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

I was at a local Honda dealer yesterday and I was stunned by the prices on their snowblowers. In Canadian dollars, they were: 928 wheels: $3000 928 track: $3400 724 track: $3400 1132 track: $3500 I know they have tracks, hydro tranny, honda engines, etc. but they're at least $1000-1500 more than equivalent toro and ariens models. Is it gold, they re making?

I would only buy one of these in good conscience if I won the lottery but these always get my heart a pattering.

snowmachine wrote:
Forget the conscience.  :)  That's a nice machine.  For those prices, I was hoping there was a place to sit or stand while operating that thing.  Something like a Toro Dingo.

Again, for those prices, I'd like a yard tractor with front end blower, back end blade, and an enclosed cab with some tunes.  :)

aa335 wrote:

Considering the cost of this machine would'nt  you rather hire 1/2 a dozen laborers to shovel you out for about for about the next 15 years?

Starwarrior

aa335 wrote:
I wish my property was configured in a way that would make it more conducive to a tractor mounted snowblower/blade type set-up. I could make it work for the most part but would still need a walkbehind for certain areas and can't justify the expense (at least at this time). Perhaps one of these days.....

starwarrior wrote:

That's a tough one. I do enjoy clearing snow so I'm not sure if I'd pay someone else to do it. Although the thought of having perfectly manicured long winding driveway using only hand shovels by a large labor group is quite appealing. Nice perfectly shaped windrows on the sides.

FrankMA wrote:

There isn't one tool perfect for all jobs. Unless all you have on the property is a large parking lot. I would not give up any walkbehind equipment for home use. But having a tractor set up is fun, some times you want to blow snow, some times you want to plow.

I thoroughly enjoy blowing snow by myself so the laborer option is out.... a tractor mount sounds appealing though.

snowmachine wrote:
Snowmachine,

Looking at your sig, I see you have two electric snow shovel/blower.  What's your views on these two products?

I picked these up during the summer off of Craigslist. Each was only $30/each and had never been used. The picture is actually of the MTD branded version... mine is a Yard machine branded version with the only difference being the color of the controllable chute vanes. In my case they are black instead of red. I think the MTD might be fine for a few inches in a driveway but the less expensive Toro Power Shovel blows it away for performance. It can really shoot the snow out there. I think the Toro is also better suited for deck clearing over the MTD. At first glance you would think the controllable vanes on the MTD product would be a nice feature to have but they seem to cut down throwing distance by about 1/4 of what you get straight on. Save yourself the $50 premium on the MTD and get the Toro if you buy one of these new. I haven't had a chance to use them in really wet snow yet but will report back when I do.

My gas engine Toro Power shove excels in throwing wet snow.  It's much better throwing it than trying to shovel it off of the deck.