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

I moved to a new house, top of a hill, with farm land across from my driveway.

This is our second winter, and my MTD is not up to the task of clearing the packed snow that blows into my yard, sometimes daily.

I have been looking for a couple weeks, and had made up my mind to get the Honda. I had been to the Yamaha dealer previously, but they were not willing to deal.

Well today a new twist, I went back to Yamaha, and was offered the YS928J for the same price as the HS928TC.

Specs are very similar, with some different features. The Honda has full Joystick control on the chute, and is 100 lbs lighter.

The Yamaha has plastic coated chute, manual up/down. Has no shear pins, which may be a bonus, if the 'Shock Protection' works correctly. Also the Yamaha is quiter.

I have been reviewing this site, however, there is limited information on the Yamahas, likely because they just came back to Canada in 2009 (15 year Hiatus) and I am not sure if they are available in the U.S.

Has anyone out there used these models? Can you offer an Opinion?

My wife actually commented that the Honda was the same to turn as the MTD, but then she may not have been turning the MTD correctly, :-) I was not home.

I had the MTD for 13 years now, has served me well, in the city. Out here though, it is a task to push, lean, wiggle and fight with it to get through the packed snow.

I could put chains on it, but did not want to chew up the new exposed driveway.

When I buy a new blower, my Dad will inherit the MTD, he wants a used 2 stage for sidewalk and driveway. Also, chains would not solve the riding up problems. Both Honda and Yamaha have the tiltable auger, and can be set to dig down as they push forward, I would need to test this feature, but I have read several post here that confirm this action.

The hydrostatic is basically an oil pump, run by the engine, the oil flow is used to turn a motor attached to the drive. You use a single lever to change the flow, for direction, or amount of flow, for speed.

I have researched hydrostatic drives, and they seem very durable and reliable. I do wonder if the lines would pose an issue for leakage, etc, with age, but could not find any complaints.

What I can not find information on, is what Yamaha is doing in the Gear Case, to allow for the removal of shear pins???

rubinew wrote:

This is quite hard to swallow.  I don't think I can take a salesman seriously.  The best thing for him to do is to demonstrate how easy it to turn rather than pulling your leg.  Why don't you ask him for her name and talk to her if she can do it.

I rarely see women operate a snowblower, except 2.  I have never seen a woman operate a tracked snowblower.  An 80 year old woman operating a tracked snowblower?  That is not impossible, but not very likely.

aa335 wrote:

Yeah, I took that comment with a grain of salt :-)

The Saskatchewan women are tough, but still, hard to beleive, then again, one never knows!

Because I travel, my wife has to snow blow at time,s 3 times this year alone. This is why I am looking to replace. She could not get through the drifts with our old blower.

Had to hire a bobcat to come and clear, but this brings about the waiting, etc, missed work that day, stuck in house.

When I leave, I put the blower were my car goes, then she can start and drive straight out. I just need to make sure she can turn it 180 to go back and forth to clear herself out.

Don't take anyone's word for how easy/difficult they will be to operate.  Get them out in a parking lot with snow and test them out.  Make sure whoever will be operating the machine is there to try them.  

By the way, from the dimensions of your driveway, either of those machines are over-kill.   My driveway is 110' long by 20' wide with a 35' x 35' turn around at the garage.  It's also got an 11% grade.  I live in central Canada and we get a great deal of snow of all types.  My wheeled Simplicity has never had a problem handling whatever  type or how much snow comes. 

April 1st of last year we woke up to 30" of heavy wet snow.  I did my driveway plus two and a half other of similar size with the Simplicity.  The neighbours I bailed out were using fairly new 10 h.p. Craftsman machines and were struggling a great deal.  I even tried to use one woman's 10 h.p. Craftsman machine and ended up parking it in their garage.  I walked the Simplicity over to her place to clear her driveway.  All the difference in the world.  Can't exactly say why.  The Craftsman just couldn't pump the wet snow whereas the Simplicity was blasting it up 15' or more  and sticking it to the sides of the 30' wooden street light poles.  

If I were you, I wouldn't dismiss a premium quality wheeled machine such as  Ariens, Honda, Simplicity/Snapper/JD and Toro.  

borat wrote:

Thanks for your response!

The problem out here, is the drifting snow. I blows in from farm fields, and packs very hard.

