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

I bought this machine because I needed a rugged machine that would last me. I would rather purchase a "Tim Taylor" machine rather than fuss with an inferior one. This beast has 13hp, 36" wide, locking diff, heated hand grips, light, elec start, ect.... I have a 100 foot paved driveway. It has snowed 4 times since I purchased it, and it has broke down on me 3 times.  everything from a factory recall that i wasnt notified of, so it burned belts (4)!!, to nuts & bolts falling out, chute breaking, auger stops turning, wheels stop driving, etc.... The dealer has a special place for it in his shop that they dont fill when it is at my place. I believe this machine would last forever,  if i dont use it. The dealer stood behind me 100% when I told them enough is enough I wanted something done, money back, or a replacement. Now it has snowed today, 20", I have a bad back and have to shovel while the ariens company sits on my $3000.00. Anybody else have this problem?

Well nhmatt, that was a rather harsh review. 

Don't have any experience with that particular Ariens machine although, I did look at a one year old, used one that was the very same model, last year.  It looked big and tough enough.   After I looked at it more closely, I could tell that the engine had been worked on.  Something that the sales person at the dealership denied knowing about.  I showed him that the valve cover was being held on by other than stock nor normal type bolts.  From the looks of the fasteners on the engine, someone had taken it pretty much apart, either several times or they were as sloppy as hell in their wrench & screw driver size selections.  The dealership was asking $1600.00 for it.  I passed on the deal and bought a brand new 9528 Simplicity for a hundred bucks less, taxes included.   Best snow thrower I've owned and a damned good performer too.    

I can't be harsh enough.  Every time I use that thing I have to work on it.  Whether it be a shear pin or a loose belt or a frozen shute or a clogged impeller.  SLUSH OMG!!!!! I totally forgot.  it doesn't throw slushy snow more than 5'.  It cloggs more than it thows.  Sure, I know all about the Pam/silicone trick.  Its a design problem:  The impeller/auger assembly doesn't move fast enough, or have enough torque to toss it out of the chute.  I've tried modifying it and "tweaking" it or whatever.  10" on the ground tonight, and slow speed was too fast.  The engine is strong enough, in fact I dont' think the transmission is strong enough to stall the motor.  

Its better than shoveling by hand. 

I have an Ariens 1128DLE Pro 924508 And It is a great machine. It did plug with slush until I installed Clarences impeller kit and now it is flawless. My Honda hs624 will still give it a run for its money but the Ariens is a great machine as it is the last year they made this style before the changes took place. I would never have considered a machine with an electric shoot.

nhmatt wrote:

I bought a used (and abused) Craftsman snow thrower from my brother-in-law almost twenty years ago.  It was a 10 h.p. 32" model.   The only thing that worked well on it was the Tecumseh L head engine. 

That machine operated like it was on a timer.   I swear that there was a self-destruct timer on it somewhere.  I'd get exactly 45 minute use out of it before something would let go.  Seriously.  I had a string tied across the handle bar where I had three or four frequently used combination wrenches dangling from it.   Most common problems were the chute falling off, auger jumping out of the end bushings,  belts jumping off,  and my all time favourite was when the bolts holding the intake scoop would rattle out and the machine would almost break in half.   The machine had been taken apart so many times that most of the welded nuts that held it together were either stripped or very close to it.  Nothing would stay tight.  Even the engine would start to rattle loose after half an hour or so.  I'd have to pull  out a wrench and torque it down.  Good thing I was young and energetic when I owned that headache.   One can only remain young, energetic and stupid for so long.   I decided to part it out.  I didn't want anyone else to experience the grief that thing was capable of meting out.     The funny thing was that when I was parting it out, a guy I worked with said he was interested in buying the whole machine.  I warned him that it was nothing but trouble.  He said he was more than aware of how bad they were because he owned one just like it and had the same problems I had.    He said he needed only certain parts from the drive system and considering the engine was good, he'd try to make one decent machine out of the two.  Didn't happen.  Sure, he fixed the drive system but the other problems didn't go away????  

That story made my day....a good laugh...Great visuals.............THANKS!
Packo

Possible causes, least likely to most:

1. Next time you remove the pulley cover measure the auger system pulley maybe its too small and the impeller RPM is too low;
2. Make sure you put the choke in the "off" ( a.k.a. open or run) position;
   
3. If you go too slow there isn't enough load on the engine the governor won't cause the engine to rev up, you can hear the difference when it happens, try a higher speed setting;
   
4. The belt is too loose and slips whenever the auger/impeller is under load.

nhmatt wrote:

I think you may have bought the wrong machine for your needs.


nhmatt wrote:

You misunderstand the operation of the differential.  The idea is to have power going to both wheels, whether or
not you're turning.   Just like on a car this works very well as long as both wheels have traction.  But the way the
differential works is that it will end up sending all the power to the wheel which loses traction (like on ice).   If
you don't want this to happen you have to manually lock the wheels (the new limited slip differential will do this
for you).


nhmatt wrote:

I don't see how the snow could exit the chute if it was in the center of the machine.  The snow comes
off the impeller tangent  to the rotation of its blades and if you want the direction to be "up", so you can
then send it somewhere useful, the chute will have to be on one side of the impeller.


nhmatt wrote:
This is why I think you picked the wrong model for your needs.  In my mind a 36" wide machine is for quickly clearing
a large area of snow that is not too thick.   For deep snow you want a narrow machine.  Especially for something like the
snowbank left by the city plow.  The first cut into this has to be the full width of the machine and 36" is asking too much.

Paul

I absolutely bought the wrong machine.   But I don't undestand your point that a 13hp machine with a 36" bucket shouldn't be able to spit 6" of snow in the lowest gear possible.   This is the first time I've had someone suggest I should have a smaller machine, because I'm asking too much work from the biggest, baddest, snowblower ariens could make.    I believe my point WAS that this machine couldn't do the job I was asking of it, which is anthing more than 6" of powder.  Go figure, a snowblower that's affraid to get wet.

 If you look at the honda the chute is directly at the top of the impeller, making the throwing distance the same to either side.  Also, they don't put the battery directly in the path of the snow coming out of the chute (not that you should waste your money on electric start with a honda).  Maybe that's the reason in 10 years it only clogged when I sucked up a blue tarp.

I will be the first to admit I bought the wrong machine.  Its great to turn as you head back to the garage to gas up (gas hog) or to tighten the belt, or to let the auger/impeller thaw out because it doesn't like to get wet.  Honestly, buy a cheap, cheap cheap machine instead of wasting your money on an expensive one that was built cheaply.

I have a Honda at work and at home and both have the chute off center.

Ok Ok.  I understand what you mean with the need for release of snow at the tangent to the circle, and how its going to be off-center no matter what if you want to get all you can from the centrifugal force of the impeller.  Just like throwing a discus.  But take a good look inside both chutes, working and not,  and you'll notice how much more the snow bounces around in the ariens, and how the chute/auger in the honda spins the snow out.  Maybe its the size/speed of the impellers, where a faster impeller would mean it could be smaller and therefore less of a difference from right to left or whatever you want. 

Honda throws the snow farther, and its not just the power of the motor.   I've had a lot of xtra time to think about it while I'm working on this machine, instead of actually using this machine.  Other ariens may be fine, but this one model is a dud.