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?

Go to Consumer Reports, but DO NOT read their Ratings or Recommendations, go to their Forums under 'Lawn & Garden', find the snow blower advice, it explains everything you should know.

Honda Snowblowers work better than all the rest.  they cost a lot more, but make it for it in ability, and freedom from repairs.  All other makes use a 'friction wheel' drive system that needs regular maintenance you will need the repair shop to do.  Save yourself the aggravation, get a Honda Snowblower.   Mine is a HS 928 TAS  (9 HP -28" clearing width, Track Drive, Hydrostatic Transmission, Electric Start ) No Friction Wheel rubber to wear out, No "Drive Plate" to roughen up when it is worn smooth, No Drive Belt. I had an Ariens and a Sears craftsman (MTD), glad to be rid of both. 

Based on the particluar area you need to cover I would recommend the 29" Pro Ariens (926) as the best bullt machine on the current market.

A Pro model Ariens is the only thing you will see in every school and local community  building north of the Pecos.

Hey lets face it , when it comes to the New Jersey school district, taxpayer money has always been a spare no expense mindset and they only choose Ariens.

Just check weight differential of compatable manufacturers and you will see that Ariens Pro machines average about 100 lbs heavier.

You pay for what you get here their is no doubt about it. A little more money  but you can bank on the fact that you will not have to invest in another machine for the next 20 years.

Starwarrior

I'm also looking to purchase a snowblower for use in Central New Jersey.

My driveway is about 500 ft. long with a parking area for (4) cars in front of my garage. I have decided to find the best price on an Arien's Snowblower (new). I found this through Home Depot, Ariens Deluxe 2-Stage, 28 in. Gas Snow Blower, Model # 921022 which lists for $999.

Here's my plan of attack. I went to my local post office and requested a Change of Address Packet. In that packet is a Lowe's 10% off coupon, which I'm told Home Depot will honor. If not, I have a backup plan. I went to the Home Depot website and went to Services..................Moving............and signed up that I was moving. Home Depot also gave me a 10% off coupon.

The $999 comes down to $899.10 excluding 7% state sales tax. I have a small SUV and a trailer. I plan to go to the closest Home Depot in Delaware, which is about an hour and a half drive. I'll save $62.93 in tax. To me it's worth the trip.

I'll call the Delaware Home Depot to be sure that they have a snowblower on hold for me. I'll take a road trip to save. Interested in going on a road trip? Maybe planning for this coming Sat or Sunday?

FYI, a compact 22 is $699 for model 920013, less 10% = $629.10, no tax if you want to split the gas to Delaware from Flemington. I could help you load the compact 22 in your trunk or truck at my place.

Any thoughts?

Johnny

l would go with if possiable at least 8-10 hp 10 perffered. look for machines with 300cc and bigger.

James, we're neighbors, I'm in Passaic County. 

FYi, last year I bought a 24" Troy Built Storm 2410 with a 179cc ~6 HP blower from Lowes and returned it after the late season big storm we got.  Just didn't have enough power.

A few weeks ago I just bought a 24" Airens Platinum that I'm optimistic will handle any/all storms  we will get based on the info I've gotten here from snowmann and others.

I'm not the expert here but I've done the side by side comparison of Airens 24" models....compact, Deluxe and Platinum and I can tell you the compact model is a lightweight bare bones unit.  You might want to think about stepping up to a 24" deluxe.

Shoot snowmann a PM for advice.

New_Yorker wrote:
I strongly disagree. Friction wheel maintenance/replacement is a very simple job requiring only basic hand tools. No engineering degree required. The rubber part (on those that I am familiar with) is less than $10 and easily obtained and swapped out every 4-10 years. I've cleaned drive plates, but never roughened one up. That seems like a good way to shorten the life of the wheel.  For many, the hour of maintenance to replace a friction wheel more than makes up for the >50% price increase for a hydrostatic.

Also, while I'll never say Honda does not make a reliable machine, no present day machine has freedom from repairs - no matter who made it.

I've been using disk driven snow throwers for decades in demanding Canadian winter conditions.   Never had a problem with disks.   Auger drive belts usually  last around five seasons and wheel drive belts last forever.   I got an average of ten years of hard use out of moderate quality machines (Craftsman) and their weak point was chassis deterioration due to metal fatigue, cracked welds and parts falling off.   Propulsion and snow throwing components never failed and I have never even had to add gear lube to the auger drive gear case.   For the money,  even moderate quality units are a good buy and will last reasonably well if even modestly maintained. 

