Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hi All

Great site!  Been over at gardenwebs Toolshed forum reading up on snow throwers the last month or so and figured there must be another good place for info and stumbled upon this site!!  I have an 11528LE on order but after reading all the opinions on "I'd go with the DLE every time over the LE"  has got me thinking I'm making a mistake.  Was hoping some of you here could try and quell my anxiety over making the right decision.

First off I will say I'm looking for something to last me as long as possible, so when it comes to build quality and length of use it is really a driving decision in this purchase.  I am 27years old and want this thing to last 20+ years.  Is the cast iron vs. extruded aluminum even an issue if a person takes good care of it (change out the gear case oil as recommended, how were the old ones built that are still running today, when did they start using aluminum for the gear case and how are those holding up).

My driveway is about 50ft long (moderate incline) and 30 - 40ft wide with 110ft of sidewalk.  So there will be a lot of turning involved.  So what will the true differential get me that the remote lockout won't.  I would think turning would be a snap either way but I have absolutely no experience with a snow blower so I could be totally wrong.  As I read it on the 11528LE I think of it as being able to run it with the diff unlocked most of the time unless there is a heavy snow were I would need the diff locked if I was in a heavy snow with the diff locked.  At the end of my run I would need to pull the trig to unlock the diff so my turn (in only one direction) would be tight and easy as turning in the opposite direction would be more rounded.  Repeat as necessary until finished.  So it might take longer because I would want to make sure I am always turning in the same direction.  Now with the DLE I just turn which ever way I want with no concern about the tightness and ease of my turn because it is a true differential axle.  The trig for unlocking the DLE differential is used why??

So am I even close on what I think the differences are as far as the axle systems?  I have time to switch and think it would be worth the extra $200 for the 926DLE(1400) over the 11528LE(1200) but I am not sure on the extra number of years I would get out of the cast gear case and how much easier handling would be with the differential?  Can someone please help me understand?

Thanks!!

I think you have it slightly confused. The DLE has a differential the LE doesn't.

The trigger on the DLE Locks Out the differential so that the wheels are locked together. This should give you slighlty more power while going straight but make it more difficult to turn. When the differential is NOT locked out you can turn easily and wheel on the outside of a turn spins faster than the one on the inside of the turn. Both wheels are still recieving power. The normal mode is to use the differential and to only lock it out when you have problems. I've sen some comments from people that say they rarely if ever lock the differential.

The trigger on the LE  releases the lock on the axle so that the wheels no longer turn together. The right wheel receives power while the left wheel freewheels. This makes it easy to turn in either direction however since the right wheel is powerd turning left is the easiest. When you pull the trigger again the axle is locked and the wheels are both powered again. The normal mode is to have the axle locked and to release it whenever you wnat to turn.

I would guess that either machine will last a long time. Personally I lean towards the Pro models because:

1. Being slightly smaller it is easier to maneuver and store.

2. The difference in swath size probably isn't significant, every time I calculate it out it comes out that the larger machine will probably clear the driveway with one less swath and you
    end up and the end of the driveway and have to come back anyway.

3. In previous years the Pro model had a higher speed ( wheels turned faster) and hence you covered more ground in the same amount of time.

Thanks for the clarification.  I did know the DLE had the differential.  I should have said axle instead of diff.

I also don't mind the 2" difference in the cutting width but I do wonder about getting bogged down with the 9.25HP.  Is the 11.5HP worth more than the differential and cast gear case??

i have to think that the real differential and the cast iron gearcase are worth more than the 2.25 hp and 2".  if you're looking for one to last, that's not a bad trade.

There has been some speculation about whether or not there is any difference between the 9.5 and the 10.5HP engines.

I just checked the Ariens site The 926's  are  as  follows:

1. The DLE's come with either a Tecumseh OHV or a B&S Intek Snow OHV or  Tecumseh engines;
2. The LE comes with either a Tecumeh L-Head or and B&S OHV

The 1128's  either DLE or LE all come with either a Tecumseh OHV or a B&S OHV

I also notice that for the 926's the Tecumseh is listed as 9.25HP while the B&S is 9.5HP

Personally I doubt if the extra bit of horsepower would make much if any difference. However if Ariens wants to send me samples of all four machine configurations for hands on testing I would be more than happy to report back to the forum with my results. I promise not the charge them too much for the testing service.

Last year I  replaced an old blown Tecumseh 10.5HP L head engine with a new 11HP B&S Snow Intek OHV engine. I also changed the traction pulley ratio slightly. There is a noticable difference in the way the blower moves snow. I suspect that it has more to do with  a new OHV engine as compared to an old L-Head than anything to do with the 0.5HP increase.