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

Hi, I am a female who has never owned or operated a snow thrower before and I now need to purchase one.  I understand that I should get a 2 stage since my drive is very long and hilly.  Consumer Reports rates the Troy-Bilt storm 3090 as their highest rated snow thrower.  Yet another salesman (for a competing company) questioned the plastic chute.  What would be the best machine with the least mechanical difficulties for my situation?  Help!

marva,

welcome aboard.  if your budget is less than $1000 - Ariens or Simiplicity would be a good choice.  If your budget is less than $1500 then Toro 726 or 1028 would be a great choice.  You will have to try one of these as turning them will be a lot of work for certain models.  You can get a really nice 24 inch snowblower from Ariens at a reasonable price from Home Depot.  These are for US models and prices.  If you are willing to spend a lot of money, then there are many more options but it does not mean trouble-free or perfection.  Not sure how big and strong you are but they make nice snowblowers for a whimp like myself.

see the video link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uUBRE7vsRU&feature=related

marva, the plastic chutes are no problem.  The materials are very good and stand up over the years so not much of a concern.

For better recommendations how long, how wide and how steep is your area?  Do you have walkways, path out back or any other areas like turnout off the driveway or large area next to the garage?   Can snow be thrown to both sides?  Is there any p;ace requiring great distance to throw the snow?  Also, what town or city are you located in?   We can lookup your yearly average snowfall which is an important factor.

I would not rate Troy-Bilt as high as CR.  They are a basic and ok machine for the price.  They are not the Troy-Bilt company from the years that built the reputation. They were purchased by MTD and the machine an MTD with nothing Troy in it anymore.   There are better quality machines but a cared for MTD can last 10-20 years depending on use and maintenance which is easy to do.

You can get a nice Ariens compact 24. for less than $800.  A have no problem with mine ,it is going on 16 years old. Get the one with the Subaru engine.They are light compared to bigger units, and is easy to handle. Troy units have a lot of features but no quality. They use very cheep engines and give you a lot of other features to make it attractive to the consumer and consumer reports reviews.