bdresch

Is Carlisle not making the snow hog of x trac anymore?  My father runs a tire shop and I was going to have him order me a pair but his distributor shows them as no longer available?

I don't want to start a flame war, but it seems odd that some on here give very strong opinions calling some brands overpriced junk and others top of the heap even after admitting not to have been in a dealer in couple years or have any experience with current models.  I would suggest getting a good look at all the models in your price range, weigh the pros and cons of the features, try to move them all around to see how the various differentials and wheel lock systems work, take a close look at how heavy duty the moving and wear parts are.  I think most of the higher end brands, if maintained properly, will last a very long time.

Does anyone know if this kit is still available, and has anyone ever installed or seen one?

#724021  remote deflector kit

I found an old post where Garandman mentioned it.  I have an Ariens 924050 and would like remote deflector control.  Has anyone here ever retrofited a remote deflector control any other way?

When I first bought my home 3 years ago I had a single stage that I got for free from a relative.  With light 1-4" snowfalls it was great and a lot better than shoveling.  But for the end of the driveway I usually ended up shoveling anyways as the single stage wouldn't go through the stuff the plow packed up.  Although using the single stage blower was faster than doing it by hand, anytime I got more than 6 inches of snow it was about the same workout as doing it by hand.  Middle of last winter the single stage died and I was stuck without a blower.  Mid season I bought a 15-20 year old Ariens 24" 8hp.  The difference was like night and day.  Although heavy, it has a differential so takes almost no effort to move around.  It effortlessly took me through half of last winter, which set snow fall records in NE Wisconsin.  My driveway is about the same as yours, maybe a bit longer.  If I had to buy a new machine now I wouldn't go less than 24" 8hp.  And I wouldn't buy a machine without a differential.  Go into a dealer and try moving some around.  The big machines if they have a real differential take very little effort to move around and the extra size and power are very helpful when you have 2 feet of icy stuff blocking your driveway.

The throttle cable on my ST824 is shot.  A new lever and cable is around $30, but the lever is fine.  I looked at some generic throttle controls and they come with about twice as much cable as I need (only need about 25").  Anyone know somewhere I can buy just throttle cable and housing?