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

So who exactly is still making snowblowers with the best parts?I keep reading about ball bearings as opposed to metal bushings or plastic bushings etc?Is it Simplicity?Or Honda?Do they use the better more reliable parts?A store next to me is selling a left over Simplicity Pro model 28" width with the crank handle for the chute rotator not the electric rotator.Would that have the better internal parts?

borat wrote:  
Sorry Borat, I'm not a salesman, and like most folks here, my paycheck is earned doing something other than surfing the internet at night perusing these postings. I am simply interested in the opinions here and have knowledge to share to help others. There is no sales pitch in any of my postings. I've not indicated anything other than factual details and technical assistance in my 6 years on this forum (or 3 on the other). There is explanation and supporting information with everything that I've written.

That said, I'm wondering about your "sales pitch". You've indicated in several posts that your Simplicity 9528 is built better than Ariens models, but only make a general reference to "bearings versus bushings". Can you clarify to us all what you're referring to in more explicit detail?

BTW, the Ariens' life target is 20 years. The machines can surpass this requirement with great consistency and can last longer with proper care (as many legacy units have done). And yes, many changes have been made. Manufacturing technology has evolved much since the "good old days" so to speak. Cars last twice as long now (maybe not Chryslers, heh...); with good engineering there is no reason to think a snowblower cannot last as long as its predecessors even without metaphoric Muncie "Rock Crusher" tranny's and Ford 9" rear ends. 

Sometimes it seems we are all standing around a GTO Judge saying "they don't make them like this any more" when there is an Acura TL sitting right next to it that spanks it in 0-60 and the quarter mile and lasts 3 times longer (no offense to anyone who likes Chryslers or hates foreign cars, and I'm not sure where all these muscle car thoughts came from...?, and I know the TL has nothing on the looks of a Judge...).

PK

Possibly as good or better then a lower cost U.S unit. ...............

"That said, I'm wondering about your "sales pitch". You've indicated in several posts that your Simplicity 9528 is built better than Ariens models, but only make a general reference to "bearings versus bushings". Can you clarify to us all what you're referring to in more explicit detail? "

I think your post over at OPE pretty much summed up the differences between the new Ariens machines which in my view are not built to the same standards as the present day Simplicity products.  Coasteray highlighted most, if not all of the items that he seems to think were changes in manufacturing practices that do not appear to be as robust as those found in older Ariens machines and are still available on Simplicity products, such as bearings, cast iron gear cases etc. etc.  Therefore, I do not see the need to re-hash them here.  You have put forth your position that you feel the new Ariens machines will be better than the legacy products and my position is that only time will tell if in fact that is true.   From the frequent number of complaints about Ariens machines recently, it doesn't take too much imagination to see that something is amiss.   Every manufacturer that makes changes to their product by incorporating less expensive components and construction techniques will alway explain it away as "improvements".   I assume that those same "improvements" have been the cause of the decline in the durability of large appliances and other products that historically had lasted twenty year or more but now are lucky to last five years.   I've been around too long to believe that cheaper components will extend the life of any product.  I believe that many others know this as well.   

I Agree with Borat.

It's ironic with all my questions from the other forum that there isn't a dealer within 60 miles or more from my home that actually carries Simplicity snow blowers, so I can't even take a look at them any time I want, good as they seem to be, to compare them with Ariens.  I saw one John Deere cousin the other day, and that was the 1332 model.  Simplicity models probably look like that one.  At least I have their new brochure.

I suppose that somewhat explains the inquiry about Ariens, besides the fact that there are plenty of Ariens dealers in my area. I can also access Toro, Husqvarna, Honda, and John Deere, but Simplicity?  Nope, not yet.  I have always had a liking for Ariens blowers, though my only experience with them has been at my school job with the ST1032 tank (with a cab) from the early 1990's.  We should all want Ariens' blowers to have an excellent build to last a long time because it's obviously good for all of us and the industry.   It's also hard to say what Briggs will do to Simplicity/Snapper/John Deere blowers over time.  Yeah, I guess only time will tell about any company's machines. 

