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

Newfie,

Forget the Sears, built by MTD who makes low end blowers at high prices!!

You can never have to much HP to handle the EOD!!

Which of the dealers is closest to you, Ariens or Toro?

Which dealer has the best Rep??

Toro has the better chute control over Ariens, Ariens has the More HP. 

For where you live either one I think would be good for you.

Go try them out and see what feels best  for your build!

PS, I used to fly into Goose Bay early 60's when I was flying in the USAF.

                                               Fred

Almost forgot: Go to Abbys home page, right hand side click on snowblowers, then top of page click on reviews.

That should give  you some help in deciding !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Hi Fred
Thanks for replying.  Nice to here that you been down here in Gods Country.. lol.. ;) dear say that will cause a storm in here, hey bye? lol, den we can try out the throwers.. haha..  But it tis nice here tho.

Yes I feel the same on Craftsman, not even sure why I have it in the list. Its just that it does have more features.  I guess if you chince out on quality you can afford to put in some extras. None the less I figured I would put it in to see if maybe I could have been wrong.

As for which dealer is closest. there are probably about the same distance. Not next to each other, but both about the same distance in car to drive. The Toro dealer does repair the machines from home depot as well. So they probably are busier in the winter. The ariens dealer is on it own, I am not sure if they used to fix ariens when home depot sold them. Guess thats a good question to ask, since if they are they will have to honor last years customers, etc..

I can say that I did feel a little more comfortable with the ariens dealer. Took more time to explain stuff and showed me things on the machine. The Toro dealer employee seemed like a car sales man. Seemingly hyping the aready sales number that didn't seam realistic to me and trying to get me to put down a deposit so that I can ensure I get one, since they will sell out soon as they arrive.

I have been to both dealers and looked at both machines. I have stood behind them and played with the controls, etc...   I have to say that I like the toro better in that department. Its the plastic that has me worried. Also I can't say that I really know what it is that I am looking for. This is probably why I liked the toro better.  Joystick fun.. lol.   Its fall now, so know snow to try, so its just moving them around on the sales floor. The ariens dealer told me that if it was winter he would take me over to his house and let me try his. He said it blows snow and blows it good and that he would put it up against honda any day.  Didn't come off cocky saying that, just seemed assured.

I was on abbys web page. Only the toro listed in the reviews.  I guess these ariens are too new to be in there.  I did read the other model reviews tho, gives a good insight.


I have never been to goose bay. Heard lots about it.  I live on the Island part of Newfoundland and unfortunately I have never been to Labrador. Plane tickets are expensive and no real reason to go there. I wonder if you were ever in Argentia, stephenville or Gander? Many people from the USAF have been to those bases.

Cheers
Goofie Newfie


Side Note.  Found out today that the 11HP DLE Ariens is fully automatic on the differential. So both wheels lock and unlock.  Great, no going in circles.. Major PLUS!  Also should note that Ariens will service my machine at year end, every year for 3 years. Also the regular warranty is 1 year longer the toro.

Nef,

I'd go with the Ariens, more HP, quality machine and with the differential very easy to control!!!

The Toro plastic has stood up well, no problems in Maine and New Hampshire, about same climate as you!!

Flew into all three!! Beautiful country!!!

What ever machine you buy, it makes having a big snowfall FUN!!

 I enjoy the look of shooting snow over my roof!!

                                                                            

                                                                       Fred

Is it just me, or did one of the previous models of Craftsman blowers have a joystick that looked/worked very similar to the Toro version?  I could swear I saw one like it, maybe last year or the year before.

Love my Ariens......was worried about the plastic joystick on the Toro as well, but nice to see they are all holding up.  I dont mind the 2 separate handles on the Ariens.......ANYTHING is an improvement from no remote chute angle adjustment, and the good old fashioned crank mechanism to turn it.

