weak gear box that distributes power to the 2 impellers on a 2 stage.

ptc wrote:

Additionally, most of the machines out there now are all basically the same MTD machine. Murray, Cub Cadet, Troy Built, etc. are all MTD. They all have a pretty small impeller and a weak gear box that distributes power to the 2 impellers on a 2 stage.

And bushings instead of bearings and tiny little wimpy drive belts, and …

My neighbor’s 2-year-old MTD/Craftsman blower quit moving and he thought it was just a belt. You wouldn’t believe what I found when I tore into this thing. Plastic, non-serviceable, sealed transmission unit. Obviously, containing plastic gears that stripped, but the whole unit is sealed and cannot be repaired in any time-feasible way. No individual parts available. I found some whole transmissions available for $300+, but no way would it makes sense to replace junk with junk. I tore the engine off and the whole rest of the 2 year old machine hit the recycle dumpster. What a waste! Over $500+ tax for that POS.

This is one of those things where there’s a reason why Brand X costs WAY more than the El Cheapo Special at the big box.

Grouse

If you get an Ariens, make sure to get one with the little paddle turn assist thing, DO NOT GET ONE WITH AUTO-TURN TRIGGERLESS STEERING.

I emphasize this, mainly to keep those you love safe from long bouts of depression and profanity laced diatribes.

I had to replace an old MTD last year in the middle of February(great timing) and the Ariens Deluxe 28 was all that was in stock near me. Works great except for that AUTO-TURN TRIGGERLESS STEERING. Any bit of uneven pavement, or compacted snow/ice and the thing jumps left or right. It’s twice as tiring to use as a normal snowblower cause you are constantly fighting it to keep it driving straight.

Basically, it’s setup so that if it senses you trying to turn, it will spin the outside wheel faster to assist with the turn, the same thing that the triggers/paddles normally do. The problem is if you hit one *** *$@* pebble of ice, anything that might disrupt it at all, the *$&*%( thing starts turning on you.

It’s a terrible idea, made by terrible people. The only explanation I can think of is that it was designed for masochists who sit inside watching 2 feet of snow pile up and say, “Hmmm, how can I make this harder than it already is?”

On a different note, anyone want to buy my almost new Ariens Deluxe 28?

Phil, my dad bought a new Deluxe 24 last year, and I haven’t heard him complain about the auto-turn at all. He did say that you have to keep an eye on tire pressure, though.

Phil, see if you can move a locking pin on the axel. This will lock both tires into forward drive. Basically turning off the steering problem.

-J.