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

I have a long steep driveway, about 60 feet, one car, with a flat bay about 50 X 50 at the base. I have nvere owned a snow blower, but I am getting alittle older and the back isnt waht it used to be. I have looked at the Ariens  11526DLE Snow Blower, which I think is an 11.5 HP. I was wondering if anyone has any experience on this with a steep hill. If not does anyone have any recomendations on one that will run up a steep hill

Snowman, with the counterbalance, does that mean the motor would run with less vibration? What are the benifits of a counterbalance. The reason I ask is I am thinking of removing my 10 hp Tecumseh for a 13 hp unit for my blower.

The counterbalancer really works well. If I remember correctly, its 60-75% less vibration than the 318cc models.

PK

If the 10hp you are replacing is the L-head (358cc), you may experieince greater than 75%  vibration reduction. That particular engine vibrates the most.

RedCoupe wrote:
Which would be a sound idea, HP ratings have a lot less relevancy than most people think. Who pays attention to the HP rating of their car or motorcycle? Only a small minority, but a fair percentage of people know what the cubage of their engine is, at least in liters (nowadays) for cars.

Back to Muzak396's question. I agree with the other poster that a tracked model is best suited to your driveway, depending on snow conditions you could get away with a Honda HS724 (it is stronger than its specs lead to believe) or you may require the beefier HS928 which is a commercial grade machine. Very powerful, throws snow very high and far, always impresses neighborhood kids and often their parents as well lol (snow geyser rising above the neighborhood advertises you're clearing), but is somewhat heavy until you learn how to turn properly, then you can do it with one hand. Ariens also makes tracked units but they are new so little is known of them. They cost the same as Hondas.