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

Does anyone have any feedback or experience with the Ariens 722 single stage snow blower?   Not so much how it compares to a 2 stage snow blower but mainly how it compares to other single stage machines.  Also snows that it handles best and snows that push it's limits.  Thanks.

hi guys.

i bought an ariens 722ec about three years ago after doing a fair amount of research.  basically it was between the 722 and the toro 2450.  i ended up buying the ariens because it had 2 more hp, the chute control and limited lifetime warranty on the paddles. - all for the same price as the 5hp toro  well three years later, i saw a used 2450 on sale and picked it up. i have always heard good things about the toros and curiousity got the best of me.  one of the first jobs i used the toro on was wet slush at the eod...about 8" or so.  the ariens would have had a tough time with it...it did well with light to packed snow, but wet stuff it couldn't handle and it poured out of the chute like toothpaste. the toro worked like a champ as was throwing the slush 10' with little problem.  at that moment i was sold and the following week i ended up selling the ariens.  so short story is that "my" experience with the ariens vs toro is that the toro wins hands down.  my guess is that most single stage machines will work fine with light to light packed snow, but when things get wet, thats what separates these machines.  why does the toro outperform?  not really sure, the basic design of these machines is very similar...i'm going to have to say its the paddle and chute design.

good luck.

rob

Thanks for providing your feedback.  I was always wondering why the Ariens 722 while having higher horsepower and even lower price than a comparable Toro model did not sell very well.  I suspected that the 2 extra hp of the Ariens didn't seem give it any extra performance.  I also suspect that the Ariens 522 and 722 would perform the same in heavy wet snow when the load prevents the 722 engine to attain the higher RPM to produce the extra 2 horsepower.  That's just my guess since both engines are Tecumseh 139cc 2 stroke engines.  The Ariens did seem to have good build quality and I like the molded auger paddles which are lifetime warranty.

Seabird, seems like you have a little bit of interest in Toro snowblowers.  Wink.  Would you mind sharing details of your collection?

Yes, thanks for the feedback.  Assuming that the belt was tensioned correctly on the Ariens the difference probably is in the paddle design.  It appears that the Ariens paddle was designed to capture more snow that the Toro's paddles.  That might explain why heavy icy shush might bog it down if the paddles are slowed by trying to handle too much of a load.

aa335 wrote:

i would agree, the build quality of the ariens was as good or even superior in terms of materials i.e plasitcs used in the main body of the machine seemed more durable than the toro. if you hang out on the other forum then yes you know i also have a ccr2000 and older 826 2 stage.  i picked up a couple ccr2k machines this year as i've always heard good things about the suzuki engines.  i fixed them both up with new paddles, carb clean etc. and have sold one and kept one for myself as a back up to the 2450.  i havn't had the opportunity to test it out due to the lack of new snow but the engine runs great, starts up on the first pull every time. i suspect it will work as well as the 2450, but we'll see.

Paul7 wrote:

thats the only variable that i could not confirm was belt tension.  having said this, since new the machine never liked the wet stuff and it was bought from a dealer...vs big box, so i'm assuming it was set up properly. i was going to tinker around with it before i sold, but it was basically sold within a few minutes of advertising.  your theory  may be right on the paddle design...all i know is i understand why all the contracters use toro single stage machines and also i remember when i was shopping around 3 years ago and one OPE dealer swore the smaller 5hp toro outperformed the 7hp ariens...i should have listened.

At work here we had a 3 hp. toro that we used for a long time, then replaced it with a 5 hp. and now we have the 6.5 hp. model and I have to say that 5 hp. I think worked harder than the 6.5 that we have now. We use it on heavier stuff than we should sometimes and those machines have stood up well. I haven't used an ariens single stage though so I can't compare them that way.


Coldfingers

Coldfingers wrote:

if its the 3650 you are referring to, i find that surprising that the 5hp or 2450 worked better.  i've heard nothing but good things about both machines...the 2450 and 3650.

seabird wrote:
What's the difference between the 2450 and 3650 besides the HP rating? 

aa335 wrote:

i believe the 3650 has a manual chute control.

The 5 hp. that we had had a lever on the chute so you just leaned over and turned it by grabbing it, the 3650 or 6.5 hp has a rod that comes out of the housing and runs up to the handlebar like a two stage does. Problem is sometimes the chute on the 3650 gets stuck and you think you are going to break the rod off trying to free it. In other words, the 5 hp. was much easier and more trouble free with that design. I looked at the new toros out this year and see they have a cable running to a plastic handle to turn the chute with and I can't help but wonder how that will stand up. They all have a "20" inch throat and are pretty much the same otherwise I think.