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

I know the question of snowblower suggestions gets asked a lot but...

If I do decide to definitely shop for a replacement for my hs1132 what models should I look at in terms of the features for my conditions;

-long driveway (1000' just in length)
-lots of snowfall (western adirondack snowbelt area) some dry and light, some wet and heavy.
-deep cold, and the blower is in an unheated space

-ease of turning.  I   want something that my wife can operate in terms of ease of turning. We do considerable clearing around the house - paths to the woodshed, utility shed, walkways around the house, and walkways around farm buildings

I bought the honda because of my experience with honda equipment and their reliability. I  was willing to pay the big price tag because I figured I'd be buying a machine that would last as long as I'd need it.
Who is at that same level of reliability and longevity?

I do have a husqvarna dealer nearby and I've used their saws for commercial heavy use for years with no complaint and only praise. Does this quality extend to their blower line?

And lastly, are the tracks that advantageous that their difficulty in manuvering is worth it?

A lot of demands to consider but snowclearing is a big part of our 5 months here. I appreciate the help!

Others will give you some good input on the board, but until they pipe up, I thought that I would add some things to consider.  I see tracks in your situation much more so than in a city lot where there is a lot of turning.  1000' driveway and the big machine with tracks should be appreciated.  Bluntly I would be thinking a pick up truck with a Western Blade and hydraulics in that situation and not a walk behind.  Sit  inside your truck, listen to music in a heated cab, life is good.  My father has a plow on the front of his pick up and he just doesn his own property and doesn't plow comercially.  Maybe you are looking at a couple of pieces of equipment, Dad has the plow on the truck for the drive, a large Ariens slow thrower and a little Toro power broom, (that's what I call that little single stage) to do the steps and back porch area. 

Poulan and Husqvarna are sisters.  Your Honda consideration is in a different league all together.  Have you seen the Yamaha:  http://www.abbysguide.com/ope/discussions/32052-0-1.html

Or you could go for the really big Honda hybrid ($$$).  Since everything is
power assisted, including turning, your wife should be able to operate it.
Watch the videos of women operating them.

Otherwise I think wives (generalizing here) prefer the small single stage
machines, which wouldn't be up to your conditions.

I know no woman that would want to wrestle with a two-stage snowblower.

Paul

A small four wheel drive JD diesel yard tractor with snow thrower attachment.  You can cut grass with it in the summer.   A buddy of mine has one.  For big jobs, that's the machine to have.

If you want tracks and a differential then the Ariens DLET might be right.  I believe that the lockout control is axle mounted however.   Unless your driveway is sloped a large wheel drive machine with either an automatic differential or a handle mounted remote wheel lock/unlock trigger should do the job and be easier to control. 

Now to your question of brand reliability...seriously who knows these days.  In the past large branded snow throwers were built like tanks.  They were reliable but they were also featureless.  Not a whole lot to go wrong.  For example the old crank to turn the chute was failsafe.  Now premium machines have electric chutes,  joysticks, remote deflectors...all nice features but in reading through the threads these features are all subjected to failure.

Plus as previously pointed out on the board, many snow blowers were designed to use the Tecumseh Snow King engines, which are out of production.  In the switchover to B&S engines special accomodations had to be made to prevent water from reaching the drive plate.  Based on this forum the jury is still out on how well manufactures have accomplished this.  You don't want to be at the end of your 1000 foot driveway with a 250lb machine that suddenly lost it's wheel drive. 

So the short answer to " Who is at that same level of reliability and longevity" as your old machine...is probably no one.  In other words, plan on having a problem or two.  So if your Husqvarna dealer is on top of his game regarding service you probably should take a hard look at their snowthrowers.  

This BobCat will do what you are looking to accomplish:  http://www.bobcat.com/attachments/snow_blower

I also see the city running around with Kubuta snow machines to do the sidewalks.  They have a heated enclosed cab for the operator and either a blower attachment or plow of the front.  I even saw one where the plow was split in the middle so that you could run down the middle of the sidewalk and it would push the snow to both sides of the sidewalk - seriously cool but more money than this guy has.

I agree with Borat:  you have too much driveway to be walking.  Go with the plow truck or compact tractor with blower. 

I would take the 1132 to the dealer and trade it in on a 928 wheeled machine.

1000 feet of driveway is a lot for a walk behind.  Assuming you get the biggest 38" blower, that's still at least 4 passes down that driveway, that's 3/4 of a mile.   Not to be a sexist, but I'm not expecting wives to be doing this kind of distance behind a snowblower, tracked or wheeled.

Now if you put them in a Kubota with a heated cab, some music, then there's a possibility.

Quote:  Now if you put them in a Kubota with a heated cab, some music, then there's a possibility.

If I had a Kubota with a heated cab & music, you wouldn't get me in the house!

That's one of the problems with my buddy's JD tractor.  He put a cab on it but it has no heater and no way to pipe engine heat into the cab.  JD likely has a cab heater and probably want an arm and leg for it.   Still a damned nice machine just the same. 

I should have mentioned that being on the low budget plan I've been using a walk-behind for four winters here but plan, hopefully sooner than later,  to get either a small kubota tractor with impeller or their utility vehicle (with cab) to clear the driveway.

