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?

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

I found out with these new china built engines they don't sell individual parts a least not the people our shop buys from, an example being if anything breaks on the carb they send a WHOLE carburetor,  a guy brought one in, the recoil spring needed replacing (brand new MTD Bolens single 21inch) they don't sell springs they just send a whole new recoil, and for cheap.

In the two years since this thread was last active, I wonder what kinds of comments anyone has about their particular experiences with Chinese engines.  I think it would be especially good to hear from small engine mechanics and dealers. 

I think reliability is directly related to use, need and conditions. If you have light to average snowfall a few times a year and perform proper maintenance then many of the cheaper snow blowers will work well. I bought my first 'new' snow blower in 96 for $900, MTD, and it is running great, with original parts. This year, I will put new belts in it before giving to my Dad. Now in my current situation, way more snow, drifting, hard packed snow, etc, I needed an upgrade. I also needed something my wife could start and use in -30, when I travel. So I went with a more expensive model, that I know is reliable. No experience with Chinese products, but Japanese are very well built and reliable. There are 20 - 30 year old Japanese models out there, still running strong!

coasteray wrote:
I think that some B&S engines are made in China now.  I recently purchased a new power washer with an 8hp B&S Intek engine on it.  I have to say that if that engine was made in China then they're doing something right.  First pull starting every time, smooth power, etc.

As far a snow blower reliability I think that the older machines were very reliable but then again they were mostly featureless machines so there wasn't a whole lot to fail.  My Ariens ST504 has never needed anything, not even an adjustment, in 20 years. Of course it was a very simple two stage and as basic as can be.  My newer Ariens 11528 has a lot more features that can go out of whack.  Headlight, remote axle lock, remote chute controls, hand warmers, etc.  So while I would be thrilled if I get 20 years of trouble free service out of it, I won't be disappointed if something needs replaced or adjusted on it.  Just so the transmission, gearbox, and engine hold up. 

Speaking of engines, what usually blows out first...the snow blower or the engine?

Paul7 wrote:

if proper maintenance and usage is performed, I would expect the motor to outlast the blower, esp with a 4 cycle!

rubinew wrote:
Especially with the cheaper build quality of the newer blowers. With an older blower -- say mid-80's or earlier -- I would say the opposite.

Bill_H wrote:

Depends on what is considered normal maintenance. For me, anything beyond Cleaning, Lubrication and Belts, and Spark Plugs is extra. I would be surprised to see a blower, even one from the 80's, go 30 years without a pully, bearing, etc, being replaced.

The problem is, most average ppl can change blower parts on their own, sometimes with a little direction. When it comes to the motor, these can sometimes be repaired with cheap parts, but can be knowledge and labor intensive.

Ex. I had a Honda CRX that had a timing belt fail premature, bent a few valves, needed a tow home. The average person would have taken it to a shop, cost around $1000 to fix. For me, it was <$200 and a day in the garage, better than before the damage.

Tthe average 4 cycle motor 'should' be good for 1000 - 1500 hours of use(likely more, just a conservative average), with proper maintenace and proper use.

With an average of 50 hours/year, that is 20 - 30 years that the motor should be good for. I would be surprised to see the rest of a snow blower go 20-30 years without some form of repair.

I'd consider replacement of wear items (bearings, belts, drive wheels, etc) as normal maintenance, along with the usual clean/lube/oil change/etc. for "us".
In regards to "average" person? I don't think the average person would be here. Most of us will get 10+years out of a machine, the average person will get  ... 8, 6? The thin sheet metal on many newer machines will rust through in 4-5 years if not taken care of. Trouts sees a lot of old machines that need repair, he could probably give us a better idea of what the average homeowner gets.