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

I did a search and found a few references to this machine but no answers.  Any one have one of these?  15.5 snow max engine, heated hand grips, 30" wide.  I can't find a listing for auger diameter or impeller diameter.  I called John Deere and the guy that was suppose to be the snow thrower expert didn't know either. 

What is the Easy Steer drive system?  The literature says: 

Easy Steer® drive system giving continuous power to both wheels and auto speed adjustment

Is it similar to the Ariens auto differential? 

I've heard that the units are built by B&S which translates to Simplicity.  They do have cast iron gear cases like the Simplicity.  The chute control is different than the simplicity and so is the turning method so they are not exactly the same.  I'm trying to compare the Simplicity L1530E to the JD 1130SE.  Any help would be appreciated.

Rick

aa335 is right. The Toro is an S-200. I recently found that it works good for clearing the snow off of the deck. I like to keep the deck clear so I can still grill with my Weber. My snow shovels are metal and the deck is stained really dark so I don't want to scrape it, but the rubber "blades" on the Toro don't mark up the wood at all. I'm looking forward to some real snow this winter. So far, we only have around 4" on the ground. Before too long, I'll be able to take the 1130 on the pond out back to clear an ice-skating rink for the local kids.

Catt wrote:  
Didn't you get a Toro Powerclear 180?  How's it working out for you?

aa335,

I did get the Toro Powerclear 180 which I use for very light snow falls.  It’s worked very well, but earlier this season we had a very heavy wet snow.  The Toro was pretty useless in that situation.  More recently we had fluffy snow and it worked like a champ through that. 

Swoods, Your pictures have made the thread unreadable. Can you go edit your post and put carrige returns (enters) after your pictures? That will make posts line up to be readable. Thanks - trouts2

OK, I fixed the images I had posted, but I cannot edit the ones the are from a reply from the user, Snowmachine. Sorry, I didn't even know there was a problem, they line up fine on Google Chrome. I went back to Internet Explorer and saw what you meant.

Too bad.  There's a lot of good stuff in this post.

Catt: What was the material you used and how is it holding up?  Nice job on the tach.

pvrp wrote:

The Snow Blower of the year,   The Craftsman  52993, built by Husqvarna , no friction drive to worry about, it has hydrostatic drive.

Santaclause wrote:

I had a  Murray/Noma built Craftsman  12.5 hp Tecumseh, 33 inch  for for  9 years, I had the same problem with the friction disc getting contaminated, but the problem was that the Tecumseh was leaking or blowing out oil onto the friction disc.  I saw no way to help the Tecumseh ,but  I put an extension on the breather that went down to the bottom of the frame, This seemed to help some , but the engine was still putting oil on the disc. I kept cleaning it with a brake cleaner , It would start slipping first  in the lower gears as this puts the clutch wheel  near the center of the friction disc where there is less friction surface . As  I  had to remove the bottom cover so often, I put wing nuts on the fasteners to save time. As long as I kept the friction disc dry , I had no problems..

This is how I finally solved my problem,and I would recommend this solution to all:

  I  got  a  Craftsman 52993 , built by Husqvarna,   27 inch,  305 Briggs, 14.5 torque, heated grips, power steering, and HYDROSTATIC Drive,  no more friction disc.

Royce,

   Could you go into more detail about the hydro?  You seem to be a sharp guy and know a lot about them versus friction disks.

   No need to make one, although that is a good idea.  Husqvarna has a hydrostatic model and the  Husqvarna built, Craftsman models 52993 and 52070 are also hydrostatic,  No more friction disc problems!!