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

Bought this Ariens 11528DLE last year, in January. For some reason, the forward and reverse drive will stop working. The friction wheel is fine, and there is no adjustment for the belt. I brought it to the local Ariens dealer, and of course, they could not reproduce the problem. They were nice enough to look inside, clean the wheel that the friction wheel drives with brake cleaner. Next snow storm, same thing, one pass down the driveway, and it stops. The dealer says, never heard of this one, maybe water is getting inside.

Paid lots of money for a machine that is touted as one of the best, I wish I could figure out why it is happening. Any suggestions???

Thanks

Brian from NH

Brian,

  My snowblower has the same problem as yours, but mine didn't do it everytime I used it.  They do make a kit for the Techumseh engine, so there must be an issue with them, just not as bad as the Briggs maybe.  I am praying it will work.  I know how you feel about Arien's lack of support.  My snowblower was bought at an Arien's dealer and they never heard of the problem.  The snowblower warranty paperwork was all turned in to Ariens, why couldn't they let us know about the problem? What other problems are there that we don't know about? My family has had Ariens forever.  My dad still uses a 1967 model, and it works great.  If the baffle doesn't fix the problem I guess I will try and trade it in, and my next snowblower will not be an Ariens.

I posted a rant on the "John Deere 1130 SE" thread that deals with this.

The short version is that it seems to me that the root cause of the problem is that the friction disk, as implemented, needs to be dry. The problem is that the blower works in an inherently wet environment. The traction system clutch/speed control should work in a wet environment.

At the same time it is good to "hear" from Snowman that newer models at least have a work around in place to alleviate the problem.

I just received the baffle kit for my model.  It really isn't designed to prevent the water from getting in, it just diverts it like a rain gutter.  I will install it and see what happens.  Hopefully this is the fix I have been waiting for.

fabianfledge wrote:

Try it out, you are right about the water being diverted, and so far it has worked for the past two snow storms. I took the cover off and looked at it for the first time yesterday. Two plates, water runs down the first plate, and hits the second plate. Water ends up running off both sides of the snow blower. So far, so good. I hope you have the same result.

Brian NH

brjl wrote:

??? Actually the 11528DLE water baffle is one plate (any 926,XXX series model). The 921,XXX models are two plates. I hope the dealer put the right one on your machine or it probably won't work right.

PK

Snowmann wrote:

Oh boy, I really needed to hear that, I guess I better do some checking, thanks Snowman.

Brian NH

I installed the kit today.  It wasn't difficult.  I just have to wait for snow to see if it works.  It may take several blowing sessions to determine if it is fixed,  but I will post back to let you know.

fabianfledge wrote:

Was it two pieces?

Snowmann wrote:
Snowmann,

Should a 926002 Ariens 11528LE with a Tecumseh engine need the baffle kit...or is it mainly for machines built with the B&S engine?

Thanks.

brjl,

  My model number is 926004 and has the techumseh engine.  It was a one piece baffle.

Paul7,

  Mine has the techumseh and has the same problem.   Ariens makes baffle kits for Briggs and Techumseh equipped blowers. It just doesn't sound like the Tecumseh blowers happen as frequently as the Briggs machines.  My drive systems acted up on mine three times in about 20 snow blowing sessions this season so far.  A lot of it depends on what type of snow you are blowing , and if it gets all over the snow blower while you are doing it.  I am hopeful this is the fix I have been waiting for.