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

Through a strange series of events and getting upset with Sears service department I have two snow throwers in the garage.  I'm not going to rehash all the issues, but the last service call Sears said it would take two weeks before they even came out and I bought another machine and planned on taking back the Craftsman unit.  Now that I have both units in the garage I am having a hard time making a decision.  Yes, the Craftsman 14.5 needs service, but most units after they get running usually don't need service all that often.  The other unit is an Ariens 1130 DLE.  Both machines are 30" wide and roughly have an 11 hp engine.   One comment is that the Ariens units are suppose to be so heavily made, but the truth is that this Home Depot sold machine is almost 50 pounds lighter than the Craftsman unit and you can see this is the thickness of the sheet metal.  I have to return the Sears unit by the 30th if I decide to take it back.  I tried to be methodical this morning and I put together this chart.  Would appreciate your comments,  The prices listed include a 5 year warranty that I bought from Sears on the 14.5, but the prices don't include taxes on either unit.

Rick

Craftsman 14.5                 Ariens 1130 DLE

Cost:           $1188         w/ 5 year warranty                 $1199 w/ 3 year warranty                

Service:       One to two weeks                                    2 to 3 days 

Engine:       B&S Snow 305 cc OHV                           Tecumseh L 358 cc, bankrupt

Housing Metal               .10                                           .075

Chute Metal                   .085                                         .050

Weight                           293                                          245

Tires                              16 X 6.5                                   15 X 5

Intake height                    23”                                          21”

Width                              30”                                          30”

Chute rotation               180 degrees                             200 degrees

Steering                         Power steering                         Interlock control

                                                                                      Auto traction control

Impeller                              12”                                          14”

Auger                                 12”                                           14”

Drift cutters                      Standard                                  $30 option

Heavy Extension Cord      Standard                                  $16 option

I'm suprized the craftsman is heavier? I guess I like craftsman tools but when it comes to snowblowers I would take the ariens before the craftsman. Just from what I've learned from reading posts on this forum if nothing else.  My two cents!

Coldfingers

From a cursory perspective, how do the other components compare.  I.e.  auger drive gear systems, (size of unit), thickness of the material used for the auger, number of impeller vanes and thickness, size of the impeller backing plate, diameter of auger shafts, auger/impeller drive shaft, bushings vs. bearings, chute/deflector controls, fit & finish etc

Good questions Borat.  I had to go back out with the caliper and take some more measurements and observations.

                                                                           14.5                                                                 1130 DLE

Auger Shaft diamerter                                   1.260                                                                 1.320

Auger blade thickness                                   .085                                                                     .105

Impeller rod                                                       .80                                                                      .880

The gear box itself is similar in size.  They are different shapes but it was hard to take a direct measurement to compare.  I did notice on the 14.5 there are two zerts to apply grease to the auger shaft.  The 1130 doesn't have any zerts to grease the shaft .  The auger assembly on the 14.5 rotates on a bushing, I really can't tell what is the pivot point on the 1130 DLE.  The drive group is heavier on the Ariens. 

Those components appear to be slightly beefier on the Ariens than the Craftsman. 

No zerks on the Ariens auger shaft?  That's unacceptable to me.     I believe someone posted that the drive shaft inside the auger tube is zinc coated,  thus no need for lubrication.  Some might buy that.  Not me.    If I kept the Ariens, I wouldn't let that go too long.  I'd drill & tap to install a couple zerks and put the grease to it. 

I remember many years ago when I bought my last P.O.S. Ford pick up.  When I inspected the ball joints, I noticed there were no longer any zerk fittings to lube them.  The salesman said you don't need them on these ball joints because they are made of some kind of super modern, wonderful, lube impregnated material that never needs greasing.  He was right.  They never needed greasing.  They just had to be replaced every two or three years at $350.00 or more every time it was done .  As soon as they got sloppy, I had after market tie rod ends with zerk fittings installed.   Junk, pure and simple.   Just one of the many "advancements" presently contributing to the demise of the domestic auto industries in our countries. 