-Chris

Right on Fred. Nice to hear that you been to many places in Newfoundland. The base in Argentia was supposely very advance in its hey day. I believe there is still 2 us army guards on the permises protecting the underground structure. Apparently it has a fairly large underground network for docking of subs, etc.. including a hill that was hallowed out for a hospital.

I believe I am pretty close to purchasing the ariens. I would like to here a few more comments tho.

It would be nice if this forum showed the entire thread structure when posting. I can only see my original opening post when I hit reply.  To the comment about the craftsman and the knockoff toro design. I truely have no idea, I haven't even seen this years model in person. I believe they are only available through catalog order here. Not %100 tho.

Cheers
GoofieNewfie

Newfie,

I sent you a message on this site, please read and respond!!

                                         Fred

Yes a few Craftsman models have used the joystick knockoff. However it is the MTD design which is currently used on Troybilt and some other MTD brands. It consists of a single long-length cable going directly to the shoot collar. In other words, it will not hold up over time, but it works great in the box stores as long as it doesnt get wet and frozen. It's an insult to compare it to Toro's design. If you search the net, you will find many unhappy consumers who are already having issues with it 1-2 seasons in, and are looking to convert to the old style crankt-type shoot control already. IMHO stay away from it!

Yeah now that I found a pic of the Toro version, I can see the differences.  Also interesting is that the plastic on the Toro looks more heavy duty in the picture alone, I can only imagine looking at it in person.  I played with the Craftsman version over the weekend, and the whole setup didnt move very easily for being all plastic, and the chute would actually squeeze together when moving because of the fact that it took so much effort to get it sliding.

Oddly enough the Toro version looks similar to the Ariens setup, except the Ariens setup has 2 separate sticks.

I guess its the little things that set every brand apart........if I didnt know any better I would have just assumed the Craftsman version was just as good as the Toro version.

-Chris

The closer I seem to get to purchasing one, the further I seem to get. Does that make sense? nope.. lol

Well let me explain.  Today I almost bought the ariens. But I decided to give my ol man a call. Since he is after owning several machines.  He is usually away for work, so today was the first time I got to speak time him. He currently owns a 928 with track. Absolutely loves it and I knew this before even talking to him today.  Thing is I cannot afford that size of a machine from Honda. So I start telling him about the ariens and the features and comparing it to toro, etc..

When I get to the drive type. Disc o matic he stops and says nope.  He is not a fan of the disc. Says the snowblowers he has had with that has given him grief. Freezing up, etc..  Truthfully I am not mechanical and couldn't compare it to the honda.  But he explains the clutch system they have.  I sort of understand it. Plus telling me its 4 stroke which is better as well.

so he suggest instead of buying the 11hp ariens. Why not get a 6hp honda.  Stating that the hp is more of a macho thing they reality in most snow conditions.  Saying that the 6hp would do me 99.8% of the time.  I kinda like the idea of no belts. no fuss.

Another thing that puts me a little back on the ariens, is that tecumseh was sold last week.  What will the future hold for model support and parts supply.

My father also told me the tecumseh engine cannot hold a candle to honda.  Black smoke, freezing carbs, noisey...    The hondas are ohv and have a muffler system to quiet it more.

What do you guys think.  I usually tend to listen to my father, but he is not familar with the ariens. He understands the technology. after all he is a journeyman millwright red seal interprovincial. He knows gears. But doesn't know ariens.

What do you people think? 

The honda is a 6hp track with manual chute control sticks and electric start. about $200 more then the ariens. 

Newfie,

Honda is the Rolls Royce of snowblowers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How ever on their site, smallest tracked blower is a HS724TA.

Its MSRP is $2149.00 in US dollars.

Maybe they are selling different blowers in Canada???

You can not go wrong with a Honda!!!

Read the Honda reviews on the site that I sent you.

                                                           Fred

Newfie,

Just checked Honda, Canada and the have a 6 HP Tracked blower!!

Electric start is $1999.00!

Hand start  is $1869.00!

