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

I was at a local Honda dealer yesterday and I was stunned by the prices on their snowblowers. In Canadian dollars, they were: 928 wheels: $3000 928 track: $3400 724 track: $3400 1132 track: $3500 I know they have tracks, hydro tranny, honda engines, etc. but they're at least $1000-1500 more than equivalent toro and ariens models. Is it gold, they re making?

Steve,

Not that this will help you now but I looked at the same blower as you did and I bought the ariens 9526 dlet because as you stated the honda was too hard to turn. I wanted the honda because of their reputation but the honda's tracks are in a locked position all the time, the ariens turns a lot easier as just one track pulls in the normal mode, you can lock both tracks if you want but then you have a hard time turning it as well. I still think the honda is a great machine though.

Coldfingers

Steve_Cebu wrote:

How about a wheeled Honda?

Steve_Cebu wrote:
Steve we've all been in your situation at one time or another.  Sometimes it seems like even when we do our due diligence and research on a product there some variable that make a purchase less than ideal.  If your dealer has a 30 day satisfaction guarantee you could return it for a Honda wheeled model.  If not you might be able to sell it yourself to someone and get something close to what you paid for it, then buy a machine that your wife can use.  Or if you still have your Toro 2 stage keep using but add an electric start unit to it and get a good Toro single stage for slush clean-up.  Bottom line though is that if your wife has to do some of the snow blowing at times and she can't handle the Honda tracks then it's the wrong machine for your household.

Not sure if they are still made there but here is article from 2003 that states they are manufactured in North Carolina. http://world.honda.com/news/2003/p030107.html aa335 wrote:

Thanks everyone. The wheeled Honda same issue and wheels tend to slip in this driveway. It's paved but bumpy. I think we might go with the Toro 1028 if we can figure out what to to with the 928TAS. We've only had it a week or so. But as you say if my wife can't use it it's the wrong one. Damn shame but sometimes I am gone for a few days and my wife can't shovel the driveway, it's too much. I was thinking we could get a 2 stage and a smaller Toro for slush. I have read the single stages are pretty good. The 2 of them would equal the Honda in price, roughly. The Honda is such a nice machine to use tho. We have phone calls to make tomorrow and see what we can do. Too bad we couldn't try these units out in actual snow before buying. My wife was ok with the Honda for the time she used it at the dealer but in the actual driveway it's just too much. The Toro has skid steer so she can use that. Ariens and Simplicity have a single skid steer on one wheel. I know my wife was excited before she began but too much machine for her to wrangle. Shame.....

Thanks for teh suggestions we will be trying them out.

We will find out if they have a 30 day satisfaction guarantee and hopefully we can return it. 2 hours or so is not a lot of time on it. I'm hoping the dealer will work with us but we won't be getting anything that can't turn itself and they only sell Honda snow throwers. Thanks Paul7, hopefully some good news tomorrow. I know my wife is upset enough to give them an earful.

Steve,

Sorry to hear that your wife has problems with turning the tracked 928.  I did went back and read your first post on your driveway situation and I felt you had made the right decision.  The 928 you bought is perfectly suited for the job.  Like you said, the other option was an ATV with plow, or blower, but that would have been a lot more money.

I have a 1132 and it is not without frustration the first year of ownership.  It is all with turning, everything else is wonderful.  These tracked machines are quite capable and they excel when the worse of conditions are present.  I can see that with 2" inch of snow, the tracks have way too much traction, 5"x 14" footprint, and  locked axle which is not conducive to turning. 

Turning it is an art in technique.  Perhaps you and/or your wife can try this and see it works for you.

1.  When approaching a turn, decrease forward speed to nearly crawl.  The slower the speed, the more time you have to execute the turn, but requires more effort.  The higher the speed, you have to be swift in making the turn, but less effort.  Find the speed that you are comfortable wtih.

2.  When turning, lean your hips into the handle bar.  You are allowing most of your legs and some of your upper body strength to turn.  Make sure your pocket zipper is closed so that it doesn't catch on the handlebars.   Keep the drive lever engaged and the tracks moving during the turn.

3.  When you have completed the turn, increase speed as necessary.


Now if that is still too much effort, try these two techniques in conjunction of the above:

1B.  Release drive lever, stop forward motion.  Step on foot pedal, raise and lock front bucke to high positiont.  Engage drive.
2B.  Release drive lever, stop forward motion.  Step on foot pedal, lower and lock front bucket to middle position.  Engage drive.

Step 1B lifts skids shoes as to not dragging them on the ground while turning.  Your snowblower has a 2.5' x 2' footprint and lower center gravity.  Don't try to out push a sumo wrestler only by sheer strength.  You may need to employ 1C to make turning easier.

1C.  Exert down pressure on the handle bar.  This puts more weight and shifts the pivot point to the back of the tracks, increasing your overall leverage.

aa335 wrote:

All good ideas aa335. Sadly I did tell here these as did the dealer we bought from when we tested it. Slow or fast bucket up or down there is no way to get around the fact that my wife is 83 lbs and 4'10" tall. She did try and muscle it around and i repeatedly told her NOT to do that we did practice just turning on a cleared section, slow speed and even with the handles all the way down it's way above her hips. So she's using her chest to move it and it's just too much for her. I will speak with the dealer today and see if they will take it back. I don't want to part with it but if my wife can't use it and when I'm out of town, who will? Our neighbors are quite far and no one can help. It's teh right machine but having a small petite wife means making allowances for many things. my wife is great, so hopefully the Honda dealer will help us out.

Steve,

Soon after I posted, I remembered you had mentioned about your wife size and weight, I realized that technique will not work unless the hips is at least level to the handlebar and at least weigh 125 lbs. 

Like Borat have said, maybe a wheeled version of the HS724 would be more suitable for your wife.  I know it's a locked axle, but it is lighter so turning it will be easier.  All wheeled snowblower will slip at one time or another.  It depends on if the surface is icy or if the tires have enough bite on the snow or make contact with the pavement.  Hopefully your dealer can work something out with you.

With amount of driveway that you have, it's always useful to have a single stage snowblower around for the light, up to 6 inch snow.  I have a 10 year old Honda HS621 (originally $850, now no longer available in the US, currently $1300 Canadian, yessir that is correct, single stage unit) and I find it quite enjoyable to use, it's gutsy enough tackling end of driveway pile up to 12 inches.  However, it does not have the throwing distance, maneurability, or the slick convenience of the Quick Chute of the new Toro 221Q / 421Q.  My neighbor has the 221Q and I like it.  Very efficient and intelligent rubber auger and metal/plastic bucket design coupled with a very capable 2 stroke engine.

A possibility given your situation could be an 8-10hp MTD track machine.  They have triggers under the handlebar levers which cause tank like steering by disengaging one or the other track.  They can do slight to zero turns without effort. 

 

The tossing ability is on par with any similarly powered machine.  The weight is ok and they dig in well enough but slightly less than a similar Toro or Ariens.  With a slightly smaller cut you can work through the more difficult areas like EOD piles.

 

For reliability they are ok but an MTD and down a few notches from the big guns.  The friction disks wear out sooner but can last for 10 years or more, are easy to replace and inexpensive.  Another weak point compared to the better machines is a small worm gear. But that also is easy to replace and can be bought as an individual part, inexpensive, compared to the big machine names, and also fairly easy to replace.

 

MTD I think has discontinued making the tracked models.  There are plenty available second hand from 200 to 400 and parts readily available.  I’ve had several with various problems of support bearing, worm gear or friction disk but never a track problem.  The track design is fairly simple but robust enough to last. 

 

The auger drive is done with two ½ inch belts rather than one.  They grip well and will toss heavy snow the same as any machine in the hp class.  They’ll do as well in slush and bog down with the best of them, except for Honda and Yamaha. 

 

The tracks are a slight advantage over a standard size tire with chains and not an advantage over 10 inch wide tires with chains.  For maneuverability they are much easier than Honda or Yamaha which I’ve used. 

 

For average eastern Massachusetts conditions they are fine.