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

I have been a customer of the paper and online formats for a total of 15 years.  Rcently, I observed some factual mistakes concerning the recent online review of snowthrowers.  Without going into a lot of details, I contacted CR to communicate the correct info and never heard back.  They have corrected some of the info, but the review was not valid because of the false information provided.  Price info, feature info was incorrect for at least the ARIENS and TORO models.  I was terribly dissapointed because as indicated by some of you this has been an important source of unbiased infor for me for years.  The fact that they didn't bothere did call back to explain, thank me is irritating, but not the main point.  The whole ordeal, for me, calls into question how much I can trust the information from this point forward.  In this case, fortunately, I had done so much research prior to reading the article that I saved me from making another decison, potentially.

Best regards!

The problem that exists with CR and more so with forum sites, is that quite often, the voice is usually (not always!) of the one, who has had issues or problems with a product.

Most ppl who have purchased a product, and are completely satisfied with that purchase rarely fill out CRs or join forums like these.

Again, this is not absolute, but it is true that a satisfied person is less likely to fill out a survey,

Same with these forums, while I came here to see what the opinions of a new product are, a lot of ppl do come to these forums to find advice for a current problem.

Most ppl in a forum have strong opinions, based on their experiences, and have personal prefences, etc, that bias some of their comments.

While I would be nice if everyone who owned a product like a snowblower would fill out a CR, this is not the case.

And while some ppl with positive expereinces will in fact fill out a CR, it is known, that the ppl with bad expereinces will always have more impact on CR, and forums! :-)

Also, I think $1500 is a lot to spend for a snow blower for personal residential use (I feel a little foolish and stretched for doing it myself), so I would argue against using that money as a down payment for something more expensive. If you were intending to use it commercially, there might be some justification for spending more to get specific features and warranty advantages. But, for use at home,  there are plenty of sub-$1500 machines available that will do a great job of trouble-free snow removal for many years. If you've been doing the job with a 7 HP yardman for the past 12 years, probably any of the machines recommended in this thread would give you a major performance improvement over your current blower, and get you inside or off to work a lot sooner than your used to.

I spent like $1,800 for my Toro and look at it as a 15 year purchase. Much better than relying on the Plow guy who does a poor job compared to me doing it myself. It is a lot of cash upfront tho. For me it's worth it being able to get out of the driveway when I NEED to not just when the plow guy feels like showing up.

I spend most of my time, backing up, pushing in, leaning on the bars so it won't ride up, using a shovel to break up, then repeat.

After 2 hours my back and arms are wore out, I am beat! :-) Imagine my 125 lb wife doing this, 3 times in December already.

Unfortunately there are those of use who live between city and country life. Not enough room or place for a tractor :-), but your average wheeled snowblower just can't get the job done.

I need track drive, to push into the drifts, I need the weight, HP, and I want 28 inch.

My wife wants electric start, and likes the Hydrostatic drive, and yes, she does get stuck with the job of snowblowing, when I am travelling.

So in order to get Hydrostatic drive, electric start, tracks, and wieght, plus 28 inch, and at least 9 HP, you are now in the $2000-$3000, with most manufactures.

Now my logic, if I am going to spend 3k, I will likely spend another $600 and get a Yamaha, a machine with proven reliability, durability, ease of use, etc. (also no Shear Pins to deal with!!!)

Again, it is about what fits your particular needs. 

I would only warn you that while I love my Honda HS928TAS snowblower for all it can do, I would caution you to consult your wife on the purchase of such a machine because I am 5'10" and 250 and feel sore after a few hours of steering this machine by brute force.  It weighs 256 lbs.   Now the tracked version is supposedly harder in this regard than the wheeled version would be, but I have not tried those machines, and Consumer Reports who has tested them still gives them a black spot for handling.  If not for the handling issue, I would probably say that the Honda is as near perfect a snowblower as I've ever used.   Oh, and the machine would need to be on a dolly to move about as pushing it when it is not running is near impossible, so it would need to be stored where one could start it and move it by its own power with little need to steer it until there is some slippery snow beneath the wheels or tracks. I devised a mechanics "creeper" with a 2' X 4 ' piece of 5/8" plywood fastened over it to move the machine around the barn I store it in.  To get it on that dollly I use my considerable weight to push down on the handles until they touch the floor, Then I slip the dolly under the fron that is raised up, and then lower the snowblower onto the dolly.  Your wife at 125, would probably not want to attempt such a move.  Pushing it with the Hydrostatic Transmission engaged can do serious damage to the transmission, so learn from the dealer where the lever is to disengage right off.   Best of luck with your decision.