The Toro Retails around $1000 and the Ariens is in more in my price range at about $830. What made me choose these two is that they both have Tecumseh engines and all of the Tecumseh engines I've delt with have been great. I'm doing this research for my father who will be spending the money, I'm 17 and almost always snow blow the drive for him. He has a heart problem and diabetis. The less expensive toro than the one I was looking at had an R*Tek engine and I would much rather go with a Tecumseh. There is the debate of L-Head versus OHV and from what I see is that they give more power with less CCs and are quieter. I really don't care about sound (neither does my father) just as long as it will last a long time and will be dependable. I'm also a Fan of buying American and Made in USA equipment. The Ariens web site cleary shows Made In USA but Toro is really secrative of where theirs is made. I had always thought Toro made theirs domestic. That alone may shift our choice of which to buy. I was also checking out some Craftsman (from Sears), Yard Machines (home depot), and some Troy-Bilt (from Lowes) and they seem cheaply contructed compared to the Toro and Ariens.
I live just outside of Buffalo, NY in a suburb called Amherst. We don't get the brunt of the lake effect but most snowfalls 4-8 inches and storms range from a foot all the way up to drifts with 5+ feet. We can get anything from as little as 70-80 inches to well over 150 inches, sometimes over 200 inches in a stormy season (from what I have heard this could be one of those seasons). I'm looking for something that will laugh at the 5inch range do great in the foot range and get the job done with 2 foot range. I know there isn't really any blower out there thats going to move 5 feet with ease. I know both of companies make great blowers and dealer support is really equal for both in my area. The Price limit is $1000 right now.
The reason we need this new blower is because the 40 or so year old "Hahn-Eclipse Snow Giant" has died. It made a loud clang after about 3 feet of a row then when I tried starting it again all the parts just spun freely. The engine on it was a 7HP techumseh and there wasn't a thing I could throw at it that it didn't make its way through, not fast but it cut through nicely.
Here's some pictures of Snow Giant, rest in piece. We're still going to take it to the service center (where we'll probibly end up buying a new one) and see how much it would be to fix. The last 2 seasons its broke down during so it might just be time.
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