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

drifter wrote:
Don't forget the Ariens 2232 :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BahOwtQrvuo

I can't do it with one finger.  Even with the transmission disengaged, it still require considerable force to push or pull on the handles.  You can get it turn easier by putting all your weight on the handlebars to lift the bucket off the ground.  Then just pirouette around the back end of the tracks, instead of the full length.

I guess you can pivot around the bucket, but that puts a lot of weight on the skids.  You would risk scratching your floor.  Never used this technique though.

I have a dolly if I want to move it around a lot.  I can get the snowblower on the dolly without using the engine and tracks to crawl up.  :)  It's easier than you think, but requires some creative work.  It's all leverage and technique.  If you muscle against a 250lb tracked snowblower, well, u get a good workout.

drifter wrote:

I  must be missing something? There are 3 positions that I'm aware of on these units high, middle and low. High is transport mode where the bucket is slightly off the ground, middle is where the scrapper bar makes contact with the ground and low is where the scrapper is really digging into the ground. I just went down to my garage and tried what you described but the best I could do was to get the bucket to contact the ground and kind of spin the whole machine using the bucket as a pivot point. Is this what the salesman did?

I think the salesman stepped on the pedal and locked the bucket up in transport mode, lift up on the handle bars. The bucket will drop slightly, the weight of the snowblower shift to the front of the tracks, then turn on just the small track contact patch.

Yep, that's it aa335. I don't think the bucket was touching the ground, and in retrospect, I'm quite sure it wasn't. I was just looking at the tracks, and only the portion of track under the drive-wheels was contacting the floor. From there, it was simply a matter of rotating the machine left or right. No heavy lifting at all.

For clarity's sake, I should also point out that the 1-finger method, was simply for rotating the machine. It had nothing to do with displacing the machine to another area..

drifter,

While we're on the topic of moving up and down the bucket in 3 different positions, I just remembered something about the HS928TCD that the bare bones 928TA does not have.  It is the hydraulic assist and lever to actuate the bucket up and down.  The US version, non - TCD, have the pedal instead of the lever.  While it does the job, I would prefer a lever because trying to step on that pedal while you're on ice covered ground puts you at risking of slipping. 

If the salesman hasn't already demonstrated this feature, it may be worthwhile to check it out to see whether it's worth the additional cost of the TCD models.

You're already seriously considering the Honda, a little more $ for the TCD may be better in the long run.

aa335 wrote:

aa335: Which position do find yourself using most often? I have not had the opportunity to use my new toy yet and am curious about the transport mode position. Seems like this allows the operator the choice of having the scrapper bar make contact with the pavment or having it slightly off the pavement.

I rarely use the scraper setting (bucket angled down, lots of weight).  It's too much strain on the snowblower.  If I do use it, I go very slow give the auger plenty of time to chew the ice up. 

I use the normal (middle) setting for clearing snow, and the transport setting (bucket up) at the end of the row for making tight 90 and 180 / u-turns.  I do use the pedals a lot to go from these two settings.   Hence, the a hydraulic lift assist and lever would be much more convenient over the manual lift and pedal.

I'm still so new to these machines that I didn't realize there were different methods for raising the augers. I'll check-out that hydraulic system when I go back.

On a side-note; I'm checking out the "used" market today, and I just missed an 11-32 for $2000. I don't know how old it was, but it looked new (newly repainted).

I was surprised to see that for the most part, 2 year old and less HS928's, are going for $3200. plus.  I'll keep looking, but that 1 year-old HS11-32 which the dealer is receiving, is starting to look attractive at $3500.

FrankMA wrote:

I had a 928TAS and believe me there is no way you can move it with one finger unless you are "Andre the Giant". Yes you can freewheel the tracks as has been stated but you are still moving 200+ lbs. on tracks. The lever to tilt the bucket is a cool feature and it actually has 3 positions way up like 2 inches high and then near the ground and then scraping the ground. That's how mine was setup anyway. Also a cool feature as the machine tends to stay put and not ride up.