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

WOW! Now the details.3"-4" snow hit today. Light and fluffy. Machine started first pull. Started out in 2nd gear and was soon up to 6th. This thing moves along so fast in 6th gear, I almost had to learn snowblowing all over again. My old machine was 1979 Wards (Gilson), single speed. Things sure have come a long way. Anyway, I was finished so fast I couldn't beleive it! The "power steering" is a great benifit, making EOD turns a cakewalk. I really like the remote chute deflector. It helps direct the snow in my crowded area. The manual says don't blow snow any higher than necessary. Well.... it was shooting it farther and higher than anything I have ever seen. I was laughing and having a ball. This is work? The City plow hasn't come by yet. When will he get here? I'm ready. It's hard to contain my excitement. Of course testing in heavier snow awaits, but my first use impression is...WOW. Thanks for bearing with me

By the way, the remote lock for the diff. drive works fine. I didn't need to use it though. Just played with it a bit. I can see it coming in handy to climb the curb to do the sidewalk.

A second WOW1. Although my snow was light and fluffy, and a gravel driveway about 200 yards, here is my first real use report.
With the skids all the way down, no gravel went thru the shute. There is about an inch of packed snow
However, this Second time starting did take the electric starter to get it going rather than just the rope pull.

Agree with everything above.

At first, I almost thought the a snow thrower less in size and power than the 926 would work, but after using it, the size and power are right for me. Above 9.5 hp would be too much for me to handle (I do like the way the 926 turns, and the ease to which you can move the deflector right or left, up or down, all while you are moving. My speed was fairly slow, but I am learning to use a decent thrower again after struggling a few winters with a 3.5 hp, single-stage Snapper (the Snapper was good machine, but I wanted a two-stage this time). Before that, my uncle gave me his old 2-stage MTD which was a horse; I heard MTD bought Troy-Build, but those machines as well as the Yardman which costs less, are not the quality, IMO, of Ariens. The manual is very informative and detailed as they want you to be a long term user.

In summary, my advice is to go with the power as you can afford; as someone on this discussion said, a well-made snow thrower will last 10-15-20 years.

Gary

I'll throw in a third WOW.

5" of light stuff.  Zipped right through it.  The traction control is about the best invention ever.  I could not believe how easy it was to turn the machine.  I had no problems with EOD snow either.  Didn't even need to slow down for it.  Never once needed the lockout feature. 

About the only thing that I kept goofing up was where my driveway line is.  I will need to repair some lawn in the spring...oops.

kbog wrote:
In late fall it helps to drive a few wooden stakes at troublesome spots to help you find the edges of the pavement after the first snowfall. Once there is a decent amount of piled up snow along the sides, you can pull the stakes out and save them for next year.

John Davies

Well, here's the fourth WOW..

Looked at the HD 926LE... but tried turning one with both wheels locked....wasn't impressed.....Went to a dealer and tried the DLE..along with a Simplicity 10 hp..They were both nice but the chute on the Simplicity took forever to rotate... very small teeth on the chute houseing and a plastic gear..so went with the 926DLE.. Very well balanced and turns like it  weights about 20 pounds...The chute turns in less than a second and locks... not like the six that were set up at HD...Thanks to everyone that's been posting about all the new machines .. it made the choices much easier..I was headed toward the Husqvarna.. but dealers here have been dropping the line... I have their tractor.. love it.. but the dealers are  gone and even though I am capable of setting one up from Lowes..why bother tinkering to get it fine tuned to get the bugs out..Then If I have a problem.. where's a dealer?? Here today.. gone tomorrow..   I had a 6 hp Sears that gave me 35 years.. with just 1 belt and a skid change.. and maybe 3 spark plugs..Still starts easy but it's tired..and turns like a tank.. Guess that's why I like the DLE..it's like no effort at all...

Congrats Tommm  !

Good choice! I have a 1332DLe and like it.

Frank D.

Tommm wrote:
Normally you leave the wheels locked when you are going straight. When you are about to turn you squeeze the lever and release the wheel lock, then make the turn. Once you are going straight again you squeeze the lever again and re-engage the wheel lock.

The 926LE has no release lever...  Once you choose two wheel or single wheel drive via the pins in the axel.. thats it..  The 11 horse 28 inch LE has the release lever.. but that model was almost as much as the PRO model 926DLE.. so I went with the differential and cast iron gearcase in the DLE..

Tommm wrote:
Whups, brain not working,

I was thiknking of the 11528LE I was looking at and forgot that the 926LE is missing remote axle lockout and other stuff that the 11528LE has. There's less than $300US difference in the MSRP so I wonder why they didn't keep the features the same and just change the engine and auger sizes. There has been some discussion about whether the engine size is actually changed, so it might just be the auger size and extra "features" that justify the price increase.

You bought the machine I've been lusting after, enjoy and let us know how it works.