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

About to buy a two-stage snowblower. Fairly large driveway with large open space as it turns into bays. One-stage Ariens not cutting it. Might buy the Toro 826LE for about $1,299 but wondering if there's something better in that price range. Ariens? Another brand?

If you are going to buy brand new and want to spend lessnthan a grand, I'd go to Sears and buy what's on sale.  Nothing smaller than 8hp/24", because when you need a snowblower you need a big one.  4" is easy for any machine, but 8" or 24" at the end of the driveway?  Keep in mind after the first year you will have to tighten belts and other things, because it won't run like knew after is gets broken in.

I like hondas, because I've used them with great success.  I've also used older areins, and toro 1-stage.  The toro 1-stage was really good for fresh snow, and you could lug it around real easy (up on the deck, ect.)

Ariens are now on my "love to hate" list.  If you want the support of a dealer and better quality than big box stores, I would suggest either a 2-stage Toro or Simplicity, they look like beefy machines.  I'd take a lightly used Honda over any other machine, and a smaller Honda will do the work of a larger machine.  Something to keep in mind if you have tight spaces in between cars.  A 724 honda will beat a 1028 machine, simply because you don't have to stop. 

And they throw the snow farther and don't get clogged.

http://www.getdropbox.com/gallery/361475/1/Snowblower?h=6d232d

Just got the Snapper L1428E. Hasn't snowed yet. All our earlier snows succumbed to a freak 65 degree day last week. The dealer, Wasco Lawn & Power, Wasco IL, (far western suburbs of Chicago) did a nice job prepping the machine. I forgot to ask: What octane gas should I use. Manual says "at least" 87 octane. Can't wait for the big snows.

Hey Borat, this is about the third Simplicity/Snapper blower you've sold since I've been on these boards. You ought to get commission. I'll attest to your advocacy. Seriously, thanks for the good advice. I was about to buy a lesser machine, I think.

Thanks for the compliment.  I wouldn't recommend something I wouldn't buy myself. 

Believe it or not, I'm not a brand loyalist.  If Simplicity begins to go box store style and compromise the build quality of their machines, they'll go on the sh!t list too.   As long as they keep building them the way they're built now, I'll recommend them.  Take time to make sure everything is lubed up good (grease axles, chain drive system, (cover friction and drive disks while lubing inside the housing),  grease the auger shaft and the Zerk on the right side wheel.  Check the routing of the cables to ensure they don't bind or contact the exhaust.  Give it a good run once you get some snow.  If everything is working well, carry on.  Change your oil after the first two or three hours of use.  Put in synthetic oil of recommended viscosity and you'll be set.    Enjoy your new machine.  Let us know what you think of it. 

By the way, regular pump gas is fine.  Run a bit of  Seafoam through it every so often will move any moisture out of the system and clean carb, valves and combustion chamber. 

Used the Snapper L1428E for first time today. Amazing how easy it cuts through everything, including EOD stuff. Not a huge snowfall, about four inches, but enough that would have given my retired one-stager a rough time. The Snapper seemed like it was almost laughing at this amount of white stuff. Takes a few minutes to get used to maneuvering the big machine, but releasing left-wheel to spin around helps a lot. Snowing again heavily so I'll probably have another run later on. No glitches at all. Biggest difference is I can throw snow far enough I don't have to go back and forth across three wide driveway. I can go down lengthwise and throw to either side. Very happy with purchase so far.

Glad you're happy with your purchase.  The remote lock/unlock is a very useful feature on a 250 lb machine.  I think that you'll find your Snapper has plenty of power to cut through 8 to 12 inches of snow just as easy as it handles a 4 inch snowfall.

Here is a picture of my finished driveway after first use of Snapper L1428E.  About six inches total with two snowfalls.

The picture didn't work. 

Four inches of wind blown/packed snow will just whet it's appetite.  I clear a 70' path around the back and side of the house to the area where the gas & water meters are so they can be accessed by the readers.  This area is particularly prone to drifting and packing.   If I get a foot of snow on the driveway, I'll have  two and a and a half at least back there.  This is one of my favourite places to blow snow.   I have the whole back yard to blow it and can use the wind to my advantage.  The Simplicity goes through drifted/packed snow with consistent ease.  The engine changes tempo but rpms don't drop past 3500 to 3550.  It just keeps pumping a solid stream of snow until the job's done.  After a big snow, it's not unusual for the snow thrower to run a good two hours with only brief interruptions of max power demands.  It might not be the best snow thrower out there but I don't see too many on my block (and there's lots of them) that  are out-performing this machine.  Even the guy with the new Honda isn't moving snow like this thing.  I will admit however that his Honda looks a bit small.  Might only be a 7 h.p.   That combined with inexperience might be contributing factors.   

I remember my old Craftsman machine even when it was new, didn't have the overall power, balance and efficiency of this thing.  As it got older, it began to loosen up and you could feel the frame and handle flexing, vibration increased and even though the engine ran well, efficiency fell off considerably.  I suspect that as the machine aged, wear was taking it's toll and the sloppier it got, the more it worked against itself.   I guess only time will tell how weld this machine holds up.  It's on it's second season with about 25 hours on it and it's still running like new. 

  A job that I used to do reluctantly has now become fun.  The more snow that falls now, the better.   "Bring it on."  I say!