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

Trying to decide which of these two snow throwers would best suit me for my application.  Average snow strom leaves 8-14", and infrequently (every 3 yrs or so) a storm leaves 18-24"; 100' x 30' concrete, flat, curved driveway; county plows leave a 3-4' EOD burm that I'm tired of shoveling; snow is generally light in density, but late season can be wet and heavy; price range $800-$1,400.  Will be using either thrower on neighbors driveways which are similar to mine, and occassionally my father (78) and wife will be using, so ease of use and abiltity to turn is a factor I must consider.  Currently I have a single stage yardman (8 yrs old) and has performed flawlessly for snow up to 8-10", except for the EOD pile which the single stage can not handle.  No issues with trowing snow on either side of these driveways.  I thought perhpas a "track" drive model might serve me well after looking at them at various dealers, but after reading most the the track threads on this board, it seems the track drive modles are overkill for my application as my drive is relatively flat and will unlikely be used off payement.  I have never used a two-stage blower before so I do not know the pros/cons b/w the modles as many of you on this site.

From what I can tell, both are very similar in construction and features (both made by MTD I beleive), with a few exceptions that I could tell from looking at both of them and on the web and at the dealers.  The 528SWE has a 305cc compared to 250cc B&S engine, both are 28" width and 21" intake, 12" augars and impellers, headlight, joystick chute controls, electric/pull start, 6 frwd-2 rev speeds, all-wheel drive.

Features I "think" are nice between these two modles are

528SWE: 305cc B&S engine, stainless steel skid/scrape plates, "touch and turn" triggers, approx $200 more than the Storm 2840

Storm 2840: heated grips, but has the smaller 250cc B&S engine, less expensive than the 528SWE, no "tourch and turn"

So basically, I am trying to determine what features I would like and if the cost increase is worth the feature upgrad.  I would like to know if the difference b/w the 250 and 305cc B&S engine will likely have any performace increase in dealing with the EOD mess or throwing late season wet snow further.  How well does the "touch and turn" really work and will that allow me to move the thrower in the garage since it appears the wheels will disengage from "all wheel drive", I will be making frequent turns and each end of the driveway so the "touch and turn" may help for my dad and wife.  Does the "touch and turn" mean more maintence and areas for failure.  Seems the heated grip would be nice on very cold days (typicially I would be out there for 2-3 hours snow throwing neighbors driveways), but do they really make any difference with gloves on.

We do not have any local dealers or big box shops that sell Simplicity, Toro, Husqavarnia, Irens or Honda, at least they don't have any remaining units on the floor and will not be ordering any units until the fall of 2009, so not sure I should expand my unit selection to other brands.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Considering the similarities of the machines, I'd go with the bigger engine.

The Cub Cadet should handle the EOD stuff better.  Wider 16" X 6.5" tires for traction, EZ Turn, more powerful engine.

Indeed, Cub Cadet is made by MTD.

Personally, I find hand warmers to be more of a nuisance than anything. We got temperatures in the range of -30C here, and I don't have hand warmers. Although the snowblower does save you a lot of effort, operating that kind of machine still involves at least some effort, which I find is sufficient to keep my hands warm inside my gloves even under these arctic temperatures!

I did not try the "Touch & Turn" mechanism in a real-life environment, but I did try it out at a local dealer when I was shopping for a snowblower back in september. It worked well in the showroom, and it does look a lot like the mechanism available on some Ariens models, which does work well. This feature is absolutely necessary if you don't want to waste too much effor turning the machine around.

If you read a couple of posts around here, you will learn that although tracks give superior traction and better scraping of the pavement, they make the machine harder to turn, and they are overkill on flat pavement.

Me, for $200 more, I would go for the Cub Cadet. It has a more powerful engine which can probably through snow further and help to spread it out more evenly. I currently own an Ariens 1130DLE with an automatic differential, and that helps a lot in turning the machine around. My neighbor has an older Craftsman and I need to wrestle with that thing to turn it around. No matter what the system is, you got to have something to help you turn the machine around easily, espescially if you are going to have your wife or your 78yo dad use it. The more powerful engine will definitely help with the EOD pile, espescially if it is really 3-4 feet high like you describe! Also, the Cub Cadet has this bright yellow paint job on it... Sweet!

