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

I have been going back and forth between looking at the Ariens 926LE with the Axle locking pins and the 926DLE with a remote differential. My budget is for around $1000 which makes the 926le more attractive. I live in the boston area so we get a fair amount of snow. Does any have any information on how easy vs difficult it is to remove adjust the axle locking pins on the 926LE. Do most people operate the snowblower with both wheels engaged or is the a feature that is only used when going up steep hills and trying to bust throught the end of a driveway/plow buildup? If any one out there has information I would love some advice.Thanks in advance to all who reply

Hi,

You might want to try posting this in the lawnmower discussion forum.  There seems to be a lot of snowblower talk there.  I always used my 1128 with both wheels locked.  I tried it with just one wheel locked one time and it didn't want to track straight.  Moving the pin wasn't that bad but I wouldn't want to do it often.  The Toro 828LXE is $100 less than the Ariens 926DLE and it has remote controls to unlock each wheel independently.

I tend to leave the pin in so both wheels are locked to the axle. It makes turning a lot stiffer but  I found that trying to switch back and forth was a pain and I prefer having both wheels turning most of the time. I notice that the 11528LE has the remote lock/unlock mechanism which looks like it might almost be as good as the DLE differential. I don't have any experince with either the differential or the trigger release so I can't comment. I'm kind of surprised that the 926LE doesn't have the trigger release.,

I live in Boston and have an older 8524, and a 1970 5hp we just upgraded  with a new 7.5hp engine.

I'd bet about 75% of the Ariens sold in this area are 926LE's. The Pro is really nice: but for the amount of use we get around here the 926LE is more than adequate.  The previous owner almost never locked the wheel. I usually do. YMMV.

Most of easten MA gets between 40 (near the coast) to 80" of snow per season, versus 125 in places like the lake-effect snow areas in upstate NY, or VT.  For the one or two big blizzards we get a year - like the 25" storm last season in Boston - a big machine is invaluable but half the time snow means I use a push scoop.