I think Honda is a great product.  However, they are NOT a great value.  I was shopping for  a new machine a few years ago.  I looked at all of the domestic brands and the Honda.  I bought a 928 Simplicity for half the price of a  Honda HS624.  I could buy a garage full of Honda machines if I wanted and I don't mind spending money.  However, I do have a problem paying more money than what I feel the product is worth.  Honda machines fall into that category.   Had the Honda been around $500.00 more than the Simplicity, I probably would have bought one.  However, being a full $1500.00 more than what I paid for the Simplicity, on a machine not nearly as big or powerful,  I found that to be overtly excessive.  Insulting actually.

Honda advocates will vehemently support their decision for spending the big bucks for whatever reasons.   To me, I really don't care what technical advantages Hondas have.   What matters is how much snow I can move in the least amount of time, with the least amount of effort and fuss and to put it where I want it.  The Simplicity does all of that with aplomb.   For what I paid, I doubt there was a better product out there at the time.  I got an 11 h.p. engine, on a chassis that's built like a tank, excellent mechanical controls, easy steer and single handed operation capability.  Everything on the Simplicity is very robust.  Massive cast iron gear case, wide diameter impeller and auger shafts, close clearance impeller and all metal constructions.  This is a top quality domestic machine and I got if for $1500.00 CDN out the door.  

I bought the Simplicity in the fall of 2007.  A guy across the street from me bought a brand new Honda 624 at the same time.   His driveway is half the sized of mine and it takes him twice as long to clear his.  For it's size, the 624 moves snow impressively.  However, it's NOT in the same class as the Simplicity for sheer volume of snow moved in a given period of time.  Nor can it throw it as far.  From what I see, the operator has difficulty maneuvering the machine due to the track drive.  Looks to me like he's struggling with it quite a bit and it is slow.   

Other than the bragging rights of being able to say "I own a Honda.", there is no clear advantage to me to own one.  Especially for more than twice the price.              

Thanks guys, but my wife spoke to my neighbor and he has a toro 1 stage and he said he's really happy with it.  I've been shoveling this thing for the last 5 years, so even if it gets a little bogged down, I can help it out.  For me (at this point) the extra $1000 bux to get a premium 2 stage vs a power clear doesn't seem worth it to me.  Guess I won't know until after a season or two.  Do you think the maintenance costs would go down with a 1 stage.  My friend said she needed to bring her 2 stage in and it cost a few hundred bux to service it.

The single stage Toro and the operator will be getting quite a workout for 125' drive.  It's doable, just takes longer.

Maintenance costs for the Toro single stage isn't that bad, I'm assuming you're looking into the 221Q or the 421Q.  That should be around $80 in rubber parts and scraper blade every two years, depending on use.   Takes about half an hour or less to put on and adjusting the belt tension.  So that's about $40 a year.  Run the gas out of the engine end of season before storing and that's basically it.  Wash it and wipe it down if you're particular.

I have a 12 year old Honda HS621 and I just did an overhaul on a machine that had virtually no maintenance on it for 8 years.  It was used with moderate hours but not abused.  Total costs was $200 in parts plus a paint job ($30 paint supplies) and it looks and works brand new.  So that's around $30 per year.  This is the result of all that hard work.  :)

Honda HS621 Refresh

My 2 stage snowblower is almost new and has very little hours on it.  It comes out to work when there's a big snowfall or punch a hole through the EOD pile.  The only maintenance so far is an oil change, wash, and wax.  It's a more complicated machine so I have to be diligent  to inspect everything over every season so small problems don't brew and spawn to become big problems.  Bigger and more complicated machines will inherently costs more to maintain, just the nature of the beast.

However, your purchase decision should be based on matching the machine to the job.  If you overtax the small machine, it will wear out faster and costs more to operate.

I live in Wisconsin, we get a boat load of snow. I would recommend an Ariens Pro series. Like the others have said, this is a long term purchase.

Just remember, you will be using it for the next 15-20 years. I know I have purchased items and years down the road, a said to myself, "why didn't I spend the $400 more and get the best".

Think about your situation and get a good value machine but certainly one that will perform for a long time. Get an Ariens model  #926037

Just my 2 cents...........

Bill