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

I am looking at purchasing my first snow blower.  My local shop carries Toro's and Ariens.  I live in northern NJ (morris county) and we had a lot of wet heavy/icy snow last year, so the wife has finally given in to the purchase. 

Our driveway is about 125' long and most of it is a about a single car lane, but it opens up to about 3 wide at the bottom.  Also my neighbor's drive way is adjacent to it and its about two cars lanes wide in front of their house and one car wide between the two houses.  So I'd have to throw the snow straight ahead when I am in the section between the two houses.

I'm currenty thinking of purchasing the Arien's 920013 (Compact 22).  Do you think a 6 HP engine will cut it, or should I be looking at a 7 HP?

Another perspective: I don't experience the same kind of intense winters that some of you do...so I guess that makes me an amateur by comparison. I'm in central New Jersey, and our winters over the last 20 years have been anywhere from slushy / sloppy to snowfalls in the range of 12 to 14 inches, with drifts in the range of a couple of feet. Not alpine, but serious enough when it's bad to appreciate the difference between good and less-than-stellar snow blowers.

When I first bought my house close to 20 years ago, I also looked around for a snowblower, and really hadn't done much homework. I wound up buying a Craftsmen without really knowing what I was doing. Can't tell you the model number or HP, but at the time it "looked" good to me: giant front opening, nice controls and features - and it was about $650 at the time. Having no clue, I thought I was getting a bargain. After getting it home, it seemed like a good luck charm, in that we barely got any snow for the next couple of years. Finally, third year in, we got some serious snow. I filled the tank with fresh gas, checked the oil and fired it up. I was stunned at how poorly it handled the snow, especially if it was the least bit slushy (result of the road / driveway being a bit too warm when the snow hit). I was lucky if it shot the snow 10 feet, and if I only had to restart the thing 3 or 4 times before finishing the job. I had Sears check it out, service / clean it, and I was told it should run like new. The following winter I ran into the exact same experience, and finally gave up on the machine. I was ready to park it at the curb for the trashmen, but actually wound up selling it at a yard sale (full disclosure - but the buyer was convinced he could tune it up himself).

After a very frustrating few years with a mediocre machine, I started checking out reviews and local stores. Hondas were appealing, but seemed beyond my budget - until I stepped into a power equipment shop that was selling off the remains of their inventory and had an HS928TAS for sale in the mid-teens (don't recall the exact price). That was more than I had planned to spend at the time, but a significant discount off list, and I convinced myself (and my wife) that it would be worth the cost. Looking at current prices for the HS928TAS, I think I got a great price for mine.

Anyway -- snows have been more serious in the 10 or 11 years that I've been using the HS928. We had one winter with a couple of back to back storms and drifting that left parts of my 100 ft driveway covered in close to 2 ft of snow. I live on a cul-de-sac, and when the township sends a plow through, a couple of quick drives around the circle and I'm left with a 2 ft or higher wall of compressed snow at the bottom of the driveway, typically at least 2 feet thick at the base. This winter has been intense, with several snows already, with accumulations over a foot each time. Last week's storm dropped 14 inches on top of a few from just a few days earlier. So my HS928 has had to earn its keep.

The Honda has been, in a word, spectacular. I'm not a fanboy -- just appreciate a good piece of equipment when I get to use one, and I have no doubt there are other good ones out there. Just relating my experience with the HS928TAS. The only "maintenance" that I've had to do on this is maintain the oil, add stabilizer to the gas when it's not winter, and I've replaced the spark plug twice -- all in more than 10 years of use.

First start of the season may take a few seconds with the electric starter (luxury item!), but I find that for the rest of the season, only a single pull of the hand-starter is needed to crank it up. I find that, even when I've got 14 inches base, 2 ft or greater drifts, the snow plow mound at the foot of the 100 ft driveway -- I can clear the driveway completely, so quickly, that I've gotten into the habit of also clearing my next door neighbor's driveway as well. He's about my age, but has a chronic illness that prevents him from taking on tasks like this, and it's so easy for me to do (his driveway is also about 100 ft) that I can't see him having to hire a service to do this. I typically do both driveways, and both front walks (about 50 ft each). A couple of years, the snow plow did such a mediocre job that I wound up circling our cul de sac with the 928, cleaning up what the truck-driven snow plow left behind.

This year will be the first "repair" I've had to perform on the 928 in a decade. The blower shear-off bolt just gave way as I finished up after the last snow. I'll pop a new one in tomorrow, and should be on my way again after replacing this $8 part.

My first experience with the Craftsmen was so disappointing, and my experience with the Honda so positive, trouble-free and maintenance-free, that the Honda strikes me as a good deal. I know I got an unusually low price for it, so that helps -- but this machine still looks and runs like new, and I expect it to still be using it in another 5 to 10 years, although I might wind up having to replace some parts at some point. In the end, it's been a great deal for me.

- Jon

JohnWI said:  "Here's a possibly useful tip:  This machine is so evenly balanced it will "wheelie" as soon as it's dropped into gear.  So the technique I'm trying to remember is if I stop, before resuming the forward momentum, I need to pull it back 6" or so.  This way, after it "wheelies" upon engagement, it will return the scaper down to full contact and won't miss any snow."


I'm wondering if Ariens machines have varying balancing between the Compact, Deluxe, Platinum, and Pro series.  Why would they make Pro models that are balanced so much?  You'd think Ariens would not allow their Pro machines to have such a problem.

borat wrote:
Yeah, those Hondas are really nice, but they do indeed gouge a guy.

About the Yamaha:  Wow!  What a machine!  Even more pricey than Honda.  I think I'd put it in a museum just to admire it.  Where does a person buy such a blower?  Or service it?  Not in my neck of the woods.

If you live near NE Washington then you can across the boarder (near HWY 97) and buy a Yamaha (maybe next year) near Kelowna BC.  Kelowna is a nice ski resort town (Big White).

coasteray wrote:

You can only buy the $4,000 Yamaha in Canada, although I might be able to buy them through the Company I work for. I haven't tried. I've bought damn near everything, it would be a good challenge.  sadly we will never need one here.

Although probably not as satisfying as the time I had to get a specific Mil-Spec (remember mil-spec) Paint that was custom made 20 or so years prior and the only guy who could make it was retired. I did get it made and he came out of retirement just to make it.  Those were good times!