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

   Everyone gives MTD a black eye.  So here’s another view.   

 

    The machine shown is a 1997 in fairly decent shape mechanically.  It should go another 5 years fairly easily.  Not bad for an inexpensive machine.  The machine has seen some good use over the years clearing a good size area every storm.  BUT that is in eastern Massachusetts so not all that much snow per year compared to other places.

   The paint is flaking off and rust set in but not very bad yet.  Last year the owner painted directly over the rust and stopped it a bit.  The machine is still ok but should get a scraping of the rusted spots and touched up with some decent paint to extend the life of the machine. 

   In general I’d guess that an MTD would rust out twice as fast as a better machine but if the owner garaged it or at least swept it off after use they generally don’t rust.  I’ve seen many 10 to 15 year old MTD's still in excellent shape. 

    The nest is proof of a bit of maintenance neglect.  The shift lever was difficult to move as the hex shaft grease was all dried up.  It cleaned up very easily and the shifter very smooth.

   The MTD speed set is nice.  There are two reverses and five forward speeds.  When set properly reverse 1 and 2 are nice with 2 being very useful for long backups.  The 1 speed is nice and slow for piles and the 5 pretty fast for long runs in light snow.

   The drive setup has dual thin belts off the cam PTO for tractor drive and two belts off the crankshaft pulley for auger drive. 

   The dash controls and handles are cheap but last.

   As a note: The “Gold” high end version is essentially the same part for part version of a regular model except for a being painted black and has a light.  The motor on the Gold "8hp" version is an 8.5hp and an ok engine.  Other than the engine and light the “high end” version is a basic MTD.  There is not difference in tractor or auger gearbox parts i.e light, motor, paint and hype are it.

 

1. Simple tractor section.  There’s not much in there to break.
2. The gears – never saw a worn or broken MTD gear.  There may be some but in general they last well past the body or engine.
3. Cheap parts – mostly.  The friction disk is 14 bucks and a cinch to replace.
4. Hex shaft on roller bearings held in by 1 screw on each side – simple.
5. Wheel axle rides on plastic flanges that wear well. 
6. Wide hubs stick the wheels out a few inches on the side more than most machines. 
7. Light weight with good size tires so very easy to handle and turn.
8. Lifts up in heavy snow quicker than better built machines but not so much sooner to make a huge difference. You just have to drop a speed or thin the cut.
9. Inexpensive. 
10. Cheap metal (weight).  A positive and negative.  The light weight makes them a dream to use for most clearing requirements.  For the EOD they lift sooner so they have to go slower than the better machine but not by that much to make a big difference.
11. Cheap paint – seems to flake of much faster than the better machines.  If garaged and brushed off the paint lasts 15 years fairly easily from what I’ve seen of second hand MTD’s. 
12. Very simple controls and linkages.  Cheap but do last.
13. Plastic chute – easily lasts 15 years.
14. Lamentable chute worm – easily lasts 15 years.
15. The auger is one of the smallest in the business but will last 15 years fairly easily with proper use.

   This years crop of Home Depot MTD’s were better built than this one and at a pretty low price.  The OHV engines on the new MTDs semed ok but getting information about them has been impossible.  My bet would be you could easily get 15 years out of one clearing a decent size driveway with the big factor being if it got regular oil changes, drained of gas each season, and tractor section greased at least once every two years.

dawei   http://www.kedawei.com/snowblower.htm

borat wrote:
Good news, bad news: The falling dollar is making Chinese imports much more expensive. It will slow it down.
I read recently of a chinese company opening a factory in one of the Carolinas because the relatively inexpensive land and much cheaper electricity in the US more than offset the more expensive labor here. I wish I could recall the name, it was an interesting news story.

I really really don't want to see any more manufacturing leave the US/Canada, it's not good for any of us. I'll gladly pay a $100 premium for a solidly built, reliable, quality machine. In the long run it's actually cheaper. At least one manufacturer should be willing to have one line of premium machines and mean Premium (or pro or commercial-grade, whatever the advertising buzz word they want to use is) and damn the extra .05  or a buck in costs here and there during manufacture. If none will, we're all screwed.

