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

I recently purchased a Craftsman 14.5 Torque rated machine and due to many service calls I bought a different machine.  I ended up with this unit for a couple of reasons, but mostly because it was the only option available at this price point and feature set.  Units by Honda, Torro and Simplicity while beging wonderful machines were not in my price bracket.  The Simplicity 1530 was $1700 locally and this unit was purchased from Home Depot for $1199. 

The Craftsman had a B&S snow engine and this unit uses the defunct (bankrupt) Tecumseh engine platform, which concerns me.  The Tecumseh engines have more displacement for a similar horsepower.  The B&S engine was a 305 this is a 358.  I do like the throttle control and the fuel shut off valve that are both missing on the B&S engine.  The  wheels are smaller and the total machine weight is 50 pounds lighter in the Ariens than the Craftsman :  293 vs 245.  I keep hearing that the Ariens is made with heavier duty parts, but so far I don't see it.  I will have to take a sheet metal thickness measurement since that isn't listed on any specs and people talk in generalities. 

Time will tell if I made the right choice by returning the Craftsman and paying more for this unit.  What I like about it over the 14.5 unit is that it works and has a longer warranty 3 years vs 2 years.  I did have to adjust the chute control as soon as it came home.  Home Depot had it slopped together.  One good thing about HD is that it was Christmas Eve and they closed at 5 pm when I picked this up.  I had to drive to another town because they just weren't available in my area.  One of the best or worst jackknifed semi trucks blocked the interstate.  I remember driving 2.9 miles in about 25 minutes at one point on the way to pick it up.  HD manager actually let me pick up the unit about 15 mins after they closed on Christmas eve.  I was in the car about an hour with the lousy weather to be able to get it.  So my hat is off to HD for that and the couple of quick adjustments that I had to make to the machine can be overlooked easily enough.

Rick

The B&S engine on the Craftsman you speak of must have been a Snow engine and not the Snow Max.  My Simplicity has the Snow Max with throttle control and fuel valve.   The old Tecumseh L head engine is a reliable unit.  I owned two for a total of twenty years and they were still going strong despite the fact that the machines they were mounted on were not holding up nearly as well.  Keep an eye on the oil and it should serve you well.  I look forward to your forthcoming review of the Ariens.  The price of the Simplicity seems kind of high.  Was that a Pro model?   I bought my 9528 in Oct. of 2007 for $1500.00 CDN. plus trade in of my 12 year old Craftsman  taxes (13%) included.  The old unit I traded in pretty much covered the cost of taxes.  I did however get an exceptionally good deal on it.  It was a left over from the previous season and had originally retailed for $1900.00 CDN.  So, the model you looked at seems expensive in USD.  However, it just might be worth the premium if it's still being built to Simplicity's usual high level of quality.  As I've said in my previous posts, I'll pay more if the quality is there. 

You are right Borat in that the 14.5 Craftsman had the B&S snow engine but not the max.  One more point about the max is that is has a larger alternator and generates more power to be able to run add on hand warmers not just the one headlight.  Good to hear the good reviews of the Tecumseh Snow King L head.

Rick

I wish Craftsman B&S had the larger alternator for hand warmers.

I notice a few items this standard series B&S seems to have that appear to be items from the Max:

-Larger fuel tank
-Super lo-tone muffler

I wish it had a fuel shutoff as well. I supposed I could easily add one.


Clay wrote: