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

Hello everybody,

This is my first post. I found this website about a week ago and have been trying to learn from all the great info posted here. I'm 54 and live in northeast Wisconsin on a large corner lot right across the road from Lake Michigan (can you say "lake effect snow"?) My driveway is 3 cars wide and a little over 2 car lengths long, with a row of hedges bordering it on one side and an alley on the other. When I clear the snow, I can't throw snow into the alley, so I need to throw it across the 3 car wide driveway clear to the other side (and over the hedges, which are about 4 feet high). Also, I live on a busy street where the city plows are constantly coming by and pushing more snow onto the sidewalks, which are very long.

The last 2 winters have been very harsh in terms of both snow and cold. I've been shopping at all the stores around where I live trying to find a snow thrower that will fit my needs. Reliability and quality is high on the list of what I'm looking for. I've read good things about the Simplicity brand, so I visited a Simplicity dealer near me. The salesperson I dealt with suggested that the L1428E would be the machine to best serve my needs. I love the Easy Turn feature. The one feature that I question is the electric chute controls ... especially without any kind of manual override should it freeze up or short out ... or whatever.

My question: Is there any reason I should be leery about having electric chute controls? As I said, our winters can be very cold and harsh here. I'd hate to have the button freeze up on me or short out in the middle of a blizzard and have no means of clearing the snow if that should happen. I wouldn't mind dropping to the model below this one (the L1226E), which has a manual chute control, if it can still do the job with less chance of problems arising.

Oh, and one more thing. There is also a Snapper dealer in my area. According to him, Snapper is the parent company of Simplicity. So does that mean Snapper would be a better product than Simplicity? Or would they be the same machine with a different name tag on it? They offer what appears to be a very similar snow thrower to the L1428E for the same price (it even has the exact same model number) ... accept that their machine also includes hand warmers (which in my mind isn't really necessary, but I'm just letting you know).

Thanks everybody. I look forward to your opinions and feedback.

Bob

Hi Bob -- You've come to an excellent forum. There are some really knowledgeable people here and they love to help. Regarding your question -- ha! -- you've hit on a nerve here. And you're going to get tens of replies in both directions. Briggs and Stratton, by the way, is the parent of Simplicity and Snapper.

Here's my two-cents... I've had a Simplicity Signature Pro for a few years now and I've never had a single problem with the electric chute rotation control. The motor is a simple, but effective windshield wiper motor. The gearing is actually simpler than a manual control. As such, it's no more likely to freeze up than a worm-gear, rod, and several linkages. I make a habit of spraying WD-40 on a couple parts of the machine after each use to prevent any freeze issues -- I include the chute rotation switch in that list.

That said, stuff happens. So... generally speaking, if you simply do not want the motorized rotation or if you have machine-shop style tools and skills that make you prefer non-motorized controls and solutions, don't get it. If you are comfortable with and/or prefer switches, wires, and motors, do get it.

To me, it's quite extraordinary to think that one set up is more or less likely to fail than the other.

Thank you very much for your reply. I don't mean to rehash what has already been covered here or to press anybody's hot buttons. Being a member in other forums, I know how it is having to answer the same questions over and over again. I'll just assume that this is an issue that might not have a definite answer ... that it comes down to personal preference.

I am still interested in people's thoughts on whether the model below this one (L1226E) is worth considering for my needs, although that one doesn't have the Easy Turn feature which I think would be really nice since I have to go up and down the length of a 3 car wide driveway quite a few times. I really do like the manual chute control on that model too. It seems so easy compared to other manual cranks on other machines.

I'm still also curious to know if the Simplicity and the Snapper model numbers L1428E are basically the same machine, but with only a different label slapped on them. (As I mentioned in my first post, the Snapper dealer told me that the Snapper version has hand warmers. From what I remember, the Simplicity and Snapper sure looked the same to me on the outside.)

Okay, I'll sit back for a while and let people respond if they like, without butting in again. Thanks ahead of time.

You might check their websites.  Only the big, XL Snapper has hand grips, according to their online specs.  And it only comes in one, very wide, clearing width.  Simplicity's Signature Pro line has hand warmers on all clearing widths.  These 'Pro' machines also sport a beefier frame and some other bells and whistles.  Hand warmers are, of course, totally unnecessary, but they sure are nice!  (You might also look at the Toro machines and Ariens, IF you have good dealers near by.  For me, a few years back, it came down to Toro vs Simplicity and it was dealer support... followed by the Briggs OHV engine that broke the tie.)