However, hats off to Snowmann for the very honest and detailed look inside the Ariens machines from his engineering viewpoint.  I think we needed to know this.

I'm glad this discussion has been able to traverse two forums.  We all need to know this material, and I'm not only referring to Ariens, but Toro and Simplicity/Snapper/John Deere as well.   Well, Honda, too, but they cost  too much, and don't even have Easy Turn, power steering, or a differential. 

We all just want to see high-quality machines to be made well into the future.   Here's hoping the biggies will continue in that long tradition.

Geez, $85 Chinese blowers.  Give me a break.  I think I'll go out and buy that Troy-Bilt "Storm 3090" I saw at Lowe's (heh, heh...)

Off to Los Angeles for a week.  A break from our arctic weather and coming snowstorms in this week's forecasts.  Merry Christmas, everyone!

I suspect that either a "0" is missing from the end of the price or that is the bulk shipping price. I.E. Order 1,000 and its $85 per unit to ship them FOB somewhere

I'd also like to add my thanks to Snowman for his comments. The posting on the other forum was very good.

Comment on the less expensive material debate. Sometimes it has to do with availability of materials. For instance, my parents built their house using concrete blocks just after world war II. Basement rooms were only a certain size to minimize the span of the floor joists. It took time to build but looked and was very robust. Nowadays most basements use one or more steel I beams with jack posts to do the load bearing. You end up with more open space and more "decorating" options. Its faster and less expensive to do it that way ... now. I've always felt that ball and roller bearings were "better" but I can see that a lot depends on the details of implementation as to which is actually better for a particular application. In addition when you engineer a product there are always tradeoffs, thats why space shuttles cost more than large air craft.

Borat is correct in saying time is the ultimate tester but at the same time I think Snowman has done a lot to alleviate my concerns. either way I still lust for snow machines that I am still saving my pennies for.

pvrp wrote:
I believe it was $85 for shipping.

I see it listed for $1499 here:  http://www.edamsport.com/detail/prod/19.html

jeff72 wrote:
Ah.   I knew the Chinese could make cheap copies but this was something else.

I guess I was thrown by the term FOB which means the price without shipping.

Paul  (who wouldn't have bought one anyway...)

Weather snowmann is selling or not, I couldn't care less. Actually I think its quite novel and smart of ariens if that was the case. The future of marketing and possibly even sales is the internet. Grasp it as soon as possible, I says. But aside from that.  Snowmann has provided some great information on many things and helped many people, including myself.  Helping, can also result in sales, so really its win, win.  As I said before, I think it looks good on the company weather its for sales or not.  At least we are being feed information, what we do with it is up to us. I can choose weather I agree, disagree, believe or not. 

Maybe simplicity, snapper, john deere, toro, etc.. should take note. 

These made in china snowblowers are showing up more then ebay and a few websites. There is a person trying to sell these locally here in my town. Asking $1500 for 11hp. Have to be nuts to pay that for it. Though I haven't seen it and don't care to at that price. By a craftman with a briggs for cheaper, tho I really don't care for that either. Just saying.

As for $85 - 100 price. I too believe this to be wrong. Its not the price for shipping. They never give shipping prices, you have to contact them for that.  But if you look on that site you will see that all things in that category are priced the same $85 -100.  I have also searched other manufactures of snowblower units in china and the going price seems to be $350 - 500. So I don't think you have to add a 0 either.  I not sure what is going on there, but something doesn't seem right.

I have ordered directly from china before and have had good experience dealing with them for customer service sake. The product was great as well.  Why did I order from them? Cause the product I was going to by here was made in china, I got it for less the half ordering direct and came to my door in 4 business days, I don't know if I could get something in the rest of canada that quick. I was impressed and will order direct from china again if I need too.

The shipping on these units must be high tho, as they weight enough to put the price up there.  Minimum I have seen to order is 26 units. The crowd listed in this post eariler wants minimum of 100 ordered.

The guy in vancouver selling these has several websites selling many things from china. I guess he is fully into importing.  I should say tho, you should be careful ordering some things from china, as many may not meet regulations and could cost you problems, specially if your going to sell it.  Electrical items could cause a fire, lead, etc.. Be carefull