Which are you looking at? Either is great, but I would go with the Electric start!!

Love to spend other folks money!!!

Sent you an email "viewtopic" !

                                                      Fred

Fred you been a great help.. Thanks for the e-mails.

Yes looking at the 6hp electric start. Only thing I don't like about it is the chute controls are levers that you have to grab to rotate and another to elevate.  The 7hp model is a 6.5hp and has chute controls. I haven't done a lot of comparison on these models as I was looking at the 9hp for comparison to the ariens.  My ol man is so confident in the honda and wants me to have nothing else, he offered to pay the difference between the ariens and the honda.. woohoo..

However, I just don't know if 6hp is going to be good enuff for the winters we get.  He seems to think so. I have read the the smaller hondas are comparable to some of the larger models in competition.

If you were in my shoes would you jump at the honda? or would it be the bigger ariens? 

Thanks

Newfie,

If your dad would spring for the 9 HP Honda price difference, I'd say go for the Honda.

If not, go the Ariensor Toro, where you live you need at least 8 Hp+, the more the better!!

                                                 Fred

Don't let the bells and whistles fool you.  What you want to look for is a rock solid chassis, bearings instead of bushings, steel instead of plastic, control rods instead of cables on components that can freeze and demand force to move, overhead valve engine, single and double wheel option for traction and maneuverability.  You will not find all of those qualities on the box store models of Ariens or Toro.  You will find them on the Simplicity and Honda.  If you buy the top of the line Ariens and Toro you will get it but at a heavy price.  The best unit for the money is the Simplicity.  A 9.5 h.p., 28" Simplicity with all of the above qualities can be had for $1500.00 Canadian and even less if  bought from the U.S. 

According to an engineer that works for Ariens, the Box store Ariens are the same as the dealers!!

Toro the same!!!

                                    Fred

Well if that's the case, it would appear that Ariens and Toro have begun to compromise their build quality.  The ones I checked out at HD didn't compare to the Simplicity.  I also looked at a used 2005 Ariens that was built pretty stout..  It was their 36" model with cast iron auger gear  drive and 12 h.p. Tecumseh o.h.v. engine.  The wheel lock was down at the wheel and it looked to me like the engine had been worked on.  I didn't like that so I passed on that deal.   Also, the dealership  wanted more for the used Ariens than I paid for a brand new Simplicity.   Do a side by side comparison with an equal priced anything to a Simplicity.  You'll see what I'm talking about.      

Do the box stores sell all of the Ariens and Toro models?  I was under the impression that only select models were available in the box stores and that dealerships sold the higher end models. 

   

Borat,

It's, I like Ford and you like Chevy, we could debate this till H#$L freezes over!

However Toro  and Ariens makes  good Snowblowers!!

Also if you compare Simp's this year to 3 years ago, Simp has cheapened it up big time !! IMHO

                                                                                       Fred

 

jubol wrote:

Hey, don't get riled up bud.  I'm just telling it like it is.  I just finished making the rounds and doing comparisons.  The Simp had more to offer than the competition and for less money.  I'm not saying Ariens and Toro aren't any good.  Just not as good as the Simplicity.  Particularly when you compare initial purchase price.   For me, one of the most important features of the Simp is the B&S engine.  I've been hearing rumblings about Tecumseh being in financial trouble and have purposely avoided machines with their engines.  Ariens and Toro both use Tecumseh and Toro is still using their old L head engines.  Not my cup of tea. 

Say what you want.  You can't argue reality.

borat wrote:
Well, its been awhile since I have been here. Been busy.  Wow, what a difference the snow made to this forum. lots of post active now.