No zerks will turn a twenty second grease job into a four hour shop labour charge if the shafts are rusted to the inside of the tubes.  A nice make work project.   Additionally, if and when the shaft/tube rust together, you won't know it until you've destroyed the gear box because the shear pins were useless.   That will be another hour or two of labour to fix that plus a hundred or two for parts.  Sounding better all the time.       

borat wrote:
Today I finally got to play again with my new Ariens 9526DLE (I'll post about that in my thread on the subject)
and figured I'd grease the augers first, since I hadn't gotten around to it last time.  I have two zerks per side.

First side went ok, though I still have trouble getting my grease gun off the zerks (new gun this time).  Doing
the first zerk on the other side, when I pried the gun off the zerk came with it.  The %*&? things are press fit,
no threads !  And they don't have the little spring loaded ball to seal the hole either.  I tapped it back in with
a plastic hammer and it seems ok for now. ..

Paul

It's interesting that the current Ariens model 1130DLE is so much lighter than previous models of similar power and capacity.  I would consider my 2005-6 Ariens 11528 Deluxe model to be an equivalent model and it weighs 289lbs compared to 245lbs for the new 1130DLE Deluxe model. 

I've always equated weight with quality but that may not be the case here.  Still I have to wonder what happened to the missing 44lbs of snowblower between the two machines.

The 11528 is considered a "Pro" model in the Ariens line and costs more, the 1130 DLE is their "Deluxe" model which is a step down from the pro model.  Even so I returned the Craftsman unit last night and I hope that I made the right decision in the long run.  So far I am still not convinced one was far superior.  Guess what, I have a 30 day return policy on the Ariens too, so if this doesn't work for me it will have to go back also.  No matter what machine you have people will have some problems with anything mechanical.  I see Honda units with problems and Simplicity units with some problems too.  Then again my MTD style generic small two stage ran 21 years and still works.  I really didn't need a new unit, just WANTED a bigger one.

Rick

Clay wrote:
I'm sure you'll be happy with the Ariens.  I suggest you read the owner's manual and go through all the setup and
adjustments yourself so you'll know they've been done properly and you'll know what to do next time around.  You
might also want to do a bit of extra lubrification and rustproofing to help the machine last many years. Look up posts
by goofienewfie in this forum as he has the same machine and described in detail what he did to his.

Make sure you change the oil after two hours.

Paul

The model I have is an Ariens 11528 LE.  It was from Arien's deluxe line a few years ago.  The Pro 11528 DLE was available then as well and the main difference was that the Pro model had a differential.  Mine has the remote wheel lock/unlock lever on the handlebar.  I believe that your newer model 1130DLE, while listed as part of Ariens Deluxe line, does in fact come with a true differential.

I figure that as far as power and capacity go they are similar machines and I'd be interested to learn why mine weighs 44 pounds more than yours.

I think that you'll be happy with your Ariens.  I had a 5hp Ariens for twenty years and had no major problems.  Of course that was a very featureless machine so not a whole lot to break.  With my new one I had problems from the get go with the Tecumseh OHV engine.  Might have been a lemon from Tecumseh but yours has the L Head which may be a more reliable engine.

Clay:  Your former Sears machine (14.50 torque Model# 1450, 305cc ) is rated somewhere between 9 & 11 horsepower.  For some marketing reason, Sears does not advertise the hp on your former model.  Your machine replaced the Craftsman 11.5 horsepower model #917.881150 which is 342cc (20.85 cubic inch).  This B & S engine is actually rated at up to 13 horsepower.  I have one and had a horrific time with Sears Service last year!  Sears extended my "extended warranty" for an additional year at no charge as a good will gesture.  My machine now runs extremely well, is highly powerful and starts on the first pull.  (Sounds like a Pratt & Whitney radial) I also have the Classic Cab attached.  Great combination!