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

I decided to go with Ariens 22" (need something compact) --- now I am confused by the two different engines ---

920012 - LCT 208cc (Never heard of)
920013 - Subaru 169cc (No headlight included)

 Any info to make this decision less painful would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks - Kelly

Go with the Subaru, the LCT engine is a very cheap Chinese engine. I read about many having fuel and oil leaks. I love Subaru engine engines. I have a Snap-on air compressor with one on in it. It has electric start and a cord. It runs very quiet and smooth. I haven't had not even a hent of trouble with it. I'm going to get one for my Snow blower if my  Techumseh ever dies.

Thanks guys for your advice! My snow shovel doesn't have a headlight so that shouldn't  be the deciding factor --- Any ideas on how to transport -- using a 1.25 hitch on a Ford Explorer -- I would like to be able to use my new snow blower at my mother in laws.

Thanks again - Kelly

I have put some snowblowers in the back of my first generation CRV.  At the time none of them had snow on them though, and it wasn't a regular thing.

They just barely fit.  You have to put the handles in first and make sure the levers go down.

Not sure on the height difference of an explorer or of the new snowblowers.

You would probably be better off with some trailer arrangement with ramps.

bus708 wrote:

This is unfounded stereotyping. You may be referring to Chinese clone engines in general, in which case this may be true (Toro has a Loncin under recall). Some folks think there is one manufacturer in China churning out all these different brands (Greyhound, Loncin, Ducar, Lifan, LCT). This is certainly not the case. There are hundreds of manufacturers of "clone" style engines. LCT is the "Cadillac" of these types of engines and the warranty rate is extremely low.

While both of these engines would qualify as "industrial" grade (re: not consumer grade) from a duty cycle standpoint, the Subaru is still the better engine. The LCT will be more powerful however. The power density of this engine is 5%-20% higher than the equivalent Briggs and other "clone" style engines respectively. A Subaru SX21 will outpower the LCT, but not the SX17.

If you want a piece of mind for reliability, get the Subaru. It is the epitomy of reliability.

If the headlight and a little extra power sound nice, get the LCT/Ariens engine. It will be very reliable as well when compared to Briggs, Tecumseh, etc., but the Subaru is the gold standard.

PK

The Subaru is an SX17 -- as long as it performs and is reliable -- I'm leaning towards that one.

Its very confusing when you don't know a thing about engines.

Thanks - Kelly

I thought I knew alot about engines (I was going to build my own flow bench a few years back) and find this very confusing. It nearly seems like HVAC where the distribution is fragmented and the manufacturers benefit by keeping the consumers in the dark.

The engine on my CubCadet 930 is a 357cc made by Zongshen. Add that one to the list. Also, I dare you to find good specs for this motor. I had to hunt a lot just to figure out it was made by Zongshen.
I like it though. It thumps at idle.