Svenster- Given your description of a 3000sq. ft driveway and what the plows leave at the EOD(end of driveway) I wouldn't buy either of the machines you are looking at. The Cub and the Troy-Bilt are both  lightly constructed and will age quickly given the description of your property. If you can make it through the winter and order a mid level  or higher Ariens,Simplicity etc. you will be making a wise decision. I would definitely only buy a machine with some kind of turning differential/ remote wheel disconnect if the machine is going to be used by either a woman or a senior citizen of your dads age.

Marc. 

  

Thank you all for the invaluable comments and recommendations.  As it turns out, I went to a local dealer today to purchase the Cub Cadet 528 SWE, and they had a Husqvarna 1130SB-LSb that someone ordered and then backout. Dealer offered me 20% off, which brought the price down to within my range.  I hesitated because I did not research this brand/model at all.  The dealer explained some of the better quality features, which I will outline below, so I am hoping I did ok as I purchased this snow thower cold with no research.

B&S OHV 342cc engine, which is 93cc more than the Troy and 37cc more than the Cub Cadet

30" clearance width compared to 28

Augars are thicker gauge and the teeth are design differently than the Troy and Cub, and according to the dealer this is much better.

The augar, impeller shafts are larger as well as the augar gear case

Ths chute is all metal and has all metal componets, except for a rubber flapper at the top.  Also has locking indents to keep the deflector/chute in a locked position

Power turn (which is the feature I really wanted so I could manuver the beast in the garage and for my wife and elderly dad who will occassionally use it.

the augar and drive levers use steel rods instead of cables

Variable speed drive

Drift cutters  (not sure what these are for or how they are used)

shear "bolts" as compared to pins

I could see the difference once the dealer pointed these things out and these quality items seem logical or he upscaled the uninformed consumer.  However, what I really notice is how much heavier this Husqvarna is over the Troy or Cub Cadet.  I could not find a weight in the owners manual, but it has to be 50+lbs heavier.  My dad and I could easily lift the Troy into the back of my pickup, but no way could we lift the Husq out of the pickup.  I think part of this may be the thickness of the metal used for the cage, auger, impeller and body panels.  Even the scraper plate and skid pads look to be  heavier gage metal.

So I hope I did ok.  The build quality seem good, has the trigger "touch and turn" which was an important feature for me, larger engine (92cc worth), and even comes with heated grips. -)

I would be interested in your comments, and hopefully good comments so I don't suffer from buyer's remorse.

Just my luck.  I purchase a new piece of equpment (toy according to my wife) and no snow since the purchase or in the  forecast for the next 7 days.  So with no snow, I decided I would drive the blower around holding the scraper off the driveway just to familarize myself with the controls and handling.  I must say upgrading to the "touch and turn" was well worth it.  Not only does it aid in turning the blower while powered up, but when off the machine is very easy to manuever in the garage, as holding down both triggers release both wheels and I can then spin the machine.  Very nice.  The Husq seems to be weighted so that more presure would be on the scraper, but not so much that it hinders moving it around.  The variable speed is very slick.  I can adjust the forward/reverse speed to anysetting/speed and the slowest forward speed appropriate, but until some snow falls I will not be able to tell. However, in the fastest gear you better have your track shoes on!  The 342 cc B&S engine starts very easily and is very quite.  So far this Husq looks like a good choice for my needs, but until it snows, I will not know for sure.

The Husky will be a better quality machine overall.  It should serve you well.

Svenster wrote:
Svenster, you made a wise decision not getting one of the MTD 'clones'. I have one that has been giving me nothing but headaches since I bought it 3 years ago.

I am a lot to blame myself for not doing research and asking around. I religiously maintain the machine but it just isn't built tough and heavy enough for the task. I listened to a neighbor, a friend and the salesman before and when I bought mine. My driveway is a bit bigger than yours and I do blow out my two next door neighbors drives when there is a decent dump and when the plow leaves his deposit at the EOD. It's a good thing I have my garage and I'm handy with the tools plus my 'good advice' neighbor has a little welder and torches. The motor is good but the rest of the machine just has no quality.

Best of luck with the new Husky. I've looked at them and they sure appear to be put together right. I've had a couple of Husky chainsaws in my time and they were the best.

You got a great snow blower.  I was playing around the same machine at a local hardware store and noticed that it was heavily weighted towards the front.  That should help prevent it from riding up over EOD snows.

Paul7 wrote: