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

I am trying to decide between th Ariens Delux 24 or 27. The only reason I am considering the 27 is because it has the trigger to unlock one wheel for easy turning. As I understand it with the 24", people make one of two choices when using it, either both wheels locked, or one unlocked. My questions is: 1. When using the 24" with wheels locked, is turning 180" at the end of a sidewalk, or cleaning the EOD very difficult? I'm 50 now, will I be able to do it at 75? 2. When using the 24" with one wheel unlocked, does it take a lot of effort to keep it running straight? Can you take one hand off the handles to turn the chute, or will it pull too hard? 3. Is it worth going to the Delux 27to get the better handling of the remote wheel lock/unlock feature? Any advice is appreciated.

 The Ariens 24 Deluxe (any snowthrower with pin locks) is really meant to have both wheels always locked for snow throwing applications.  You can unlock for storage purposes but if you try to throw snow, especially heavy snow, the thrower will drift to the unlocked side.  So if you unlock the left than it will want to turn left a bit.  For snow throwing you want full traction to both wheels.  The 24 is a bit lighter and smaller than the 27.  If you are fit you can probably manage without the trigger unlock.  The hardest turns are the 180s at the end of the drive.  It also depends on the terrain of the drive way.  How many times will you have to turn....etc......


The unlock is nice since you only unlock when you need to make a turn.  The only issue is that it unlocks to one side (forgot which one) and thus the machine will always have a turning preference to one side.  You also add complexity to the machine with this feature.  It is another thing that can break or need maintenance.

Best thing to do is test drive the machines at a place that has demos to actually fire up and drive around a parking lot.

I have an Ariens with the trigger lock and I love the feature.  It's a few years old, the 11.5hp 28" model.  Before this one I had a 5hp 24" Ariens.  The 24 inch machine was light enough to maneuver with both wheels always locked but it lacked the weight to get thru end of driveway snow.  The lager machine handles anything but because of it's weight I would really struggle to maneuver it without the trigger lock-unlock feature.

Thanks for the responses. These responses,together with some additional late night reviewing of this site, has helped me decide to go with the delux 27 model. I was actually considering the 24 platinum model, but could not justify the extra cost.