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

I'm in the market for a new snowblower and was curious what is the best Ariens option for a compact snowblower? Is the Ariens Compact 24 with the Briggs & Stratton 205cc engine or the Ariens Deluxe 24 with the Subaru SX21 211cc engine the best choice.  The major differences I noticed are the Compact 24 has a light while the Deluxe 24 has 15in tires, 14in auger/impeller and xs aluminum  gear case.  My area isn't really that big and the price is very close on both units.  Any suggestions or comments?

starwarrior wrote:

Yep, great brochure, lots of info, here's the link:

http://www.ariens.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Ariens%202011%20Sno%20Spec%20Sheet.pdf

trouts2 is right, only 32 lb diff.

OOPs, I do stand corrected. I mixed up the Deluxe and the Platinum Models.

Even so, the weight differential is quite interesting.

Compact 26       181lbs

Deluxe 28           220lbs

Platinum 30       250lbs

Pro26                  282lbs

I have to admit the lighter machines are more manuverable and so much easier for the snow wusses out there however lighter machines will also have a tendancy to ride up a drift bank rather than work through it which makes for more work and is harder on the machine.

Also you may want to take note on something stated in a previous trouts2 message.

The owner hit something and continued to run it destroying the steel worm.  I've got a stash of brass gears but with a distroyed worm the only option was get a new gearbox.  Ariens does not supply parts for the aluminum gearbox anymore.  They only source an assembly with a cast iron gearbox, including the auger drive shaft and rake shaft.

So the answer is that you need is to replace an  entire gearbox assembly which can end up costing a bundle.

I am glad I went with the PRO

Starwarrior