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pvrp


Joined: Nov 14, 2008
Points: 151

New 2008 Ariens 9526 DLE Pro
Original Message   Dec 1, 2008 4:27 pm
I just got a call from my dealer telling me that my machine just arrived.
It should be interesting to see if it has a guarantee-less Tecumseh
or a B & S engine.  I don't really care much, I understand the Briggs
doesn't have a throttle which I really like, though it does have other
advantages.

Should be picking it up sometime this week.  I'll report back.

Now to stock up on some grease...

[ EDIT :  For anyone reading this in the future I suggest reading the entire
              thread since my opinion of certain aspects of the machine changed
              while I got to know the machine better.  ]

Paul
This message was modified Jan 11, 2009 by pvrp
Replies: 9 - 18 of 18Next page of topicsPreviousAllView as Outline
pvrp


Joined: Nov 14, 2008
Points: 151

Re: New Ariens 9526DLE Pro
Reply #9   Dec 14, 2008 11:05 am
coasteray wrote:
Your comments about the discharge chute is interesting.  I wouldn't even know whether this is going to be a problem
for everyone out there with a newer Ariens, or what.

I may have changed my mind about the chute lately, now that I've gotten to use my old machine
several times.  I've been waiting to get a chance to use my new machine again before updating
my opinion here.  I won't get the chance until next weekend.

I have a feeling that the exit speed of the my new Ariens is a lot higher than on my 1999 machine.
Not only does this mean that it may blow snow further, but it may also permit a smaller opening
to the chute without adversely affecting the total amount of snow being blown.  My old machine
has six wide vanes on the impeller, the new one three narrow ones.  I can imagine that if the
new impeller is turning fast enough it could compete with the old one.  I'll post an update here
once I've gotten a better idea of what's going on.

Just a word on bushings.  They should work just as well as a bearing while they're in good
condition.  The major difference between the two should be in service life.  Hopefully the
thin plastic ones don't cost a fortune and can be replaced regularly.  The bearings don't last
forever either and cost about 25$ each.  A bigger problem is in places where there is no longer
a bearing nor a bushing which means wear will have to be fixed by replacing whatever shaft,
sprocket or axle suffered the wear.  This could be expensive.

Paul
This message was modified Dec 14, 2008 by pvrp
GaryBy


Location: Massachusetts
Joined: Sep 27, 2008
Points: 22

Re: New Ariens 9526DLE Pro
Reply #10   Dec 21, 2008 3:13 pm
pvrp wrote:
Some good points, in conclusion : the chute rotation is
really nice and easy.  The control mechanism for this is
pretty tricky the way it unlocks and locks automatically
before and after rotation.  The rotation is only about
180 degrees which is less than my older machine.  There
are occasions when it is nice to be able to throw the
snow slightly behind you, like when you clear a path to
the street and want to keep the snow going onto your
lot and not into the street at the very end.
...

You have to replace the engine oil after the first two hours
of operation.  I wonder how many new owners actually do this.
The oil was a clear pinkish when new but was a dark enough
brown after a couple of hours.
The owner's manual claims 200 degrees, but it would be hard to notice a 10 degree difference on either side.  Assuming it's the same as our new 924DLE, I agree with you that it's not as far back as our older machine (an ST826), and that it would be useful to go back further, but it suffices.

As for the two hour oil change, one of my motivations for making an early pass on Friday (rather than waiting to challenge the machine with a full foot of snow) was to get in the two hours of use, before the second storm today.  I can't speak for others, but we did the oil change.  It's not that hard, as there's plenty of clearance for a drain pan under the plug.  The hardest part is judging the quantity.  Why couldn't they make it an even quart instead of the 1 5/8 pints (= 26 ounces = 0.8125 quart)?  (Metric is no better, at 0.77 liters.)
borat


Joined: Nov 10, 2007
Points: 2692

Re: New 2008 Ariens 9526DLE Pro
Reply #11   Dec 21, 2008 4:40 pm
Actually, the liter measurement is pretty simple.  Just leave 250 ml. in the bottle.  I doubt that the machine will notice 20 ml. difference. 
nhmatt


Joined: Dec 21, 2008
Points: 104

Re: New 2008 Ariens 9526DLE Pro
Reply #12   Dec 21, 2008 7:34 pm
I've got a 1336 dle pro and its a piece of garbage.  I had a 1960's Snow King, and if not for the color I'd swear they were the same machine.  Difference being the Snow King actually did its job.
pvrp


Joined: Nov 14, 2008
Points: 151

Re: New 2008 Ariens 9526DLE Pro
Reply #13   Dec 30, 2008 2:49 pm
Here's an update on my new machine now that I got to use it again a couple of days ago.

