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.

Used my 1330 for the first real time today and was real impressed. It laughed at the 12 inches of heavy snow in the driveway and took on the 3 foot plow pile at the end of drive like a champ. I also like the fact shes a little nose heavy she cleans right down to the driveway better than I expected. Where I had driven my truck the night before she peeled up the packed snow better than expected, normally I would have run my shovel down the tire tracks to break it loose not now. One thing I noticed was that with the hand warmers on high and using the chute rotation it would basically dim the headlights out for a second. It also took a little bit of time to start getting used to the easy steer I'm sure it will be fine the more I use the blower. I was concerned before I bought the blower about the electric chute control but after using it today I'm more than satisfied with it and glad I went with them. My only regret today is that I didn't have an encloser on the blower! Any recommedation out there? I seen some posting regarding the classic enclosers any feedback out there gentlemen? I hate dealing with junk!

plowboy wrote:
 Blow low and with the wind instead of high and into it?

Hi all.....need some help understanding relative quality of the newer JD throwers when compared to the vintage models.  I have been considering buying a new 1330SE but also have a chance to buy a (?) years-old JD 1032, and I'm trying to determine which direction to go. 

I was surprised to discover that Lowes sells the 1330SE, since I thought the only JD equipment (tractors, snow throwers etc) that you could buy at Lowes are the "big box store" model numbers, which are built cheaper to appeal to the residential customer that wants a Green Machine on their driveway, but aren't willing to pay for the real deal..  For example....you won't find an X-series tractor at Lowes...case rested!  So....I'm a bit suspicious when I see the 1330SE can be bought at my neighborhood Lowes.  Everything I've read tells me this is a solid unit, built like a tank...but I want to make sure.  If I buy the 1330SE, can I expect it to be a 20 year machine, or is it just another mass-market model trashing the real JD brand?

Of course....asking these types of questions to the "experts" at Lowes is simply inviting blank stares and the standard answer insisting the models are all the same, whether you buy them from a JD Dealer or Lowes.


My current unit is a 10 year old MTD that I bought for $300 from Sam's Club on a season closeout.  it's hard to imagine I even got $300 of value out of the piece of crap.  When it works, it throws snow just fine, but it has been unreliable to say the least. 

Thoughts/feedback on the 1330SE and current JD quality appreciated.

Shout out to all the Minnesotans on this thread.  We just registered 16" in our NW metro home this weekend.  I just hand-shoveled 1850 sq feet of driveway.  That's a lot of snow....enough to push me over the edge into getting a "real" machine. 

Shryp wrote:
Thanks but been there done that. Winds are a little different out here in the open plains west of the Mississippi.

darrvar,

Time will only tell if these new Deere blowers will last like the old ones. I just sold my old work horse John Deere 1032 and to be honest was missing her a little but after using my new 1330 today in the deep snow I'm starting to forget her name already.

PS. Major Props on the serious scooping 

jdpilot wrote:

I know that I prefer an open axle to a solid one for turning.  I'm new to two stagers but wonder if it might just be easier to disengage the drive and spin it manually.  I find the balance of my machine to be light so it wouldn't be tough.  (Correct me if I'm wrong, but easy steer has NO levers, right?) I think the easy steer might be more handy for making steering adjustments instead of 180's.

I'd like to know if the tension on the drive lever might add some pressure keeping the friction disk from slipping??? Otherwise you might be able to make an adjustment??  Ask your dealer.

I tried a large frame Simplicity (like the JD) and found it front heavy compared to the pro models.  Another way to look at this is that a lot of owners of the large home owner models also opt for a cab.  Every place I've read says to add a front weight bar if you put on a cab.  Perhaps you need to add the cab and save the money by not adding a weight bar.  I'd also look into a slight adjustment of the skid shoes to lessen the scraper bar from catching.  It's a fine line between the bar being too high and leaving too much on the ground vs. being too low and catching all the imperfections.  A little adjustment can go a long way to handling!

That's the advantage of most single stagers:  direct beating to the pavement but they too have a scraper bar that can catch on the joints, too.  But because they are so light and the rotor pulls it along, they go over them easier.

Just got a 1330SE and am wondering how to get a parts manual for it (not an operator manual).  The JD site has them for downloading, but the link to the 1330SE just gives the 1130 parts manual.  Any ideas?

Good observations and suggestions, JohnWI. Thanks.

Right, Easy Steer does not have levers. As you said, it is easier to disengage power and turn the 180s. Whether Easy Steer helps on other turns is hard for me to tell. If so, it's not dramatic. I'd prefer what Troy Bilt calls their "Power Steering," which has a lever on each handle: pull the right lever to disengage the right wheel and the left wheel continues driving to make a right hand turn for you, and vise versa. I haven't used it; but it sounds like a good approach. Overall, though, I think I prefer the JD over the Troy Bilt.

I think I will tweek the skid shoes for a better compromise between the nose digging in vs scraping snow as close to bare concrete as practicable. This particular snow storm started with sleet/freezing-rain/snow-showers before turning to all snow and lots of it. So there definitely was an ornery layer of ice under the snow.

Thanks again. 

Hi everyone. I had my Troy Bilt snowthrower quit after 18 years Thanksgiving. I had some trouble deciding on a suitable replacement and finally just made the decision to buy the 1330. So far I have no complaints on it's performance it really is a beautiful machine. The easy steer was a must as you might agree the solid axle is some work to maneuver. I noticed no traction problems at all. Turning is a breeze and this is one mighty machine. I like the electric chute although my gloves sometimes get caught between the switch and the handlebars. I really have found no other problems so far. We had two solid weeks of nuisance lake effect snow right after she was delivered but I only worked maybe two heavy downfalls. All work was done early before work so I have not had any fun weekend snowfalls to really get used to the machine. I love the power, quality, electric chute and the easy steer features. It's a big and heavy machine and a little hard to move in the garage but I'm getting old I guess. The front stays down on the driveway and the auger makes dust out of ice chunks and hardened packed snow. Of course there is the beautiful green Deere look too. I am surprised they left off a simple voltage regulator to prevent the lights dimming as mentioned previously. It's the only quirk I've noticed. I like this machine so much I'm considering a Deere rider mower for next spring. Ron

Thought I'd throw in my 2 cents as this site was a big help in deciding on which new blower to purchase. I picked up the 1330SE to replace my 11 year old MTD 8-26. So far, I'm pleased with the new unit. As mentioned before, the heavy front end weight does help in holding the machine down which is a plus but can make it a little harder to control on rough concrete. As far as performance, it considerably cut down plowing time compared to the old MTD. The heated grips worked better than I thought, didn't find myself holding my hands in front of the muffler very often. I (like others) was kind of skeptical about the electric chute motors, but once you have them you'll never never go back to the old manual system. If they ever go out, I'll simply replace them, (nothing lasts forever.) These things are great time savers as you can make adjustments without stopping. One thing worth mentioning, 6th gear on the JD seems to be noticably slower than my old MTD, but I was still able to clear my 4500 square feet in record time.

Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and would recommend this unit. There's a few things shown in the pictures I'm not to crazy about but I guess they just don't make em like they used to.

Under the dash: Misssing plastic conduit, wires rubbing against sheet metal edges.....Although I shouldn't have to, it's an easy fix.

Gas valve: Now I ask, sinse when is "off" in the vertical position? That will take some getting used to.

Just a shot of the drive system.

Plastic cover removed from motor. No clip on the gear, the cover is what keeps it in place.

Plastic tensioning wheels, the MTD had steel and two drive belts on the auger.