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

Last year I bought a John Deere 1130SE snowblower and for the most part I was extremely happy with it's performance. I love the hand warmers, electric chute rotation, easy steer and the front end weight just to name a few.  The only problem I had, which was pretty significant, was the intermittent transmission slipping.  After sealing the transmission housing with silicone and some weather stripping, the problem was completely gone.  The remainder of the winter was very pleasing and I always looked forward to using the 1130.  I also had a second snowblower that I'm trading for a new 1330SE.  So now I'll have the 1130 and the 1330.  The 1130 will be for my business parking lot.  Some of the interesting features of the 1330 is the addition of an electric deflector control and dash area integrated headlights.  So now the chute is totally electric (both rotation and the deflector).  The slipping transmission should be resolved from water getting into the rubber/aluminum disc drive.  To fix this problem, Deere added a rubber gasket between the engine mounting plate and the transmission housing.  I'll try to post some pictures in the future.
BTW, my second choice would have been an Ariens since they seem to give people on this website support from at least one poster.  I wish Briggs, Simplicity or Deere would give the same support.

Congratulations on your purchase!!!
We got around 10" of snow and the 1330SE worked great with one exception.  The rolled up newspaper buried in the snow!  I wasn't sure what I hit and it certainly didn't sound good going through the impeller with pieces of newspaper and coupons flying through the air.  I looked everything over and finished the driveway with no problems.  I'm going to be a little gun shy the next time I blow the driveway wondering if there is a hidden surprise waiting for me.

I have been wondering about the John Deere machines for a while now, so I saw this thread and couldn't resist checking it out.  I'd really like to know what the Easy Steer feature is.  I couldn't figure it out even from the brochure I have.   When you turn left and right, does it just naturally act like a differential (like Ariens), or what?  I didn't notice any left and right steering levers like on Toro, Husqvarna, or other machines I've seen, and I definitely don't like the idea of only a left-hand steering release as it seems like it would be difficult to turn right when the right wheel is turning on the inside.  Anyway, I'd just like to know about that.  Thanks

Do the Deeres have ball bearings at the ends of the augers and inside the gear boxes, or are all these areas now bushings? 

How about the wheel shafts---do they attach to the outside of the wheels like older Ariens, or do they now just run straight through the wheels?  Some posts I have read mention lubricating shafts going through the wheels to prevent the wheels and shafts rusting together.

How well balanced is the 1330?  Is it nose-heavy or well-balanced? 

Anything else you can think of would be good. 


I think it would also be good to ask these same questions about Simplicity blowers, since Briggs manufactures both John Deere and Simplicity blowers.  I am really curious, now.

Thanks for any information about both brands. 

Catt

Had all the JD fixes done to the 1130 last year but it would still slip. This fall, I sealed up the leaks you mentioned in another post. The 1130 worked perfectly last Saturday.

Thanks Jim 

Catt,

Thanks for helping to reduce my buyer's remorse. Now I know that I not only bought a good snowblower; but I also have a super powerful paper shredder.

coasteray,

I’ll try to answer your questions.

1)      The easy steer feature is an automatic locking differential and I’m pretty sure it’s similar to the Ariens, but I haven’t seen the Ariens differential in person.  There are no steering release levers to pull and it makes no difference turning left or right.  As you’ll see on this site, some people prefer this approach and others prefer levers.  I’m not sure that I would prefer one over the other, but the easy steer works great for me.

2)       The auger ends use a bushing material (Probably Delrin) which hasn’t changed in over 20+ years from Simplicity.  I had an Allis Chalmers (made by Simplicity) that I bought in 1985 and it used essentially the same design.  I sold the Allis this year and the bushings never caused me a problem.

3)      The gearbox uses bronze bushings which again is the same design that Simplicity has used for many years.

4)      The wheel shafts run straight through the wheels and are greased as you mention.  The grease should last for several years.  The auger shafts are also greased and the Deere augers have grease fittings.  I would grease these every season since these are exposed to the harsher elements.

5)      The 1330 is “nose-heavy” which I prefer.  I’ve used snowblowers that are lighter on the front and they have issues where they tend to lift up if there is any packed snow.  The Deere just digs right through it.  If you add a cab the front gets even lighter.

6)      The John Deere is very similar to the large frame Simplicity with a few exceptions that are exclusive to John Deere. 

Lanningjw (Jim),

I’m glad to hear the 1130 is working well for you.  I still have my 1130 in addition to the new 1330.  The 1130 is still working great and other than a few items is essentially the same machine. 

Catt, thanks so much for your answers to my pondering questions.  This information surely does help me understand both John Deere and and Simplicity a lot more.  I'm betting other readers of this forum will no doubt find this information very helpful. 

I think another issue for me is service and parts availability into the future.  Briggs has been, according to what I have read, only been manufacturing John Deere blowers (how about the rest of the vast John Deere lineup of machines?) since 2004 to the present.  The information I read was questioning how long this would continue.  John Deere used to make their own machines until 1991, then by Ariens and Murray from 1991 to 2001, then Murray from 2001 through 2004.  I actually have seen a JD blower that looked like an Ariens, so now I understand why; it really was built by Ariens, after all.  I hope that Briggs will hang onto JD and Simplicity so the names will have a real history of manufacturing, parts, and service.  That would be great.  Come to think of it, I can only think of Ariens and maybe Toro that have been making their own blowers for decades.  Most other brands have been tossed around to other companies.

Catt,

Did you put a tach on your 1330? If so where arevyou drawing your power from?

Thanks,

I haven't put a tach on the 1330, but have thought about it. I was considering the tiny tach as it only uses a wire wrapped around the sparkplug wire and another to ground.

Catt,

Have you been happy with the hour meter on the 1130? I'm thinking about putting one on my 1330 for no other reason than I think it would be cool and should help record any maintenance.