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

   Stopped by HD this evening and found they had sold off most of their Ariens machines and now had many MTD's.  The engines are unmarked and there's nothing identifying the engine in the machine manual.  After poking around I finally found a small Made in China sticker under the cowling.   All the machines had these OHV's on them.  For any big and established Chinese maker MTD would be sweet contract so the engines are probably pretty good. 

   I put a Harbor Freight Central Machinery engine on an older Ariens body.  It was a 6.6hp OHV Honda design and a sweet engine.  The body was nice with a tight tractor section.  It only required a light mod to run another chute crank under the wider OHV.  I sold it to a person in the next town so I'll be able to keep track of it over the years.  We'll see how it stands up.

  With Tecumseh stopping production it’s very likely Ariens will opt for Chinese OHV’s very soon.   I know many will yank out the Chinese goods but we all did that about Japanese goods not long ago.  I now drive a great Honda and love it – 35mpg 5 speed around town, 40+ on a trip.  The Chinese are hungry like we used to be in the 50’s and are capable of producing decent goods.  It will be interesting to see where Ariens goes.  They have a big reputation to protect and if they go Chinese it will be a big feather for the Chinese makers.

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I stopped by HD today while driving home, and thought I'd check on the engine situation again.  There were Ariens 927LE, 624E, and 520 snow blowers, all with their Tecumseh engines (624E with OHV), then there were the Yard Machine (MTD) snow blowers, all of which had the Chinese engines (same underside-of-the-engine "Made in China" notice on the big sticker), the exact same engines as their Troy-Bilt blowers have at Lowe's.  Then I saw a Yard Machine (MTD) log splitter (25-ton) with a Briggs and Stratton, a Yard Machines rotary-style leaf blower (on wheels) with a Honda engine, a Yard Machines lawn edger (on wheels) with a Briggs, and then a Cub Cadet (MTD) chipper/shredder/vacuum with that same Chinese engine sticker once again. 

So the picture is very clear that you have to really watch out.  Yard Machines using Briggs, Honda, and Chinese.  Just depends on the machine and model. Cub Cadet's "own" brand of engine is a Chinese brand with no label.  I hate it when they can't be honest enough to put a company logo sticker on the engine.  What are they trying to hide?  They must think we're stupid.  MTD and other North American manufacturers should label these engines with the name of the manufacturer in China.  At least Tecumseh, Briggs, Honda, and other major North American/Japanese manufacturers have identification.  If nothing else, it's a sign of an established manufacturer who actually wants people to know who they are.  What a novel concept!

Please, Ariens, Toro, Husqvarna, MTD, etc., go with Briggs or some other very good big-name engine, not the Chinese no-name engine. 

You will notice that if the engine is a domestic product, it has it's name prominently displayed.  The manufacturer wants you to know it's their engine.  I doubt that the North American OPE manufacturers want us to readily notice that the engine on their product is made in China.  I'm surprised you even found a label indicating that the engine is of Chinese origin. 

 I bought a Vermont Castings barbecue at HD last year.  They had another brand (Ducane) on the floor that I was interested in.  I asked the sales manager, not the clerk, where the Ducane was manufactured.  Her reply was that it was built in the U.S.  I looked over the paper work, sales brochure, manual etc. for a country of origin.  Couldn't find anything.   I looked all over the exterior of the machine.  Nothing.  Finally, I got down on my hands and knees and looked inside the cabinet where the propane tank is kept.  Waaaaay at the back on a little sticker, written in letters barely legible, it said "Made in China."  So I get up and interrupt the sales manager who is speaking to my wife.  I asked her "So, help me out here.  When did China become a part of the U.S.A.? "   She said Pardon."    I replied "You said this Ducane barbecue was built in the U,S.  There's a label inside that say it's made in China."   She responded  "Well, that's news to me."   Not surprising.  HD staff aren't that knowledgeable of many of their products and if it's of Chinese manufacture, I'm certain that Home Depot and most other large box stores aren't waving any banners to let the customers know.   So, a consumer has to closely scrutinize the product for it's country of origin if they want to know where it was made. 

By the way, the Vermont Castings was made in the U.S.A. and it's a fine barbecue indeed.  

About the only Chinese made things that are any good are their pu-pu platters.

I'll add another log to the fire.  I stopped by Sears today and looked at their snowblowers.  They had their entire line on display.  Good for me.  Their top three models all have Briggs and Stratton "Snow Series" engines, the ones without throttles.  Their lower three medium duty models all had the exact same brand of Chinese engines (different sizes, of course), complete with the same emission sticker than says "Made in China" in the lower right corner.  On top of that, the control panels and controls of these models, except for the top-end model (#88106) which is a Husqvarna with the Craftsman label and a red paint job, are probably either Troy-Bilt or Yard Machines.  I've got the brochures for both Craftsman and Troy-Bilt.  Comparing the pictures, they sure look alike for some of the models, except for the headlight.  However,  the control handles look alike.  There was one Craftsman model that looked very similar to a Yard Machines model on display at Home Depot. 

This is my observation, anyway.  It's no surprise if Craftsman models are coming from MTD.  No news there.  It explains why Sears' snow blowers have the Chinese engines.  Troy-Bilt, Yard Machines, Craftsman are all in the same MTD pot, apparently, and it doesn't matter whether it's HD, Lowe's, or Sears.  All the same stuff.  What a joke, and it's everywhere you go.  No wonder Honda, Ariens, Simplicity, and Toro all seem to stand above them. 

Just goes to show that it pays to do our homework. 

Joe average consumer isn't very savvy when it comes to buying just about anything.  Their usual shopping parameters are: biggest number for least money.   To them, an MTD with a 12 h.p. engine and 32 inch wide clearing path is better than an 8 h.p. 24" Ariens etc.  Regardless of the fact that the engine is Chinese and the auger gears are off of an electric can opener and the chassis is the thickness of tin foil.  

The irony of it is, that these very same consumers tend to be the least maintenance oriented.  So in the long run (more likely short run), they'll have a problem with the machine.  It will probably happen when they need it most and the machine will be out of service for two months because many of the other similar machines will be in for repairs too.  Then it's the hoops and hurdles they'll have to jump through and over to get anything done by the box stores.   This forum has a lot to offer prospective shoppers if they heed what's being said by the knowledgeable participants.    

 

Dear CPD Tecumseh Dealers,

 

 

By now many of you have received letters from Toro and Ariens announcing that Tecumseh Engine Division will no longer build engines after December 2008. This is true. We want you to know that CPD has inventory in our warehouses to keep you servicing and replacing engines for the unforeseeable future. CPD does not anticipate a reduction of services in the immediate future.

 

If you have any questions please feel free to contact John Hedges, Director of Sales and Marketing at (800) 364-7938.

 

We appreciate your years of dedication to CPD and Tecumseh and anticipate many more years to come.

 

Sincerely,