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

Last year I bought a John Deere 1130SE snowblower and for the most part I was extremely happy with it's performance. I love the hand warmers, electric chute rotation, easy steer and the front end weight just to name a few.  The only problem I had, which was pretty significant, was the intermittent transmission slipping.  After sealing the transmission housing with silicone and some weather stripping, the problem was completely gone.  The remainder of the winter was very pleasing and I always looked forward to using the 1130.  I also had a second snowblower that I'm trading for a new 1330SE.  So now I'll have the 1130 and the 1330.  The 1130 will be for my business parking lot.  Some of the interesting features of the 1330 is the addition of an electric deflector control and dash area integrated headlights.  So now the chute is totally electric (both rotation and the deflector).  The slipping transmission should be resolved from water getting into the rubber/aluminum disc drive.  To fix this problem, Deere added a rubber gasket between the engine mounting plate and the transmission housing.  I'll try to post some pictures in the future.
BTW, my second choice would have been an Ariens since they seem to give people on this website support from at least one poster.  I wish Briggs, Simplicity or Deere would give the same support.

Thought I'd throw in my 2 cents as this site was a big help in deciding on which new blower to purchase. I picked up the 1330SE to replace my 11 year old MTD 8-26. So far, I'm pleased with the new unit. As mentioned before, the heavy front end weight does help in holding the machine down which is a plus but can make it a little harder to control on rough concrete. As far as performance, it considerably cut down plowing time compared to the old MTD. The heated grips worked better than I thought, didn't find myself holding my hands in front of the muffler very often. I (like others) was kind of skeptical about the electric chute motors, but once you have them you'll never never go back to the old manual system. If they ever go out, I'll simply replace them, (nothing lasts forever.) These things are great time savers as you can make adjustments without stopping. One thing worth mentioning, 6th gear on the JD seems to be noticably slower than my old MTD, but I was still able to clear my 4500 square feet in record time.

Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and would recommend this unit. There's a few things shown in the pictures I'm not to crazy about but I guess they just don't make em like they used to.

Under the dash: Misssing plastic conduit, wires rubbing against sheet metal edges.....Although I shouldn't have to, it's an easy fix.

Gas valve: Now I ask, sinse when is "off" in the vertical position? That will take some getting used to.

Just a shot of the drive system.

Plastic cover removed from motor. No clip on the gear, the cover is what keeps it in place.

Plastic tensioning wheels, the MTD had steel and two drive belts on the auger.

Catt wrote:

What clearance do you have your skids at???

Moeman,
Good post with pictures.  I certainly don't disagree with any of your points.

Chxbeachva wrote:
I'm probably running about .125" of clearance.  It most likely depends on your surface and how uneven that surface is.
I'm thinking of making new skids in the future because my sidewalk has an edge that I catch quite easily.  I'd like to have the front lift a little earlier when arriving at that sidewalk edge and keep it raised a little longer.  If I weld a strap under the existing skid it will accomplish this.  Then I plan to adjust the clearance with the blower sitting on that sidewalk edge.  I'm running modified skids on my garden tractor snowblower  and it made a big improvement reducing catching uneven edges.

Here are skids I saw on the web that somebody modified. 

Catt wrote:
Here's one you can purchase.  Check this one out.  It is very stout and should hold up to abuse very well.  It has longer leading and trailing edge which is what you wanted to achieve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtYR0xbFSsk

aa335 wrote:
Thanks aa335!  I just placed the order.

Catt wrote:
You're welcome.  I met up with Bob, the person in the video, about 2 years ago.  Good guy.  His product has improved markedly since then. 

When I read your post, I knew he had exactly what you were looking for.  Let us know how it works for you.

I recently added a chute liner to my 1330.  I used plastic from a trash can and the deflector liner is aluminum.  I have one on my 1130 that I installed last year and it's been working great.

Everytime I see this green machine, i want to go out and get one.  I just don't have the space for two 2 stage snowblowers.  If only my neighborhood allows building a shed, I'd rotate between the snowblower every winter.  :)

aa335 wrote:

My wife says I need snowblower intervention.  My excuse is that I take care of my business snowblowing and my home.  I don't think she's buying the excuse.

Here's my list.

Two Toro Power Clear 180 (One at home and one at work)
One John Deere 1130SE (work)
One John Deere 1330SE (Home)
One John Deere 322 garden tractor with 46" snowblower


Next year I think I'll sell one of the Toro 180 machines and try a larger Toro single stage.  Maybe a 221QE or I guess I'll go with one less snwoblower.