Easy Turn is worth it, I wouldn't get any machine that is lacking some sort of remote wheel unlock feature.  And generally, I think you'll find good advice on this forum to buy as much power as you can afford.  You won't regret it when the first heavy snow hits.  That trumps any bell, whistle, or gizmo for that matter.

You might want to check out an Ariens dealer as well.  First of all being in NE Wisconsin its always good to support the local economy and Ariens blowers are built right near you.  Seeing what you are looking for and your concern over electric chute rotation and ease of turning you might want to look at the Ariens Deluxe Platinums.  I believe the chute and deflector rotation on those are all mechanical.  The Ariens Deluxe Platinums also have automatic traction control which unlocks either wheel automatically when turning unlike the Simplicity system which requires operator input and only unlocks one wheel.  One less lever to freeze up. 

have you looked at Toro's?...I recently did alot of shopping, looking at Simplicity, Ariens, and Toro's, and i chose the Toro 828 OXE.  It has great chute controls, and is built solid.  I would at least take a look.

The snapper and simplicity large frames are the same machine except snapper uses a plastic chute.Briggs and Stratton own both of them.Also those machines get their snow series max engines.Toro and Ariens get the snow series engine.They r going to save the better engine for snapper and simplicity since briggs owns them.You might find a left over simplicity w/out the electric chute rotator.I own a simplicity signature pro 11570e with the manual chute rotator.It was siitting right next to a pro model with the electric chute rotator same width.But I said to myself,my wife will kill me if I spend $1900 on a snowblower and the chute wont rotate lol.If its 4 am and I'm trying to clear my driveway,I dont have time to figure out if its a loose wire or the motor is bad etc.I need reliabilty not a doo dad.Look at Honda machines sold in the usa.Clean ,simple and gadget free.Theres always Toro which seems to be an easier machine to move around than ariens.But you should go in the stores and see which one you feel more comfortable with.

First of all I would like to say hi to the forum.  I have lingered around for a couple months and finally became a member.  This place is a very valuable source of information.  Thanks to everyone who contributes.

Some things to clear up (kind of):

Snow Series Max engines are used on all Toro, some Ariens and some Simplicity/Snapper models.  When I was shopping for my thrower I looked at a simplicity L1226E and thought it had a max engine too.  Can't be sure.  On the snapper/simplicity website it says that every large frame model higher than the L1226E has a Snow Series Max Engine but not the L1226E.  For Ariens its hard to see what egnine they use but I am guessing they also use Max engines from deluxe24 and upwards.  Maybe Snowmann can clear this up?  Since it looks like you will be purchasing a bigger machine anyways it is safe to assume that you will have the better engine.

I think you should look at some Ariens throwers and then Toro if you have the money.  When I was deciding between a Toro, Ariens, and Simplicity the electric chute rotation was the deal breaker.  I think that Simplicity/Briggs is using these motors to cut costs, since its cheaper to put a motor on instead of fabricating all kinds of linkages that need to have a degree of percision to work.  I don't think the electric motors will fail, but I'm just a person that likes it simple.  I know, I basically just contradicted myself!  I guess new technology is always hard to accept.  (Simple is also the reason I went with a locked axle Toro 826OE but this is besides the point)

My humble opinions:

-All three companies will provide you pretty much a simillar quality product at the end of the day.
-If taken care of all three companies have a product that will last a long, long time.
-Toros are nice but extremely expensive.  Unless you can get a good deal or can afford it.
-I would go for the remote wheel unlock (both Ariens and Simplicity) over the Ariens automatic differential.

-Especially if you are not mechanically inclined: it is important to buy from a good dealer above all else.

Hope this helps a bit and good luck!

If toro uses the snow series max engine how come they dont mention it?The website does not mention snow series max .I would think u would highlight that point.

Only Snapper/Simplicity clearly define the engines they use.  Unless the label is wrong, my Toro 826OE (bottom of lineup) has a Snow Series Max 1150 Engine.  Ariens definitely uses these engines too, I just don't know where they introduce them in their product line.  They don't specify on their website.  I tried comparing pictures but that didn't work.

Actually, according to Snowmann Ariens gets better engines than the other two, but I can't substantiate his claims.

now does that make sense ope??B&S owns snapper and simplicity but they r going to give their machines the lesser of the two engines as opposed to ariens??