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

This is a great site, just ran into it a couple of weeks ago.  Looking to get a new snowblower..... Here's my removal situation: I have a 135 ft, single lane straight asphalt driveway that goes around an island turnaround for about another 75 ft.  On one side of the turnaround it  to a 3 vehicle wide cement apron in front of my garage, this is the widest section at about 25 ft wide.  2  paved little spurs for turning around also come off the driveway; one approx 22 x 8 and the other approx 15 x 8.  There is also about 10 ft of sidewalk to my front porch.  I would also like to keep clear two parking/turnaround places for my snowmobile trailers.  One of these would be approx 50 ft by 10 ft and the other 10 x 10. These would be on my lawn ( a guy told be that once the ground is frozen this is doable).   The usual snowfall here is fairly dry to fairly wet, 3 to 8 inches per 24 hrs is normal with some dumps that cane over a ft in 24 hrs.  Drifting is an issue as it can get real windy.  

I've narrowed the models to:  Ariens 30 Platinum, Husqvarna 15530SB-XLS, 13524SB-XLS, 15530SB-LS.  The 357cc 30"  Craftsman is a good price but not sure if the motor is a good thing to rely on.  I like the Honda hs928wa; it looks good but its a lot of $$.  Going to look a the Toros tommorow.  No Simplicity dealer here

Any thoughts on my situation: Thanks!

Well, I,m no expert on these, but I have done my share of research on the best bang for the buck. I looked at the Craftsman, Troy Built, Ariens, John Deere and Huskvarna. The Simplicity and John Deere are almost identical. The Craftsman and big Troy-Built for 2009 have the (i think) LCT Chinese engine. I ended up buying a Ariens 1332LE, can't tell you how good it works yet, but sure looks to be built alot better than others. It has a 13hp Tecumseh OHV engine 32" path and a 16 inch auger. Here is a link.......... http://store.wisesales.com/ariens-131332.html

That's a lot of ground to cover. Get the biggest, most powerful blower you can afford. The Troy-Built definitely has the Chinese motor...don't be surprised if after you plow your driveway you want to plow it again one hour later. Tecumseh is out of business so if you are looking at a product with a Tecumseh motor it is at minimum last year's model. Parts may be a problem in the future too. I recommend the Briggs & Stratton motor...I have the 9 hp B & S in my Simplicity 924E and it purrs like a kitten. You mentioned there are no Simplicity dealers...how about Snapper? Or John Deere? The Honda's are nice but expensive.

I pulled the trigger Thursday and bought a Ariens 30 Platinum.  I had a 10% discount deal going that actually ended last week but I negotiated with the Home Depot Operations Mgr to give me a few days extension, plus (and this was kind of a surprise) the sales kid that helped me was the most helpful of any place I went to.  He also has owned a Ariens 26 or 28" for  2 or 3 seasons (and he's real happy with it) and he lives only a few miles away in the same 'snow zone'.  We had to take the discharge, discharge linkage bar off, and the discharge deflector cable off to get in my truck (truck's got a canopy)  so when I put this stuff back together I got to see how it works: looks like a good system.   I didnt really portray the amount of shopping/research I've done in the last few weeks: Shook hands with a lot of used ones on Craigs list, went to a few stores where the sales assocs didnt know what they were talking about (imo).  I learned a lot.  I even met a old guy that kind of collects and sells throwers (spent 2 hrs with him).   From what I learned I'll think my selection will work well.    Hoping for snow now ( we have a winter storm warning for Friday and Saturday).    Snapper and John Deere: The lawnmower place that deals Snapper doesnt carry their snowblowers and the John Deere outlet was closed both times I drove by.  I also kibashed the idea of getting a Toro because the 1180 was slightly above what I wanted to pay. 

I'll post after I blow some snow.  Once again, this Forum is great source of info: Thanx!!

 

Got a good snow dump last weekend: About 8 - 12 inches depending on the windy spots.  The new Ariens 30 Platinum worked like a champ!  Because I dont what I'm doing a i had to reblow several areas and was working with some snow that was close to  20" deep and fairly packed: It ate right thru it.  No problem at the 24" EOD berm that was crusty, heavy and wet.  The thing turns on a dime the auto traction control is great!  I also like the way the controls are configured and all of them worked real well.   All in all I'm really happy with my machine!!