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

Buying a John Deere 928E, but I am concerned that it won't be easy to turn. On their website it states "Knob style wheel differential system", what exactly is that? Their other higher end models have "Easy Steer" and "Quick turn". Whats better? Should I look to Toro, Simplicity/Snapper instead? Which one is easiest to turn in the same class as 928e?

Link on their site for the 928E:

http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCatalog/HO/servlet/com.deere.u90785.cce.productcatalog.view.servlets.ProdCatProduct?pNbr=LP1695441&tM=HO

Thx.

On the John Deere 928E you have to bend over and pull a knob attached to a pin in order to lock/unlock the wheels.  The next model up...the John Deere 1130SE has the automatic Easy Steer feature.

The Simplicity L1428E has the Easy Turn feature...it's not automatic but you don't have to bend over and lock/unlock the wheels.  Simply pulling the trigger on the handle releases the drive power to the left wheel for easy maneuvering and 180° turning.

Any snow thrower of any size being operated in two wheel drive will be harder to turn than the same machine in one wheel drive.  The degree of difficulty will depend on how big a machine you operate and what kind of strength the operator has and physical condition he/she is in .  Anyone near fit and of average strength should be able to muscle a 28" machine in two wheel drive.  At least for a while.  If the going gets tough and the day is long, you'll be wishing you had easy steer.  Often I'll start off muscling my Simplicity 9528 around not using the easy steer.  Half an hour or so in and I'm using it with regularity.  If you're shelling out that much money for the JD, you might as well get a large frame Snapper or Simplicity with the easy steer feature.   They also have the single handed operation feature.  Once the augers are engaged, then the wheel drive engaged, you can take your had off of the auger engagement lever to adjust the chute direction and deflector without disengaging the auger/impeller drive.  That's an often overlooked but appreciated feature. 

Is it possible to get user manual here?

http://www.deere.com/en_US/ag/servicesupport/serviceliterature/index.html

snowmachine wrote:
It looks like they only have parts manuals for snowblowers made in 2001
and they look suspiciously like Ariens of that era.

Paul

Closest I could find on line.   I like to know if the John Deere comes with the automatic differential or not as well. 

There brochure for the JD 1130SE model states. "Easy SteerŽ drive system giving continuous power to both wheels and auto speed adjustment."
Sounds like the Ariens differential but it might be the way marketing describes a remote lock/unlock lever. 

http://www.brutepower.com/document/index.cfm?doc=1735373_D_HI.pdf

i have the john deere 928e, it's no problem to turn around, the only reason i could see using the unlock feature on the right wheel,
is when you had to make  a really tight turn, i clean my drive way, then i do my fence line along the front of my property so my dogs don't walk
over the fence when the snow gets to high, even at the end of the fence line it's no problem to turn around, the only time i unlocked that wheel
was to see if it worked,if you are in average shape,  i wouldn't worry about it

Ozzie: How does one turn it around?  Do you have to push down so that the font lifts up?

Also, does anyone carry Simplicity online...I am in MA and they appear to be sold out everywhere.  Not sure if the dealers or simplicity offer extended warranties, since I would like to get that also.

yes, push down on the handles, and turn it, my wife tried the machine out when we brought it home on the driveway,she has no problem,and she is maybe 105lbs soaking wet, i could see her having a problem doing the fence,but she has no intentions of doing the snow removale anyways, just wanted to check her out on it in case she needs to use it if i'm out of town.

I also own the 928E, and had the same concerns when I purchased mine.(My first snowblower)  The John Deere dealership didn't have the next model up (1130), although Lowe's did.  I talked to the John Deere person (who also does all the service on the Lowe's machines), and he seemed to think it wasn't that big a deal.  I was of the mind at first, that if I'm going to shell out THAT kind of money, the thing ought to go do my driveway and sidewalks all by itself.  At the very LEAST I wanted it easy to turn.  But, in the end, I went with the 928.  The first snowfall had me out experimenting, and it really isn't bad at all.  I didn't like the idea of bending over and popping out the knob every time I wanted to turn around, (and there IS a trick to that....) but with snow on the ground, the thing really isn't that hard to turn around.  As Ozzie said, just push the handles down and "muscle" it.

Where easy steer would help me is on my front walk which isn't straight, but curved. 

I've used the machine 3 times as of now, and after having a couple of issues (that were cleared up with some help from this forum), I have been very happy with the purchase.

Hope that helps.

Thanks everyone for the input, much appreciated.  I am purchasing this so that it maybe used by someone who  is 60+ years old, so that was the reason why.  I may cancel my order, but I am still debating it.