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

Hello everyone and greetings from your friendly neighbor from the north.  This is my first post on this site and I am looking for help in selecting a snow blower.  To give you some background I live in Kingston, Ontario, Canada beside Lake Ontario.  We receive a wide variety of snow types (wet and dry), and amounts (zero-20 inches).  I am looking to clear two driveways, both flat, each 25-30 feet wide by 30-40 long.  On is asphalt in good condition and the other is a gravel (finely crushed and well packed over the years) also in good condition.  As the snow season is allready underway and this neck of the woods is snow blower deprived I am somewhat limited to my choices.  The limited selection I have does seem quite good.  The two options are: Ariens 927LE, 9hp, 27 inch, Tecumseh snow king L head, aluminum gear box, costing $1434 to my door and Simplicity L1428E 9.5hp, 28 inch, Briggs & Stratton Intex, cast iron gear box costing  $1637 to my door.  The Ariens is from a box store of similar color and the Simplicity is from a dealer who will set it up, start it up and deliver.  I not a experienced mechanic so I feel that this professional set up help would be beneficial.  I originally decided to buy Ariens but through some research and comments on this site am begining to have some doubts in the quality of todays product from Ariens and and worried about the closure of Tecumseh.  I a m not as familiar with Simplicity and have heard concerns regarding their remote chute control freezing.  I do like the fact that Simplicity has a cast iron gear box and feel that the service I receive will be better given the fact that the box store associate informed me that the Ariens repair person does not treat box store purchsees very well and puts them at the bottom of the list.  Is this decision just a personal preference like Chevy or Ford or is there a distinct advantage from one model to the next.  I think that either snow blower will treat me well and like the savings of $200 with the Ariens but would gladly spend the money to get a better, longer lasting machine.  Please help with any comments you have.  Thank you in advance for your comments        

"I just assembled a 9526DLE out of its box."

Me too.  It is very simple even for the those who are not mechanically inclined.  You unfold the handlebars and put in 4 bolts.  Then you  put on the chute (2 bolts).  Using needle nose pliers I poped off the cotter pin, put the chute handle on, and that's it.  All and all about 20 min including reading the instructions (which aren't that great).  This is my first SB'er and I bought it to ward off the snow...So far it's been working like a charm..10' C yesterday and 13'C  and raining today. 

Honda is a different breed of machine.  It is better than anything else on the market, by  a lot.  The hydrostatic transmission not only saves you time but saves you HP, which can be redirected to the auger/impeller assembly.  Honda's don't clog. 

pvrp wrote:

Hondas are lighter,  so they're easier to turn.  Also because of the hydrostatic transmission, you can slow down and speed up while turning/blowing.  My hs828 turned with one hand on the bar, and one hand spinning chute.  The HP rating is also deceiving, because Honda motors are low-torque monsters.   Also, they're better balanced towards the bucket, so they don't dive up when snow gets tough.  I've had both ariens and Hondas, and without a doubt the Honda is 3x the machine.  A smaller honda will do the work of a larger "convential" machine.  Ive got a 1336 dle pro with the full differential,(MISTAKE) and I'd have to say its nice and easy to turn when there's no snow, but put 6 inches on the ground and you have reach down, get a face full of muffler exhaust, and lock it anyway because the wheels spin out.  JUNK JUNK JUNK

Cross Ariens off your list.  If not Honda then Torro, or Simplicity,  next maybe a shovel.

As I mentioned earlier, I bought a new Aries pro a few weeks ago.  On the day after I bought it
I ran it for four and half hours non-stop (except to change the oil) in two-foot-deep packed snow.  
I went through five shear bolts that day as my driveway is half-finished and currently is topped
by 0 to 2-1/2" crushed rock (some pieces are more like 4"-6") and the ground wasn't yet frozen.  
I cringed everytime I felt the crunch but apart from some minor paint wear inside the chute the
machine looks and runs fine.

I still haven't made up my mind about the changes that have been introduced in the last ten years
to Ariens blowers but I can say that they are (well, at least mine is)  capable of putting in a good
day's work without complaint.

And, again, the differential is worth serious consideration.

Paul

Its just not the same.  To me the its like the difference between freshly squeezed OJ and flat orange soda.  I like the look of the metal channels on the Simplicity, but I've never used one so I can't make a comment about balance or speed.  If you look at the Ariens the handlebars are small 3/4" tubing.  Mine flexes quite a bit when I move it around.  I'm sure its fine on smaller blowers but the whole thing is just out of porportion. 

Point being, for the same money you can get a smaller Honda that would do the same work as a bigger machine.