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

Have you seen the junk they are now selling on the Home Depot website?It's called Sno-Tek by Ariens.It's being described as a value machine lol.Ariens will do anything to be known as the Co. that sells the most machines.They have forgotten about quality and it's all about sales.

Why do people buy junk?  Because money doesn't mean anything to them.  Wait untill the currency falls apart and the junk starts costing money, then we'll start buying quality again.

Why do people buy junk?  Because money doesn't mean anything to them.  Wait untill the currency falls apart and the junk starts costing money, then we'll start buying quality again.

It seems to me that U.S. manufacturers have dropped the ball a bit in their own marketing.  I just bought my first blower a couple of weeks ago and didn't really know much about them.  I saw the Troy Bilts at Lowe's and was tempted to get one.  I had thought they were a quality manufacturer, not realizing that they were bought a couple of years ago by a company that cheapened the brand quality-wise to push them in quantity at big box stores.

Well, I always prefer to buy from local small businesses and so I next stopped at the local OPE shop.  He carried Simplicity and Ariens, and I could see right away that they were better quality machines.  At that point I didn't know about the specific technical things that make Ariens so good, like its 14" impeller, the bearing on the auger shaft, etc.-- the stuff that snomann lists on his posts.

True, the Lowes blowers had more bells and whistles at the same price-- things like headlights and handwarmers-- but I wanted a machine with intrinsic build quality, not a crappy POS with plastic chutes that would break or flimsy augers that would bend.

I went on Ariens website and they really didn't get into the reasons their machines were technically better than the MTB style ones.  They discussed their reputation for quality, but really gave no details.  I think that if you are going to sell against companies that appear to give more value for the buck, based on size and features, then you need to tell people why your basic machine that costs $200 more than the loaded no-name brand is actually a better value as an investment.

Ariens does still make a good product but if you want your machine to last as long as mine (1969 ariens) then you will not find one at big box store you will have to go to a  local small buiness and pay thousands for the best units what you see at home depot is not what you can get from you local supplier.I think my Dad paid about 1,400 for this unit new.

That is all on that

I would like to know if anyone have been able to free up a stuck metering rod on a tecumseh carb I think this ethonal gas is attracting water and sticking the rods on the carbs

when they set for awhile.

.

In a recession no one should begrudge Ariens for doing what they have to do in order to remain a viable independent company...and not suffer the fate of Simplicity and be bought out by a small engine manufacturer.

Paul7 wrote:

Well, I assume we can apply that same logic to the rest of the manufacturing in North America. We all can readily see what the results are when we build lesser quality automobiles. Why would that example be different from anything else being built to a lesser quality than what we had appreciated in the past? Compromising quality is a step backward. How can anyone possibly substantiate that inferior quality is a good thing? I don't get it. And when does the "build cheap" trend stop? Do we all continue to buy inferior products and allow manufacturers to continue building cheap machines to the point that they work for a month before needing repair? I've said it in the past, the Japanese don't have a problem weathering difficult times and continue to supply the market with consistently high quality products. By accepting sub-standard products, we are going back to the "good enough" syndrome that was rampant in our auto sector over twenty years ago. It's thinking like that, which permitted foreign countries to infiltrate our markets and dominate the auto industry as we know it today. Sometimes, the consumer can be his own worst enemy. Anyone who accepts mediocrity over previously well built goods is contributing to the ultimate demise of that industry. it might not happen over night. But rest assured, it will happen. Demand better!

borat wrote:

VERY WELL SAID !!!!

I bought an Ariens 1332 DLE last season (Dec 2008) after doing what I thought was quite a bit of research.  I bought my unit at a small store not the big box store and paid a lot of money for it comparatively speaking.  What I have found is that I am really disappointed with the controls, so much so that I actually sent the company an email.  As I don't have a heated storage area to put my blower in after using it, unless the temperature gets above the freezing point my controls don't work.  The  chute height adjust won't move and the chute won't rotate the culprit of course being that the cables are frozen.  I can spend just as much time messing around with the chute as I do actually blowing snow.    I phoned the dealer where I bought the machine and complained about this problem and his solution was to remove the cables and bring them inside after blowing... I don't think so. 
Another annoyance that I have found is that the blower is pictured in the brochure with a heat shield over the muffler.  Well it appears that last years model doesn't have a heat shield.  Normally this would not be a problem I imagine, but as I spend so much time fussing with the cables I invariably put my gloves on the blower and they melt to the muffler.  I've ruined two pairs of gloves like this and you would think I would have learned the first time but you get so frustrated that you forget.  Nobs have fallen off the controls and the deflector for the muffler has fallen off. 
I will concede the fact though that it does move a lot of snow with relative ease but it's all of the little nagging things that cause me so much grief while I am  trying to blow snow that leave that bad lasting impression. 
If anyone out there has a solution to the bicycle cables freezing please I would like to know about it.
Ariens never did respond to my email as well.

Try blasting some WD-40 into each end of the cables if possible. The objective is to get the WD-40 into the cable to minimize the amount of water that is in there. For your information the "WD" in WD-40 stands for water displacement. It's important to get a good splash inside the cables. Get into the habit of spraying the cables and see how that goes.

borat wrote:
Borat, I think that there is a difference between the snowthrower market and the automobile market based on where you live.   Consider this...I live in a area where I can go two years without ever needing to start my large snowthrower.  We just got 10 inches of snow in SE PA today and this is the first time in years that I needed to start my large 2 stage Ariens snowthrower.   (For the last few years all I needed was my smaller single stage Ariens 722...and on some years I didn't even need it) However someone living in the North American snowbelt or Canada needs a machine that's built well enough to handle 10 snowfall with a much greater frequency.  If manufacturers only built snowthrowers with premium components, top of the line engines, cast iron everything, and engineered to exacting standards then I'd be forced to buy a lot more machine than I need...and for a lot more money than I may want to spend.   I can get by for many years with an MTD POS if I wanted to, while you really need a snowthrower that can take a much more frequent workout...and that's the difference.

As for how the Japanese can product quality and thrive while we can't all I can say is that I once worked for a German company where long range planning was 20 years...just like the Japanese.  I now work for an American company and long range planning is 3 months...or until the next earnings update to the investment community. 

MM42, there is no excuse for knobs falling off the machine that you bought.  And there's REALLY no excuse for Ariens not replying to your email.  I became an "Ariens man" years ago when their customer service was tops in the industry.  It's troubling to learn that it's fallen off that much.