Well, first a update and then a reply to borat.  I ended up buying the Ariens 1130DLE. I would have loved the Honda, but the price didn't make sense. the Honda would have been about $1400 more than the ariens.  I did manage to play with a Honda 928 in real conditions.  It is a really nice machine and no question better then anything I have used to date. I haven't done a side by side comparison of the snow distances yet, but will before the season is out.  Neighbor has one on lend while somebody moves.  I will say at first glance the honda does appear to throw further, but I also notice the discharge chute goes up on more of a angle.  So it can toss it further up straight in the air, but as for distance down the street, I am not sure if there is a big difference. I will test this more tho as I said earlier.  The Honda discharge is more controlled. Its a fine stream rather then a rooster tail.

I have only used the ariens once and the snow depth didn't really do it any justice. To really compare I am looking forward to 30 cm or more. Fill the bucket full and let her rip.  Hard pack snow it tossed about 20 feet.  This snow was what was shoveled to the side of the driveway prior to the snowblower.  It was a heavy wet snow that was very much settled.  Type of snow you probably shouldn't even attempt with a blower. But hey, new toy, must try.. :)

Anyways, I will post more on this machine later as I get to play with it.  
Borat

I read good things about simplicity. I would have loved to been able to either see or possibly buy one. But there is no simplicity dealer in my province. (Newfoundland, Canada).  I agree with you on not getting caught up with the features, even tho some are sure nice to have.  The 1130dle does have a rock solid chasis, at least from what I saw on other machines. Not sure on the bearings, can somebody else answer that?  The machine is all steel, the chute rotation control is steel rod and gears and came well greased.  The elevation chute control is a little different, I would think others are similiar in that department. I cannot see how one could have a steel rod control for that unless it was manual.  The elevation is controled by a wire similar to what you would see on a pedel bike for gear shifting.  half decent gauge wire covered with plastic that pulls to release a spring or something along those lines.  The DLE does have automatic independent wheel control. It will apply torque on the opposite wheel depending on which way your turning.. So it has traction control for both wheels.  The auger gear case is heavy duty aluminum. Not quite good as the pro's cast iron, but pretty good none the less. The shear pins are big and nowhere close to some of the rinky dinky ones I saw on some of the hardware store models.

Granted the machine cost me $2100 tax it, lot more then your quoted simplicity price. But she is a 11hp and 30" cut.  Not ohv, but hey, it throws snow and damn I am glad I got her.

Cheers
Goofie Newfie.

I'm sorry I didn't see this post earlier.  I hope the Ariens that you purchased is not like mine.

I own an Ariens 5524 and I can tell you that it is horrible.  Ariens thought of every possible sneaky way of cheapening this blower to make it look good on paper but perform horribly.  It has 2 main faults that render it virtually useless:

1. The bolts that hold the impellers on.  These are a soft material bolt that are designed to break just before the breaking point of the gear case.  As you can see, these bolts are TINY on this unit, and they are also extremely soft.  This tells you a lot about the quality of the gear case.  These bolts break constantly, and you don't even have to hit a rock to break them.  Just hit an icy patch of snow and they break.  USELESS!

2. The "transmission", if you can call it that.  This cheap rubber spinning disc transmission gets very hot after about 10 minutes of use, and it begins to slip.  After 15 minutes it's time to park the thing for a couple of hours to let it cool down, since the tires won't drive anymore.  And yes, I have tried adjusting it many times, it doesn't help.

I have been told that Ariens produces this junk specifically for Home Depot, so maybe if you go to an actual dealer you'll be able to find a much better model.

I am not sure, but I believe somewhere in this post I did bring that up about the disc o matic system.  My father was pushing me toward the honda for that reason soley. The dry clutch system is by far superior then the disc o matic.  I ask some people tho about it and nobody really seemed to have problems with it. The disc o matic system is just a fancy word for the same tech they have been using for years in pretty much all snowblowers before clutchs came along.  They used to be prone to freezing up as well. 

Your post has made me nerves about it now, I sure hope I don't have that problem with the disc o matic system.  As for the sheer pins, I thought they looked quite good compared to others I saw. Toro, honda and ariens seemed to be the same without actualy measuring them.