While injecting grease into the augers one of the zerks pulled out.  They are only press fit with no
threads (and have no spring-loaded ball to block the hole).  One way of getting the grease gun
nozzle off the zerk without pulling on it is to use a pair of wire cutters carefully not to damage the zerk.

The chute deflection cable is installed in such a way that the end points up allowing water to run
down into the cable sheath.  When I first tried to use it (the machine lives outdoors)  it was stuck
but freed up after a bit of fiddling.  I had lubricated the cable a few weeks ago.  It would have been
better if Ariens had installed the cable coming down from above instead which would have prevented
water getting into it.

I used the snowblower for 2-3 hours in one to three feet of old snow which was quite wet from it
having rained a lot the same day and the day before.  During this time I slowly lost drive to the wheels
though never completely.   I did adjust the drive engagement cable so that's not the problem.  This
may be the drive belt slipping (the manual does not mention a belt tension adjustment) or maybe
the "water on the drive plate" issue that was mentioned in a recent post, or a destroyed friction
wheel from lowering the first forward speed.  I'll know with the next couple of days, the machine in now
in the basement drying out and I'll take it apart to see what's going on.

On the plus side, this machine can really throw snow.  Though it doesn't output a terribly impressive
amount it can easily send it 40-50 ft.  This is useful in my case since it allowed me to throw the snow
clear over my driveway when I was doing the wheelchair ramp which runs along side about 8 feet
from the driveway.

Apart from the traction issue I was reasonably satisfied with the machine, more so than last time
I used it.  It's a powerful machine, I was clearing the equivalent of an EOD pile the entire time.  Sometimes
the snow was a foot or more over the top of the intake.   I don't see the fact that the front lifts in really
deep packed snow as a problem since it allows you to take a bit off the top in one pass, let the machine
slide back down and then take some more in another pass.  I like the balance of the machine.

I'll post an update once I open the machine.

Paul
This message was modified Dec 30, 2008 by pvrp
nibbler


Joined: Mar 5, 2004
Points: 751

Climbing front end
Reply #14   Dec 31, 2008 3:49 pm
The lifting can occur due to two things both related to forward motion.
  1. Hard Snow - The augers are not breaking it up faster than the forward speed of the blower requires so that they lift the front end. More weight might help, a slower forward speed might help, softer snow will help. I've used a shovle and ice chipper to break up really hard stuff and then used the blower to make it go somewhere else.
  2. Too Much Snow - The augers feed snow to the impeller which makes the snow go some where else. The maximum volume of snow that the impeller can process is determined by the engine RPM and can be less than what the augers feed it. If there is so much snow coming in that the impeller can't handle it then the augers push it over the top and start to scoop it back in again. This causes a build up of snow in front of the blower. You are "snow plowing". Once the pile gets too big the augers start to climb the pile and the nose lifts up. The only soutions are to either slow down the forward speed or to "blip" the traction clutch so that you move forward in a series of jerks, effectively slowing your forward speed.
If the impeller seems to handle the load and then slows down the throwing you could have a slipping belt.
pvrp


Joined: Nov 14, 2008
Points: 151

Re: New 2008 Ariens 9526DLE Pro
Reply #15   Jan 3, 2009 9:03 pm
So I opened up the machine a couple of days ago and found quite a bit of wear
to the friction wheel, most likely from having tried to lower the first forward speed
to something more appropriate, and maybe also from some slipping as there
were some black bands on the drive plate.

I set everything back to specs in the user's manual and (perhaps also because the
machine was now thoroughly dried out) traction appeared to be ok.  But : I'll say it
again, this machine is too fast in first gear, even for light snow, and can even be
dangerous if you're maneuvering in tight quarters like I have to do on a wheelchair
ramp.  Or on uneven ground.  Going over hardpacked snow the machine will dig
in and lurch because it goes too fast to be able to guide it over the uneven parts.
The speeds seem more suited to a perfectly flat parking lot.

I used my 1999 1024 earlier today and its first speed is much more comfortable.
Its second speed is about equivalent to first on the new 9526.  I wonder if this has
anything to do with the fact that the wheels on the new machine are larger than on
the old.  I can't think of any good reason why Ariens would have purposefully increased
the lowest speed, but I can see the change happening from wanting to keep internal
parts the same while switching to a larger wheel.  I ended up giving the shift rod pivot
a couple of turns slower and left it at that.

