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tgseaver


Joined: Jan 3, 2011
Points: 4

If you had $1500.00 to spend?
Original Message   Jan 3, 2011 11:09 am
And lived in the Northeast,with a 175 foot driveway,with a slight incline, and a rather large turning pad what snow blower would you buy? Currently have a 12 year old, 24", 7 hp Yardman that I need to retire soon! Thanks in advance.
Replies: 32 - 41 of 42Next page of topicsPreviousNextNext page of topicsAllView as Outline
borat


Joined: Nov 10, 2007
Points: 2692

Re: If you had $1500.00 to spend?
Reply #32   Jan 4, 2011 8:45 pm
Before the age of computers and on line forums etc., Consumer's Reports was of some value.  However, nowadays, with everything you need to know at your fingertips, it's no longer a valid source of good information.  CR have reduced themselves to making money on subscriptions and providing substandard information.  Their objective has switched from being a reliable source of consumer information to a minimum investment publication focused on making a profit.   That's why the information is so inaccurate. 
jdpilot


Location: Minnesota
Joined: Dec 7, 2010
Points: 10

Re: If you had $1500.00 to spend?
Reply #33   Jan 4, 2011 9:03 pm
In response to Steve_Cebu's post saying that John Deere dealers don't sell John Deer snow blowers: I bought my new 1330SE from a John Deere dealer, and traded in my old John Deere 524 for it.. I know that some John Deere dealers don't sell JD blowers (the nearest JD dealer sells Ariens); but, others do.

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.

This message was modified Jan 4, 2011 by jdpilot
Steve_Cebu


Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 888

Re: If you had $1500.00 to spend?
Reply #34   Jan 4, 2011 9:56 pm
jdpilot wrote:
In response to Steve_Cebu's post saying that John Deere dealers don't sell John Deer snow blowers: I bought my new 1330SE from a John Deere dealer, and traded in my old John Deere 524 for it.. I know that some John Deere dealers don't sell JD blowers (the nearest JD dealer sells Ariens); but, others do.

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.



Sorry, but that should have read MY John Deere dealer doesn't sell Deere snowblowers nor do a couple of others in my area. Home depot sells John Deere and they are made by MTD I believe. They might very well be good machines but my local John Deere dealer won't sell them as he says theyaren't real John Deere products and they tend to be unreliable. Now i have no way to validate what the dealer says. But since they are a John Deere dealer there has to be a reason they don't carry them. They probably can't compete with Home Depot's prices for one.

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.

"If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England."  "If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England."
rubinew


Joined: Dec 30, 2010
Points: 147

Re: If you had $1500.00 to spend?
Reply #35   Jan 4, 2011 10:05 pm
jdpilot wrote:
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.



My MTD, which I just did an inspection on, and is in very good shape. 8hp and 24 inch, is a great blower, however, it can not get through the tough drifts that blow into my yard.

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. 

This message was modified Jan 4, 2011 by rubinew
Chxbeachva


Location: Long Island, NY
Joined: Oct 31, 2010
Points: 52

Re: If you had $1500.00 to spend?
Reply #36   Jan 4, 2011 10:46 pm
Steve_Cebu wrote:
Sorry, but that should have read MY John Deere dealer doesn't sell Deere snowblowers nor do a couple of others in my area. Home depot sells John Deere and they are made by MTD I believe. They might very well be good machines but my local John Deere dealer won't sell them as he says theyaren't real John Deere products and they tend to be unreliable. Now i have no way to validate what the dealer says. But since they are a John Deere dealer there has to be a reason they don't carry them. They probably can't compete with Home Depot's prices for one.

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 bought my Deere at the Dealer in Freeport, NY. I didn't see anything but mts, yard machines, and just a few Airens at Home Depot. I have seen in this forumn that multiple people Implied the new Deeres are made by Simplicity. I could be wrong. My dealer carried Several other brands as well.
This message was modified Jan 4, 2011 by Chxbeachva
Steve_Cebu


Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 888

Re: If you had $1500.00 to spend?
Reply #37   Jan 4, 2011 10:59 pm
Chxbeachva wrote:
I bought my Deere at the Dealer in Freeport, NY. I didn't see anything but mts, yard machines, and just a few Airens at Home Depot. I have seen in this forumn that multiple people Implied the new Deeres are made by Simplicity. I could be wrong. My dealer carried Several other brands as well.


Well here Lowes and Home Depot both are loaded with Green & Yellow John Deere products. I really don't recall who makes Deere the dealer told me and I *think* it was MTD but I could be wrong about that.

"If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England."  "If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England."
Bill_H


Location: Maine
Joined: Jan 12, 2008
Points: 354

Re: If you had $1500.00 to spend?
Reply #38   Jan 5, 2011 2:17 am
I believe the high end Deeres are made by Briggs, along with mostly equivalent Simplicitys and Snappers. If you look at the units and specs on their individual sites you can see what is identical.
At one time there was lower end Deere in the big box stroes that might have been MTD, I don't know if that's true anymore.

Who the hell let all the morning people run things?
New_Yorker


Preach the Gospel always, use words when necessary

Location: Long Island, NY
Joined: Nov 26, 2010
Points: 219

Re: If you had $1500.00 to spend?
Reply #39   Jan 5, 2011 8:47 am
rubinew wrote:
My MTD, which I just did an inspection on, and is in very good shape. 8hp and 24 inch, is a great blower, however, it can not get through the tough drifts that blow into my yard.

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.

skier1


Location: South Eastern Wisconsin
Joined: Sep 28, 2009
Points: 35

Re: If you had $1500.00 to spend?
Reply #40   Jan 5, 2011 9:05 am
Not to rain on the parade of CR bashing, but to bring this back to the original point about our freinds snow blower question, I purchased a Simplicity, albeit used, i still would have spent the full retail on it, B&S engine solid chassis, bar controls, (not beating on the Toro's, but not cables) I just felt that the Simplicity or JD was the best value in my opinion...

if we want to beat on other research forums, lets start another discussion and not wast this thread...

Cheers

Doug

MN_Runner


Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Joined: Dec 5, 2010
Points: 622

Re: If you had $1500.00 to spend?
Reply #41   Jan 5, 2011 7:11 pm
What about Honda 520AS or Toro 421QE?  Any of these two single staged snowthrower will do the job for most conditions for the wife.  With the remaining money and either 421 or 520 is not enough then I would buy a 2 staged blower (Ariends, Deere or Toro).
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