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

I was always told you get what you pay for....I see a lot of people asking about buying snowblowers. A typical snowblower will last 15-20-25 years...depending on how well it is taken care of. People will ask about saving $300-$400 dollars and want to get the "less" expensiver models.

If you think about being out in your driveway with the END OF DRIVEWAY pile and your snowblower won't go through it.....you will certainly be kicking your self in the rear for not spending the extra $300 dolllars. It is people like this that will go and spend $50-$100 for drinks or going out for 1 night but a long term decision such as a snowblower they "cheap out".

Personally I went with the Ariens PRO 26, but other manufacturers have high end series also. Myself, I work in quality assurance in a machine shop. We really need to support domestic manufacturing.

So in the end, don't cut yourself short on your purchase, there is nobody on here that is going to retire early on the $$ differential between the "budget" models and "high end" models. Get the best that you can afford, and you won't be out in the cold kicking yourself saying ..."if only I would have spent the extra money".

Just my advice.

PROUD OWNER OF AN ARIENS 926037 PRO

best deal I found at    http://www.mchenrypowerinc.com/

First off Congratulations with your purchase. I'm an old Ariens fan too. I have a 924108- going on 12-13 years old. It was my first snow blower. I got caught with out one,one year and had to get one. All my neighbors ask me why i bought that blower for it  is fairly big. The next 2-3 winters were not  that bad. But we made up for it the next. We got 32" in 2 days. I just loved  the look they gave me then  I paid $800. 00 for it 12 years ago. I'm very impressed with its performance. Never let me down.
   As you said some folks buy something very small and cheap with a cheap Japan engine and think they bought something. The same folks will buy a Ford Focus. and be proud, then drive it cross country. Or better yet  take a Toyota Prius up in the mountains a few times and see if you get there.  If you don't have at least 7 hp in your blower you might as well go electric single stage. I rather be ready to take on a blizzard and not have one , than have one and not be ready.

bus708 wrote:

How long have you been off this planet. The Japanese make THE BEST small engine in the world and if you have not driven a Ford lately maybe you should because they make great vehicles.

That is what is wrong with United States. Everyone wants to buy overseas stuff and make them RICH. That is why our economy is in so much trouble. Im not saying Ford is crap. I love ford. All i'm saying is it is better ti go long distances with a bigger car (snow machine) than a small one.

Any thoughts about buying an Ariens with the B&S winter engine. Looks as if Ariens has changed mfg. from Tecumseh to Briggs. I have a 5yr. old 926 Pro )926004-ST926DLE which I bought from recommendations here. However, from the get-go, I have only had problems with the engine starting. After the first year, and not that much snow, the starter would crank, but not engage. (My issue is that I went to Buffalo to get this model as Cleveland was out of them). Now, the engine will not start unless you starting fluid. After we do get it started, use it awhile, then shut if off, it will not start again without priming and some choke. Does anyone have any ideas as it seems to me that it must be the carburetor. The spark is decent, and I installed a new Champion RN4C plug. I am thinking of draining all the gas, then using premium. thanks, Gary

garysherck wrote:

Gary, you have a carb issue.Theres been lots of talk of late here on the forum. I'm not going into lengthy explanations.Do some research here and you will find the answers.

garysherck wrote:
Sounds like you may have let the gas sit in the tank and it gummed up the carb/fuel system. Get some Seafoam (available at Wally World or auto stores) and add about 6 oz. to a gallon of fresh gasoline, 89 octane or higher. Get the engine running and let it run for a while. You will see a lot of smoke but that's OK as the Seafoam is cleaning & degumming the carb and fuel system as well as removing carbon. It will even out after a bit and you should notice a big improvement in how the engine starts,  runs and performs. You should add Seafoam or Stabile to all your fresh fuel when you fill the container as the fuel these days does not last very long. About 2 oz. of Seafoam to every gallon of gas keeps the fuel fresh for 6 months or more.

www.ariens.com

bus708 wrote:

Quite honestly, it is not the intent of any American to quantify an offhore puchase but the price differential vs the quality is out of sync.

Orginized labor costs, EPA regs, and CEO paychecks are without a doubt driving American manufacturing into the mud.

Once upon a time the cliche' used to be "This piece of  ##$&%F was made in Japan" only today its America.

Recently the GM CEO was complaining that Uncle Sam would not let him raise his pay... Only 9Mil this year and that doesn't even make a dent on the income of the chairs whom you amazingly don't hear a peep out of. If they would put 1/4 of their salaries back into product development like they should be doing you would see how fast American business and our economy will begin to revive.

When the number 2 line item on every business plan in America is to outsource everything you can as soon as you can how can you expect growth?

Our US economy is predominantly supported by a manufacturing and agricultural base and until this country changes its business ethic and gets off the greed machine it is going to stay in the mud.

Believe me, no American  would mind paying a little more for an onshore product especially if they knew it would keep Americans working, but the core reason that American products are not selling has very little to do with quality and all to do with greed.

Starwarrior

bus708 wrote:
So, you frown upon consumers buying offshore products?

Is it OK by you for the domestic manufacturers to move jobs offshore?   OK for them to have their components and/or final products built in China?   Then we as consumers are to continue buying their brand simply because it has a domestic name?  Domestic manufacturers send our jobs away and we should keep giving them our business?    Sounds fair to me......NOT.

By the way, your comments about Japanese engines being crap is, well, incomprehensible.   You haven't been off the planet.  You left the galaxy!