To me blowing snow is something I enjoy doing and enjoy doing in a relaxed fashion.
Having a machine that goes too fast is not relaxing and hence not enjoyable.  I got
this machine with the intention of teaching my wife to operate it for the times when
I'm not around but I don't think I will now.  Even used to snowblowers as I am I have
to be on high alert to keep the machine under control.

I looked at the engine pulley and it doesn't look to me like there is enough metal to
permit a sufficient amount of reduction by turning down the pulley.  It also looks like
there isn't enough room for a larger sprocket which would have been fairly easy for
Ariens to produce and would have been a cheap fix.

Sure, the tracks option is interesting (40% reduction) but I wonder how come the
regular wheeled version is not set up to go at a comfortable speed in the first place.

Yesterday I used the new machine to blow about 6" of really light fluffy stuff and it
blew much less far than with heavy snow.  I also experienced the bit about snow
blowing forward out of the intake from the fan effect of the impeller on the light
snow but I didn't find this to be a problem of any sort.

One odd thing I noticed, my 1999 1024 is 15 lbs heavier than the 9526 but feels
a lot lighter in use.  The overall feeling is that the weight of the 1024 is down low
and the frame somewhat flexible whereas the 9526 the weight is higher and the
frame seems stiffer.

Paul
This message was modified Jan 3, 2009 by pvrp
pvrp


Joined: Nov 14, 2008
Points: 151

Re: New 2008 Ariens 9526 DLE Pro
Reply #16   Jan 25, 2009 8:34 pm
Here's a bit of mostly good news.  I got up to our cottage this weekend and was greeted by
about two feet of nice dry fluffy white snow.  It took me about two and a half hours of continuous
blowing to clear everything, during which time I didn't lose traction but I did feel the drive
shudder a couple of times which I think is the disk slipping but then regaining its grip.

There's this path that runs around the house and it's only slightly wider than the snowblower.
The snow on the ground is now higher than my drift cutters.  The snow in the path was deeper
than the intake of the snowblower so as I was advancing snow was coming up over the top,
piling up on top of the pulley cover and against the engine, then sliding off and down on the
sides.  It took maybe 15-20 minutes to clear the path this way with no problems.

One thing I've noticed is that after using the machine for a long time it's the lowest gear, and
1st reverse, that seems to start loosing power.   It's then easier to climb my driveway (15-20%
grade) in fourth gear than it is in first.  This is not what I'd expect  (and this is not blowing snow,
you can forget about blowing snow uphill, one reason the machine lives outdoors under a tarp). 

The machine still goes too fast in first gear but I'm getting used to it.  I even got my wife to try
to operate it (in ideal conditions for maybe 10 minutes) and it went ok but now she's got sore
arms).  I can't see her dealing with a machine that won't start or hitting a rock and having to
replace a shear bolt, and the drive is way too fast for her, it lurches right out of her hands.

Now the blowing part.  This machine can really project.  It was actually pretty funny, I couldn't
believe how far I was throwing the snow.  This was probably ideal conditions snow-wise,
the snow being light and dry and two feet deep, but man it was impressive.  It would be a
problem if there were houses nearby.

Paul
This message was modified Jan 25, 2009 by pvrp
Ellwood


Joined: Jan 26, 2009
Points: 1

Re: New 2008 Ariens 9526 DLE Pro
Reply #17   Jan 26, 2009 7:53 pm
I recently purchased a 9526 DLE Pro as well. I haven't noticed any slipping issues yet.....but I do agree with you on the speed of first gear! It's way too fast. And it does throw like a champ too!
This message was modified Jan 26, 2009 by Ellwood
pvrp


Joined: Nov 14, 2008
Points: 151

Re: New 2008 Ariens 9526 DLE Pro
Reply #18   Feb 15, 2009 8:02 pm
More fun.  Yesterday I went to use my machine and :

-  The chute deflector is frozen.  This is nothing new, it's always frozen when I go to use the machine
   but thaws out after a few minutes (I thoroughly oiled the deflector cable when I first got the machine).

-  No traction at all.  Put the blower in first, engage the drive, nothing.  Just sits there.  Put it in reverse,
   same thing.  After a while (and whatever frost is being thawed off the drive plate) traction slowly
   returns to normal.

-  But, before any of this, I start the engine and it immediately starts over-revving.  I managed to get
   the engine speed back down by putting full choke with the throttle barely open.  Turn the machine
   off, play with the governor (which luckily you can get at without removing anything) until it loosens
   up.  Restart and everything is fine.  Suffice it to say that if my wife had started it the engine would
   now be toast.

Another point against Ariens, I'd say.   It looks like they intend for their machines to remain nice and cozy
in a heated location between uses.  They should have written this in the user's manual.

Paul P
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