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

I have been looking at toro 826, ariens 927dlx, simplcity 9528 and JD 1130 [which I understand is a simplcity in JD green]. I have a 250ft driveway mostly one car width. I know there is some differences in sizes , but they are close to my budget of $2000 canadian taxes in. Will the 826 handle the heavy wet snow as easy as the larger Simplicity and JD models. It is hard to get a straight answer out the salesman,so I will ask questions on here.  Cast iron gearboxes vs aluminum, does it matter?  The chute rotation gears in the toro are plastic , in the ariens they are plastic and steel  vs. both steel gears in the simplicity and JD . Is that a concern for the future? What are your thoughts on these models longevity? Help me pick the right !st snowblower.

borat wrote:
About this post, you're comparing apples and oranges. You're comparing a 28" Simplicity unit with a 9.5hp (1350 series) engine to smaller units with Briggs 249cc engines (the engines themselves are a full 20lb lighter than the 1350+ series engines). The Ariens you're referring to is also a 24", not 26". With like engines and housing widths, these units are all within a few pounds of each other. Lastly, while the published dry weight of the Simplicity 9528 is 255lbs, it's actual dry weight is 247lbs. It's not uncommon for published numbers like this to be inaccurate. MTD and Husqvarna are notorious for such innaccuracy. In the end, with weights this close, it reveals little about product durability.

wrote:
Did the Briggs & Stratton take over effect the build quality while the machines were still being built in Simplicity's Wisconsin plant? From what I've read, B&S shut down the Wisconsin plant in 2007 and moved production to their Georgia facility. Do you think that they re-tooled the Wisconsin plant to produce the "Murray content" machines prior to shutting down the plant? That doesn't seem to make sense to me. My Simplicity is a 2007 model, built in 2006 in the Wisconsin plant. It's built like a tank.

I agree that all of the domestics are going in the wrong direction regarding build quality. They'll be able to extract a premium for their name until their machines become problematic and lose customer confidence. Thankfully, we'll still have top notch Honda and Yamaha machines to choose from despite their excessive cost.

I'll never understand why domestic manufacturers are willing to compromise hard earned reputations and build quality for short term profit. That's what's wrong with our modern manufacturing model. It's no wonder why the Chinese are handing us our a$$es. As our manufacturing quality deteriorates, their's improves. If that's not a recipe for domestic manufacturing doom, I don't know what is?

borat wrote:

They're not compromising, they're exploiting.  The people running these compaines are not the people who work on them, or the people who build them.  They don't care what kind of crap they sell as long as they get their money.  Hondas aren't cheap but GIVE ME A BREAK there's very very little difference in the cheap junk and the "pro" models today.  The very small differences are left in place to justify their channel partners.  That's it.