My MTD is a 24 inch, 8 HP, and could handle most fallen snow, even wet.  It fails with the packed snow, pushing through it is a task, driving up, fighting to keep it level.

My new neighbor has a 30 inch, wheel drive, larger wheels than mine, I can not remember the brand, only seen him use it once so far, but he has same problem, will not push through, stops, or rides up. Last weekend he hired a bobcat to come clear his driveway.

He only has 25 by 25, fairly level, but he faced directly into the field, and 4 feet of packed snow, his blower could not even get going.

Yes the blowers that I am looking at may be overkill, but it seems that if you want track drive, and hydrostic transmission, honda and yamaha are it.

I would like to drive one into 4 feet of drifted snow, or EOD, to test and see if what I have read hold true.

I'm sure the Honda is a fine unit but that Yamaha just looks like it is built stronger.  Of course I am just basing a lot on pictures at this point.   I have a neighbor who is still uses his '89 Yamaha YS828.  If I were in the market right now the Yami would have my vote.

My wheel version is not that bad.  There is a good reason why Honda limits the tire pressure to 8.5 PSI.  Granted I have a very small driveway with ever so slight slope and my Honda pulls along good.  Don't assume that track drive is for everyone.

MN_Runner wrote:

I wasn't assuming track is for everyone! :-) not even 100% sure it is for me.

When my wife takes another one for a test drive, that will help.

I just know that several wheel versions are struggling on this hill. I need something that can plow through packed snow, and get us on our way too work in minutes, instead of hours.

Last year I wiggled and jiggled, pushed and pulled my MTD for 3 hours, and only got about 20% done, had to bobcat it to get done in a reasonalbe time!

My wheel version worked great for the last place we lived, just not able to do the same out here!

rubinew wrote:

Driveway size isn't everything it's also the type of snow that affects what machine you buy. Your driveway is small compared to mine as mine is 220 feet long 15 or so feet wide and has a 40'x50' section off of it. But if you get hard packed blown snow on a regular basis and we have a neighbor up the road who is across from a huge field (retired farm). They bought a Kubota tractor to deal with the snow. No dealer will let you drive into 4 feet of snow, but they should let you test drive it. I honestly don't see the problem with riding up on the snow for the first pass or two if you have that much snow. Except for commercial units there is no way you will remove hard packed snow in one pass anyway. The city uses machines that you ride on that will do it. But they probably cost $10K for a used one.

If your wife has to use this have her drive it and remember that a 5 minute test in a dealers lot is very different than muscling that unit around for a couple of hours. My wife could not use the Honda we bought because it's tough to turn it around and you will get a real workout using it. What you will want is something that has tracks that you can steer with triggers. Sadly the Honda and Yamaha models that have the trigger steering with tracks cost a boatload of money.

If you have snow bad enough that you'd need a Bobcat then Honda and Yamaha are safe bets but you will still need to go slow and use technique to move that level of snow. I'd look at a second hand truck with a plow if you have the space to put the snow. The windblown stuff is really nasty and unless you've had to deal with it like our neighbors have... in fact the apple orchard across from our house has windblown snow, but they have a lot of tractors so it's not a problem for them.

Just make sure that you and your wife can use it for the 1-2 hours you will need and yeah I'd say tracks are a must for that stuff.

Steve_Cebu wrote:

Thanks for your Response,

I don't mind having to make second, or even more passess, as long as I don't have to hold the bucket down, and push it all the way thru :-)

I just came from the Yamaha dealer, took my wife there to try steering a 624, they don't have the 928 in stock, sold out till next week. She liked it, and was able to turn it around, the trick for her was to tilt the auger up, and keep the track turning.

 I have to admit I am leaning towards the Yamaha. They do not have shear pins, which is a bonus for my wife, she can not change if I am on the road. I also like the quiter motor, and the lined chutes. We also like the controls on the Yamaha a little more, flat and waste high.

The dealer explained that the shock protection is built in the gear box, sounds like a pressure plate, that can disengage, then reset with next turn. I have heard of simular presured plates, using bearings.

I took the Yamaha 624 through about 20 inches of packed snow and ice, didn't even hesitate. The motor did work a bit to chew the ice, but it drove straight thru, no pushing.

I think the 928 with the extra weight and HP will chew right thru anything. But I will let my wife take it for another test drive before buying. I will update you with our final decision.