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

This may not be a fair comparison.  I don't know for sure.  I've read on this forum that a 7 h.p. Honda will out perform a 10 h.p. domestic brand snow thrower.  Well, it might beat most but it certainly didn't beat the Simplicity 9528 yesterday.   March 31st delivered 26" of heavy wet snow.   April Ist  was dig out day.   It's hard to say this without bragging but my Simplicity ate snow like no tomorrow.  This was real heavy wet snow.  I had my own driveway done in just over an hour and it's 110' x 18' with a 35'x35' turnaround at the top.   My next door neighbour did a driveway across the street for another lady who's husband was out of town.  It's half the size of mine and he was using a new Honda 724S tracked machine.   He wasn't even half done by the time I had my driveway done.   When I had finished mine, a lady a couple doors over had her vehicle stuck at the bottom of her driveway which is much the same size as mine.  She has an 11.5 h.p. Craftsman maybe five years old.  It was stuck in the snow as well down by her vehicle.  Her husband was also out of town and she was pretty much stranded.  I checked the Craftsman out and it was out of fuel.  I fueled it,  fired it up and tried to clear her driveway with it and, frankly, it was killing me to use that machine.  It was virtually useless in 26" of wet snow.  Engine was running well, auger belt wasn't  slipping but it just couldn't drive into the snow.  It would spin the wheels and took an awful lot of pushing and wiggling to get it to move.   Finally I gave up and went home to get the Simplicity.  It was like night and day.   It took a bit longer to get her driveway done because she had packed down a lot of the snow around her vehicle trying to use the Craftsman.  Then the plow came and left a  four foot pile that I had to move.  Now, here's the part I found surprising.  I had done two much bigger driveways with the Simplicity and my neighbour using the Honda  was still working on the much smaller driveway.   When I talked to my neighbour who had finally finished the Honda driveway, he told me that he wasn't impressed with it.  He said that the tracks were slipping worse than a wheeled machine.  He said he had to constantly pull the machine back away from the snow and keep running into it.   When I was watching him using the machine, it appeared to be throwing snow a good distance but again, not in the same class as the Simplicity.   Take a close look at the attached picture.  On the far right is a light pole showing a white spot where the snow from the Simplicity stuck to it.  That's a forty foot pole and the snow was sticking close to 14 ft up it.   Also, that's a 6' 6" fence behind the snow bank.

If you want my opinion, the Simplicity easily out-worked the Honda.  However, there is the size differential that must be taken into account.  That plus the fact that my 9.5 rated horse power B&S engine is more than likely 11 h.p. 

   

That's quite a long driveway you have there.  The slope provides good drainage into the city stormwater drains.  Nice view, I bet that view is just awesome in the Spring and Fall.

I have no doubt that your Simplicity 9528 (AKA 1128) does as well as it does.  I've seen a video of a the same size but Signature Pro version and it threw a very far and tightly controlled stream of snow.  I was very impressed.

I think in this case the tracked Honda 724 might be outclassed and outpowered in comparison with your Simplicity.  The actual output of the Honda GX200 engine at operating 3600 RPM is around 6.0 HP, not the implied peak 7 HP.  The intake height of the bucket is reduced to 16.5inch to prevent too much snow from choking the impeller, whereas all the other two-stage in the Honda lineup are around 20 inch.  This was mainly the reason why I ruled out purchasing the 724.  It may throw the snow a good distance, but as far as handle the sheer volume, the intake height, load of the hydrostatic transmission, load of the tracks, and the engine power is just not the right combination, IMO.  The larger GX240 or GX270 (found in the Honda 928) would have been a better match for this chassis. 

Thanks for the compliment.  I am fortunate to live where I do.  Big country, few people, a lake on ever mile of the road where our camp is, miles and miles of old logging roads to explore on the ATVs, and even more miles of gravel roads and secondary highways to explore on the motorcycles.  Yeah....life's good.  Only if the weather would cooperate.

After the test I put the Simplicity through on Wednesday, I very much impressed and satisfied with my purchase.  I've alway appreciated how well it moved snow.  However, 26" to 30" of heavy wet snow was a real test.  As much as I am a fan of Japanese engines, I have to admit that the OHV B&S performed admirably.   When under heavy load, it would initially bark a bit then settle down and get to work.  If it holds up as well as the Japanese engines, it will be truly impressed.  For the money, it's one hell of a snow thrower. 

Here's a pic of the same view on a clear day: