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

which of these 3 is the most powerful and reliable?

Simplicity I1224E @ $1099, Ariens ST24E Deluxe @ $996, Ariens ST24DLE Platinum @ $1,290,  Husqvarna 11524E @ $1,300 or Husqvarna 924SB @ $850

Any other brands, models that are better and why?

Also which engine do I want....Briggs, Subaru or LCT?

I did a lot of research this year and I went with the Simplicity with Ariens and Toro close behind. Part of my decision was the selling dealer would better serve my for years to come.

to close this thread, after checking out each of the blowers above, I just purchased an Ariens Platinum 24" blower model # 921017 from a local equipment dealer.  Paid $1,299+ tax

Initial comments are that the unit appears to be assembled and prepped well.  All the critical fasteners and components have a chaulk mark next to/on them.  All systems/features appear to be functioning correctly and I'm happy to report that after a dozen starts and stops and 20 minutes run time the Briggs 1150 249cc Polar Force engine has yet to backfire.

Thanks to those that replied as well snowmann and slinger to my PM.

FWIW, just to point out that all the white crayon "X" marks probably came from the Ariens factory.  My factory sealed box contained a unit covered with them.  It made sure that I waxed the machine everywhere as I rubbed them out.  Nice to see this type of diligence and quality control.

They were all over mine too.  Don't they know how to build them without marking them all up?  In my opinion they (Ariens) should be the ones who cleaned them off after they served their purpose.

slinger wrote:

This is most likely intentional and serves as an indication to the consumer that a quality check was performed on the machine prior to leaving the factory. Just my opinion....

I agree with Slinger, for that kind of money, those marks shouldn't be there (forcing the customer to clean it up). Any monkey can slap a chalkmark on the machine. If they want to reassure customers they should include a quality control checklist with the machine, signed by the inspector and then an assembly checklist signed by the dealer.
Cheers

At the factory I work for, line workers are required to mark with a colored marker each fastener and hydraulic fitting to indicate they torqued it with the proper torque wrench.  Each shift gets its own color.  I think this is a pretty standard quality control procedure and is likely what it means on the Ariens machines.

bdresch wrote:

I think his point was that the dealer should clean it up before the machine gets sold to the consumer. I agree, no excuse for leaving manufacturing marks on when the dealer sells it. Just clean them off.

Agreed, if a dealer doesn't take the time to clean up the a new machine to make it spiffy for the buyer, you'd have to guess what else did they short changed?  Extra details goes a long way. 

Quality is expected when you buy a high dollar snowblower.  I don't need factory marks to reaffirm that expectation. 

If leaving the factory inspection marks on the machine is what Ariens' quality control strategy has been all these years to earn them their good reputation, then far be it from me to criticize them for boxing the units that way. If I buy a cash and carry box from a big-box dealer such as Home Depot and enjoy the associated savings, I have no problem with removing the marks myself.

If I purchased the unit from a full service dealer, I would expect them to have removed these marks along with all their other added fine-tuning and assembly services to justify the premium price.  You get what you pay for, or should.

I bought as much machine as I was comfortable paying for and then provided as much of my own labour to save or compensate on that aspect of the purchase.  Including pushing it home myself on the borrowed HD cart. (Too lazy to go home and hook up the trailer, too much stuff to move).