As a history buff, I'm only half kidding when I say make me Emperor for a month and I'll fix most of our problems. People will hate me, but their grandchildren will appreciate it.

Back on topic, my MTD (Yard-Man) is built with lesser quality sheet metal and a s**t paint job, but the basic mechanicals are good and the engine the same as most others. With a little extra maintenance it'll last a long time, and I got a bunch of features I wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise. My only real regret is the plastic bushings - but it's been 5 years and they're still good. Something I didn't realize until just recently (thanks to Borat) is the impeller clearance is over 1/4", maybe even 3/8". I see a Clarence kit in my future, not to improve the throwing distance, but to do a better job on the really wet stuff.

My MTD is about 15 years old....10 HP, 28 inch purchased from Costcos...use Mobil 1 and store in shed, yearly change the plug....paint sux. Replaced friction disk drive when new and a couple years later. Starts first or second pull....wheel bushings are garbage, sheet metal thinner than Ariens but looking at the new Toros, not much difference. I would think after all these years I may need to replace the belts, will take a look after this winter. For the money I paid I back then not a bad deal. Only one reversable speed but it's fine.....

I just purchased an MTD (Troybilt) about a week ago.  Won't allow me to fully open the choke (open valve completely).  Either it was misadjusted or has stuff clogging it in the carb.  1-2 pulls and it starts though.  Have the electric start but it starts too easily for me to bother lugging out a cord and finding an outlet. 

Living on Long Island , we only see up to about 30" of snow a year.  I have  a 2 car wide by 2 car long driveway.  I didn't think we would ever show the real need for a premium thrower.  I had my heart on an Ariens but with Tecumseh folding and the fact that This MTD (Troybilt Storm 2410) has a cast iron sleeve and the Ariens(624E - aluminum bore) didn't, I felt that at least the engine should last longer on the MTD.  Add to that the amount of use (usually get 2-5 snowfalls a year), the fact that I got the MTD for $485 ($200+ savings), it wasn't a bad decision. 

Only sucks that it needs warranty work out of the box. 

We'll see if I decide to return it (Lowes offers 90 days to get a full refund - or so the salesman said) and if the problems get worse.  Right now I am hoping for a quick turnaround and to see some snow to but it through its paces.  Otherwise the little 3inches from last week that was on my patio was thrown of pretty good.  It behaved pretty nice but then again this is my first thrower.

For me it is a matter of justifying the cost for the amount of use one expects to get.  If I lived in the northern areas, sure I would have gotten an Ariens, Simplicity, or Honda but then again they must laugh at how little snow I get and would probably say I should have instead invested in sons and a few shovels!!!  So far only a daughter but we'll see what the future may bring..... :)

Frank

I have a 5Hp Troybilt 6speed 2 stage.....

As for the choke issue.  The manual was written incorrectly.  It states that to activate the choke, you turn the choke knob clockwise and to deactivate it you turn it counterclockwise.  So to open the valve you woudl turn it counterclock.  The sticker even shows a partially open butterfly valve at the full counterclock position.

Needless to say, to close the choke, you turn it counter and to open it, you turn it clockwise - the opposet the instructions say.

As for functioning, I got to use it for 2 4" showfalls and for yesterday's 12+.  For me, this is my first thrower but it ran very well.  Engine ran smooth and threw up to 20+ft when opened all the way up.  The sidewalk went very well.  As long as I kept the speed on 1 or 2, it ate up the walk.  The plow also wasn't a problem using the same speeds as the walk.  It sent chunks of ice and packed snow without a drop in RPM.

The only time it wanted to climb was when I had it set for too fast a speed.  Otherwise, it was very happy and did a great job.  The neighbor's single stage (Toro, I think) had some issues with the plow but their side doesn't get as much plowed snow as mine since the center is also dumped in my driveway along with my side.  He only has his side so it is conciderably less packed and less snow.  The other neighbor's single was worthless.  He had to ram it into the snow a few times to get anywhere while I just happily chugged along at my slower pace.

For the money, it worked great!  Above all, I had a great time.  I would recommend this to anyone with similar snowfalls as Long Island.

I love it!

Frank