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

I've been saving my pennies for a commercial grade snowblower and am now trying to decide between Simlicity and Ariens. I do 10-30 short ( 30-40ft) single width ( 10-15 ft) driveways. Snow is normally in the 5-10" area with occasional forays into 20-24". So far this winter we've only had 3 major accumulations.

I've looked over their web sites, read and reread the glossy brochures and chatted up some local dealers and both seem like good machines.

Here are the similarities:

1. B&S OHV engines
2. Heavy metal contruction
3. Controls seem about equal
4. Hand warmers
5. Lights

Here are the differences:

1. Ariens has differential while Simplicity has "Easy Turn" which is equvalent to the Ariens deluxe models
2. Simplicity has power shift, basically really low gearing for when you get bogged down
3. Simplicity has electric chute rotation

I've lusted after a differental drive for a while now but the Simplicity is less expensive and has features that may outweigh the differential. I've also heard some people casting aspersions on the Ariens recently, mostly having to do with factory setup. On the other hand the few Simplicity folks seem to have almost a religious fervour about their machines.

I know I'll ultimately go with what "feels best to me" but I would like to get other people's opinions before spending a load of money.

I am aware that some plastics have characteristics that exceed those of some steels. I also suspect that the US military's buget is just a wee bit bigger than mine .

Unfortunately there are a lot of plastic parts on snowblowers that are not there because they are better than steel. They are there because they are less expensive and unfortunately they are also cheaper. We have already had a number of postings this year about plastic chutes being a problem, my neighbour two houses down likes his machine except for the plastic chute which he has to regularly nuresmaid. It seems that any time there is a posting about plastic parts it to bemoan a problem, not praise it. At the same time there haven't been any posts talking about a Toro problem in quite a while. This could be due to a lack of owners or a lack of problems. Thats why I'm getting people's opinions and most importantly their experiences.

I plan to be talking with a Toro owner to confirm his impressions about the plastic on the Toro. Last year he was quite happy with it but hadn't had a lot of usage yet. This year he will have had some more so we shall see if there has been any change. I expect to get a glowing report since I believe the Toro's are good machines. The Quick Stick chute control is the best solution I've seen and beats any of the two leaver systems in terms of ease of use and speed. I don't know how robust it is nor how easy it is to adjust and/or repair. In addition Toro's website doesn't have a "Commercial Duty" section, its all homeowner and although its probably insignificant I want to try and verify it.

One thing that I have been struggling with is whether the differential is really any better than the trigger actuated axle lock/unlock. Most machines that have the trigger operated axxle lock seem to have 1 while the Toro has two. Is two actually better than 1?  I don't know, but I'm hoping people will chime in with their experience. Does two work better than one? Does a differential work better than an axle lock/unloack system?

montyss - Does the Simplicity turn better one way than the other? Thats the justification for two triggers on some machines, I was wondering what experience has shown.

jubol - Thanks for the info on where to find the review, silly me I was pressing the "Reviews" button at the top of the discussion thread.

If Craftsman or Toro had a chute made out of the new Xenoy material that Honda uses
in their 21" mowers then I think the impact problem would never surface. However the Xenoy deck material is expensive.

If the chutes were made out of the layered Kevlar (bullet proof), the chutes would hold up better than steel and the snow would never stick. Unfortunately it is cost prohibitive as mentioned above. Give it some time though.

Nib,
If you buy the Toro 8 HP blower, It probably has a 10 HP Engine on it when you check the specs.

So wy buy the 10 Hp Toro for more cash when they are the same.

Just different decals on them!!!

Fred

jubol - Good point about the engine. I am leaning towards the B&S Intek Snow so maybe I can narrow the field using that as a criteria.

The main problem is I'd like to have one of each but can only afford 1.

The turning has been no problem with just the one trigger lock for the one wheel for me on the Simplicity. It seems to me that there was a discussion on the engines last year before I purchased mine and the 10.5 briggs is the same as the 13hp.This could be why it will go through the snow as well as it does no effort at all . The briggs so far has started with 2 pumps on the prime and just a lite pull on the handle . I had a Simplicity garden tractor that was from the early 60's till just a few years ago and could still buy parts for it and hope to have the same for the snowblower a machine that will last for years to come and not just a throw away.

I had a hunch that the main thing about the axle lock/unlock system was not being able to unlock either wheel but being able to unlock a wheel. When I switch the pin on my blower it is very easy to turn in either direction. The problem is that I like having both wheels turning most of the time.

I seem to remember that the engine discussion was in the 9-10.5HP range with the conclusion that it was the same engine.

I got a 11HP B&S Intek and it was noticeably nicer than the 10.5HP Tecumseh "L" Head it replaced. In addition the output shaft was 1" as opposed to the Tecumseh's 3/4" shaft. As I understand it the cutover point is 11HP, less is 3/4" 11 to somewhere higher is 1".