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

I understand that the hydro tranny is smooth and the engines are great.But are they better built than say a Simplicity?Everyone keeps talking about weight of the snowblower but Hondas are the lightest.So what makes Hondas so reliable?Do they use less belts?More expensive parts that one cant see??

mikiewest wrote:

I wouldn't conclude that Hondas are the lightest.  They are not the lightest or the heaviest.  Weight is not the determining factor of quality or reliability.  One can make every component heavy without regard to what that component has to withstand or it's operating environment.  Making things unnecessarily heavy means that there will be unnecessary stress to nearby components, causing more failures. 

As far as belts, the Honda uses 2 belts, one to the hydrostatic transmission and one to the impeller/auger.  I think this is the same number of belts used on friction drive snowblowers.

Use a HONDA and you will understand. I myself like the wheeled units better than the track units. Being tall the track units are lower to the ground and I need to bend to use them. Back will hurt soon doing that. They are built like a Lexus is built. Compare an American car to a Japanese car and you will see that tolerances are tighter with the Japanese built.

The friction wheel-disk drive system is simple and can give many years of trouble free service. I had a Toro 419 that worked without fail for 28 years. Apart from commercial use, however, snow throwers get a lot less use than say a lawn tractor. No manufacturer I know of uses a friction wheel-disk drive system in a lawn tractor because it just wouldn’t last long in such an application. On the other hand, hydrostatic is the drive system of choice in lawn and garden tractors because of it’s robustness, reliability, and variable speed. I consider hydrostatic to be overkill in a snow thrower and it's one reason why Honda’s are much higher priced for a given class. Generally, when there’s a problem with a friction wheel-disk drive system it’s within the ability of many users to obtain the parts and do the repair themselves. If you have a problem with a hydrostatic unit it’s likely going to require repair at a dealer. As for me, I prefer equipment that I can fix myself, but such equipment is becoming harder and harder to find.

Husqvarna and Craftsman offer hydrostatic drive units also. 

I'm with Mac regarding simplicity and reliability of the friction wheel system.  It's amazing how flaky they look mechanically but I'm thoroughly impressed with their reliability and longevity.  I had two Craftsman machines for a total of twenty years.  Neither of them needed any work regarding the drive system and neither of them ever failed to perform as intended.  Too much gizmology on a work machine will lead to trouble sooner than later.   

Hydrostatic transmission on a snowblower is a luxury, you don't really need it, but it is nice.

I had used a Toro lawn tractor with hydrostatic transmission.  Before that, it was a 6 speed Craftsman.  While I didn't have any trouble with the 6-speed, it was so nicer to drive a tractor with hydrostatic transmission.  No need to disengage between speeds or going reverse.  I use the tractor for most of mowing, including getting close to edges in tight spots, so having a transmission that shifts easily between forward and reverse was ideal..