 In the meantime - the next winter at least - I'll be walking and even after getting something to drive I'll have a bit to clear with the walk-behind with all the areas around woodshed, utility, etc that'll be a little tight with a tractor or utility vehicle.

aa335 wrote:
My wife is  pretty modern and that's all right with me- she definitely carries her weight and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, but the equality ends quick enough when it comes time to clear the driveway. Although...it's the dogs doing the work pulling the sledder. Uh-oh!

Like Knee_Biter said, get a 928 for the small areas.  Actually, the smaller 724 may be fine too.  Although $2000 for a 724 is quite pricey, there are more cost effective choices.  I'm biased towards tracks as I love taking on deep and packed snow.  Wheeled units may be a better choice if you are tight quarters and have a lot of turns. 

And others have mentioned, get something big that you can ride on for the driveway.  There's no point wearing out an expensive walk-behind exposing it to a service that it was not designed for.  Tracked snowblowers are painfully slow for that long of a driveway.  It can become tiresome and painful just for operating the snowblower, in addition to all the blowing wind and snow and frost biting temperature. 

I believe in getting the right tool for the job or hire a plow service.  As the Brits have a saying "Horses for courses."  The right tools make the job more efficient and enjoyable.  Your equipment lasts a whole lot longer too, doing what it supposed to do.

That is a lot of driveway, wow! Where I work we have a john deere 2520 utility tractor with a heated cab and a "47" two stage blower mounted on front, its a nice unit except for the cab height, its made for shorter people. Its a cozy cab and if you are over '5'9 you hit your head on the overhead panel where all the controls are, otherwise it does a nice job.

Coldfingers

aa335 wrote: I don't understand this, why would a tracked blower be slower than a wheeled blower? In my mind, the depth/weight of the snow is the limiting factor on how fast you can go. In light snow you just upshift. My tracked blower in its highest gear is almost too fast to keep up with.

Bill I guess tracked snowblowers are geared 40% slower than comparable wheel drive snowblowers to compensate for the extra power needed to drive the tracks. I have an ariens 9526 dlet track drive snowblower and it is slower than the wheeled one I replaced it with. It does however have added traction to go through the harder packed snowdrift without spinning. I notice it most when I back up, going forward in a higher gear still is fast enough for me and then in first it barely crawls along but doesn't get overpowered as you are going slow.

Coldfingers

Are they actually geared lower than the same unit with wheels, or is it because the drive wheel is a smaller diameter? Same result, though.
I can see there being a difference in reverse, but not forward as there is quite a lot of gearing available.

Bill_H wrote:
Speaking only for the Ariens the lower gearing is because the wheel/sprocket thing that drives the
tracks is so much smaller in diameter than the wheels on the wheeled machines.  Everything else
(apart from the axles and differential) is probably identical, which is why the wheeled ones go too
fast in 1st.

Paul

Bill_H wrote:
The track setup on my Honda 1132 is slower than my old 928 wheeled Honda.   The diameter of the wheels are larger than the height of the trac, and I'm sure its the same trans, ect.  The same revolutions just doesn't cover the same ground.  Now, does it go as fast in snow?  You betcha!

Bill_H wrote:

In most instances, you are correct.  On heavier snow, track speed versus wheel is insignificant.  Both will be driving at similiar ground speed to prevent over driving and spilling snow to the side or plowing snow ahead. 

In light fluffy snow up to 5 inches, max speed is a little slow.   I wouldn't mind a bit faster because the auger/impeller has no problem digesting that kind of snow volume.

I think everyone explained this very well. When I bought my new track drive ariens this fall the dealer did say that if the snow is light and fluffy you will wish you could go faster through it, he was right. I do have a 520 single stage honda that I was going to sell but have kept it for just this reason, when I get light snow falls that are more than what you want to clear with a shovel I take out the single stage unit and you can go as fast as you want to pushing that. I know its maybe over kill having two machines and my wife mentions that every once in awhile, ha!, but I figure between the two of them that I'm set hopefully for a long time to come.

Coldfingers

aa335 wrote:
OK, now it all makes sense, thanks. Looks like it's just a difference between brands.

My tracked machine has a really high gear that is almost too fast to use since you're walking so fast. I only use it when I finish at the bottom of the driveway, and put it in transport mode (lifts bucket off the ground about 1.5", also useful for making paths over grass) and run back up to the garage. Must be the way the gearing - I use that term loosely, it's really how far from the center of the friction disk you are -  is set up, since my lowest gear is too slow for almost anything and the highest is too fast for almost anything. I even do EOD in 2nd.

Coldfingers wrote:
Never sell your good working single stage.  I have just the 1132 now and wish I could add a small nimble one for light snow and for curvy service walkway.

aa335,  a friend of mine was at a yard sale last fall and bought a 3 hp. toro single stage which looked really nice yet for 25.00 because it was 90 outside and no one would bid on it. Ha! I never go to those things but after hearing that it made me think about it, you never know when you might run across one.

Coldfingers

That's a good price.  I like those little Toro, powerful for how small they are.  Replacement parts are so cheap and it is so easy to work on.  They are noisy little bugger though.  Sounds like a nest of pissed off bees.

I bought one of those Power Lites a long time ago for my dad and then a few years later upgraded to the Honda HS621.   The little Toro was too small for his driveway.