I did not purchase through HD. I got it through local dealer and went for the deluxe model. They seemed to be the best out of every dealer I talked too. Support hopefully follows suit if needed. (fingers crossed it will not)

Cheers
Goofie Newfie

If you bought a good quality Ariens, you'll be alright.  Too bad about no Simplicity dealer.  Snapper is the same as Simplicity by the way.  Just a different paint job.  As far as the disk drive in snow blowers, I wouldn't sweat that.  I was debating on going with a machine with the hydrostatic drive.  After balancing cost and complexity vs. the proven disk drive system, I settled for disk drive.  I know I can fix a disk drive for peanuts.  My last machine worked very hard for twelve years and never had a problem with the disk drive other than occasionally snapping shear pins.    Enjoy your new machine and let us know how it does. 

Borat,

Good advice!!

                               Fred

I have both a 2003 and 2004 Ariens. The 2004 is the smaller Deluxe model. I never had a problem with the disco-matic drive on either machine getting hot. This design has been around for many decades and has proven itself. If there is slipping, I would refer to my setup manual to confirm that the drive is adjusted properly.

I did notice that most of the Ariens models have much beefier shear bolts than the model that I have.  In fact I have a very hard time finding the bolts for my model because it is one of the only ones that use the tiny bolts.  If only I would have noticed this earlier. Oh well.  If you got a good quality unit from a dealer you are probably fine, but I wanted to make sure that people are aware that there are substandard Ariens models out there.

add simplicity,dump craftsman,sears products suck.period.dont buy from a big box,you know who they are.spend a few bucks more,buy from a REPUTABLE dealer.he will service it for you if you dont know how to.just things i have learned,hope this helps you,happy snow throwing.

Don't purchase a Craftsman snowblower. Period!  I have owned one for 9 years (largest one they sold at the time).  The problem is this: their belts are NOT standard sizes (isn't that just plain stupid) which means that local repair shops generally do not carry them.  The second reason is that because they are not standard size you must purchase from Sears at a greatly inflated price.  Local repairs shops don't like to stock them because of this. So I've had shops place a belt on that is close in size but does not work for long.  You'll have to lug the machine back for further repairs --- after buying the belt yourself  from Sears. An all around frustrating experience.  Do yourself a favor -- don't buy from Sears. 

This is an example of a company that has it all backwards and as a result is in financial trouble. Rather than accommodating customers and making it easy to repair their products, instead they want you to repair Craftsman products only through their repair shops and only using their parts which are greatly inflated in price.  The result is such an unsatisfactory experience over time it leaves the customer heading for another product once the Crafstman dies or they get rid of it out of frustration. Doesn't sound like sustainable business practice to me. If their stock price and rumors of the company's troubles are true, many customers head for the hills after one experience with Sears.  It's a shame given the need to support American products.

Don't purchase a Craftsman snowblower. Period!  I have owned one for 9 years (largest one they sold at the time).  The problem is this: their belts are NOT standard sizes (isn't that just plain stupid) which means that local repair shops generally do not carry them.  The second reason is that because they are not standard size you must purchase from Sears at a greatly inflated price.  Local repairs shops don't like to stock them because of this. So I've had shops place a belt on that is close in size but does not work for long.  You'll have to lug the machine back for further repairs --- after buying the belt yourself  from Sears. An all around frustrating experience.  Do yourself a favor -- don't buy from Sears. 

This is an example of a company that has it all backwards and as a result is in financial trouble. Rather than accommodating customers and making it easy to repair their products, instead they want you to repair Craftsman products only through their repair shops and only using their parts which are greatly inflated in price.  The result is such an unsatisfactory experience over time it leaves the customer heading for another product once the Crafstman dies or they get rid of it out of frustration. Doesn't sound like sustainable business practice to me. If their stock price and rumors of the company's troubles are true, many customers head for the hills after one experience with Sears.  It's a shame given the need to support American products.