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

I live in central Ohio and don't have a real Ariens dealer anywhere near me.  We don't get a ton of snow but on occasion we get hit pretty good.  My current single stage kind of gets me by but I have had to repair it already after only 3 yrs.  I have a 3 car wide driveway  (but not really long) so I need to be able to throw snow a good distance and also be able to handle the frozen chunky stuff at the EOD. I make a lot of turns.  I'm considering 2 machines: 920015 ($899) on the low end or 921020 ($1249) as a higher end option. My questions are:  How convenient/reliable  is the new quick-turn chute & deflector vs the 2.5x crank?  Is it a must-have? Are the materials in the deluxe better grade (steel thickness,etc.) than the compact series?  I'm not sure if the 249cc Briggs motor is made in the US or China.  Does this thing have enough power for the EOD?  I'm kind of leaning toward the Subaru 287cc motor on the Deluxe series unit, even though I'm wondering if a 30" unit might be a little large for my needs.  To me it seems like you're getting a Honda equivalent engine for a great deal.  But perhaps I'm putting too much stock in the whole Subaru thing and overbuying on the machine.   Given these questions and criteria, which model would be the best choice for the money?  

Snowmann, I realize that on the Compact series I lose the ATC, but I was under the impression that the 920015 DID come with a Quick-Turn Chute and remote Deflector.  Not true?   Hopefully the Ariens mechanism is more robust than some of the other joystick chutes that have reported problems.  If I elect to go that way (920015) to save a few $$$  would the 26" width and 249cc Briggs still do well on the EOD?

Maybe you meant a Quick Stick?  What is the difference? 

slinger wrote:

The "Quick Turn" feature on the Platinums and Pros is a single lever with ~80 degrees or so of travel that will turn the chute 200 degrees. It has a feature whereas the chute automatically locks and unlocks when the control is used. It is very fast, but it requires reasonably accurate adjustment to work correctly (expertise that you might not get during setup at a mass retailer). It's simple to adjust (detailed in the owners manual).

The Deluxe,Compact, and Sno-Tek models use a "2.5X Quick Turn" which is a crank mechanism that turns the chute 200 degrees (205 degrees on Compacts) with only 2.5 Turns of a crank. The "Ice Drill" variant of this is the same only that the handle is inline with the crank instead of at the end (like a manual ice drill). The chute is held in place during operation by friction materials under compression in the pivot axis. As this feature is much simpler in design, it has the potential to be less problematic than more complex systems (requires little or no adjustment, fewer moving parts).

The 26" Compact model with the 249cc Briggs has power to spare for any condition and will be more than enough for the EOD. This same engine is used on the larger 14" impeller (Deluxe) models whereas the power consumption and capacity can be much higher. That said, it's has plenty of reserve power for this model. The 26" Compact also does have a remote cap deflector.

PK

Last year I initially bought the Deluxe 24 and later exchanged it for the Platinum version.  The biggest benefit to me and the reason I upgraded was that the traction control made the Platinum a helluva lot easier to turn-- you really have to horse the Deluxe around when it's time to change direction. That gets old very quickly!

The bigger Deluxe models have triggers that remotely release locking pins on the axle, which makes them easier to turn than the Deluxe 24.  I suppose Ariens thought the 24" model was light enough to simply push and twist around to do a 180, but I found it to be a real pain in the a$$.

The Platinum 24 also has a headlight, which comes in handy at my EOD where the driveway illumination peters out (no streetlights here in Hollis, NH!).  The upgraded controls for changing chute direction a half-second faster and for remotely controlling the deflector did not seem to be major advantages, and I could certainly happily live without them.  Similarly, the handwarmers are a nice touch, but not a necessity.  If I had to choose, I guess I'd pick the handwarmers over the chute control upgrade.

By the way, I found the Briggs engine to be great-- it starts very easily (no need for the electric assist, but it's there if you need it) and ran smoothly and powerfully, which was a pleasant surprise.  I am very happy with the Ariens quality, especially at its price-point compared to Toro and Honda.  It's a well balanced, solidly built machine.

NOTE:  I just went to Ariens' website and this year they no longer are producing the Deluxe 24--  only the Deluxe 28 and 30.  If you want a 24" model, your choices are the Compact 24 or the Platinum 24. To my mind this makes sense-- the Compact with its smaller engine would obviously be easier to turn around than the old Deluxe 24, and the Platinum 24 has a bigger engine plus all the bells and whistles.  I'd say that if you typically do not get more than two storms a season that exceed 8 or 10 inches, go for the Compact.  If you get a lot more snow than that at a time, go for the Platinum.

Thanks Snowmann & amazer for your input.  Initially I was considering the Compact 26" because I thought that it had remote chute and deflector controls, but Snowmann says this model still uses a crank.  Now I have it narrowed down to 2 or 3 machines: The Platinum 24", the Deluxe 30" w/Subaru and I am also interested in the John Deere 1330se (nice looking machine- about as much as a 30" platinum).  All of these would be more than enough machine for my needs.  I must admit like some others I seem to be very impressed by the Subaru engine and wish it were available in other configurations of machines.  I know I shouldn't be worried about the Chinese built Briggs 249cc motor because I have heard that the Ariens Polar Force motors are beefed-up somehow beyond the 249cc motors that other manufacturers are getting.  With Subaru I feel like I'm getting Honda-like quality at a helluva deal!   The Platinum 24 is probably the right size for me however, if I get a 30" unit, I can clear the entire circle in the court where I live, thereby eliminating the EOD mess for all 6 residents on the court.  I could be a hero!  (And maybe they would send over some fresh baked cookies or pies to show their appreciation!)

I would just add that it's easy to underestimate how fast you can do a driveway with one of these things.  For example, our driveway is about 70 feet long, plus in the area adjacent to our two-car garage there is a parking area about 30x30 feet.

I got the Platinum 24 instead of a larger machine because I need to park it in front of my car and there's not a lot of extra room there.  I figured it would take me a bit longer to do the driveway, but I just didn't want to try a squeeze a wider machine in that tight a space.

Well, it turned out that even with a 9 inch storm (about the biggest we got here last year), it took only 30 minutes to clean the entire driveway.  I was surprised at how quickly the 24" unit made quick work of the snow, throwing it across the drive like a cannon.  The 249cc B&S engine worked great, as I wrote above.  I would say that unless perhaps you were using the machine commercially, going for a more expensive Subie engine would be a waste of $$$.

It strikes me that going for a bigger unit or pricier engine for a relatively modest sized driveway is akin to buying Hummer because you need to negotiate a gravel driveway.

amazer you are correct...I'm sure the 30"er is more than I need but the Deluxe 30 with the Subaru is actually less $$$ than the 24" Platinum.  I guess you are saying that the remote chute and Auto traction are worth more than the Subaru engine and the wider machine? 

If you are paying more than $1299 for the 24 platinum, you are paying too much. Home depot has it for 1299 with free shipping. They shipped mine to the local Ariens dealer for setup. I bought a set if slides and shear pins and everyone was happy.

The ariens deluxe 30" with the subaru engine is on snowblowersdirect for $1249 with free shipping and no tax for for all US buyers with the exception of Illinois.
If I lived there I would be all over that, a local dealer wants $1750 with tax for the same machine here in Canada and the local home depot is even more expensive than that and the one they have has the b&s engine.

slinger wrote:
I didn't realize that the D30 w/ Subie was actually less than the Platinum 24.  That makes the decision an interesting one.  Personally, I'd go for the P24 because:

• I'm not convinced that the Subie engine is that much better than the B&S.  Perhaps it is, but I'm totally happy with the easy starting and power of the B&S
• The ATC makes the P24 very easy to turn-- you never have to stop the unit, press the trigger, turn it around and get it to re-engage every time you change direction
• The handwarmers are definitely nice on the Platinum series
• While the Platinum's quick chute reverser and remote deflector control are not a must-have, they are nice features.
• A 30" wide unit will go through snow quicker in general, but once you get to a storm more than 8 or 9 inches, you'll have to slow down the speed or you'll overstuff the chute.  Don't forget, the chute is the same whether you have a 24" or 34" model, and it can handle only so many cubic inches of snow a second.  Given the size of your drive, you probably won't save more than a few minutes using a 30".

Anyway, these are just my $.02.  I don't think you can make a real mistake with either unit, but I know you'd be happy with the Platinum 24.