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

This thing is a monster!  Though it's huge the balance is awesome. Also I can't emphasis enough how smooth this engine is.  Very impressed.  Can't wait to give her a go!  

borat wrote:

Every so often you'll see one out in the winter but not often. They do hibernate but right now we have an awful lot of them prepping for winter. If you want to see a video of chipmunks right now it's easy as they are all out in force. They were out during that freak snowstorm we had last month as well. When I blow teh leaves I see a great many holes from them, sure some are probably mice and snakes but we have a LOT of munks here. If I can get a video of them in the winter I'll post it on YouTube and put the link on here.

Be very VERY careful with that.  Just look at wat happened to Mr jrtebor!

  After seeing your  PRO 28 here, I wanted to see one . I went to my Husqvarna-Ariens -MTD  dealer.   This is a large dealer with over 60 machines in the showroom,  something for everyone.

He had a Ariens PRO 32 on display.   .The  PRO32  model in Canada is powered by a Briggs 342 ,1650 torque engine.  (not Polar Force)   Surprisingly,  he only had a few  MTD machines that had Chinese engines, and he said that the Chinese engines are flatly rejected , people demand a Briggs engine.

All of the Husqvarna and Ariens had   Briggs engines,  . And the Briggs 342, 1650 is the largest engine engine available in the Husqvarna and Ariens models

Your machine with the 420 would have more power than the PRO models here.  

My feeling is that if the the engine said Polar Force by Shanghai Engines then I would be concerned.  The fact that Briggs puts their name on the engine tells me that there is quality control being done by Briggs at the point of manufacturing.  I doubt they would want to attach their name to a junk engine.  As for the Polar Force name it means nothing,  Briggs has nothing to do with that.  Polar Force is the name Ariens attaches to the engine for marketing purposes.    So don't get confused and think that all Polar Force engines are made in China.   In fact I do believe that the only snowblower engines from Briggs are AREN'T made in China are the 305 and 342.  If that is wrong I am sure Snowman will set it straight. 

royster wrote:

There is no such thing as a Pro 30, you must be referring to a 32 or 36. Also, the models sold in Canada are the same as in the US. You were either looking at a non-current model or a 12V keystart model (the 12V start version of the Briggs model 25 snow engine is not yet available). That is, the Briggs model 25 snow engine (420cc) is available in Canada on Ariens Pro machines (120V start only).

You are right,   I went back to the dealer again, It is a Pro32

I was wondering if you got a chance to use it yet? I'm sure all of us want to read your review of your beast and see it on u-tube.

Hi Bus 708

I also have an Ariens 2011-12 Professional 28 with a Briggs & Stratton 420cc motor. I am from Montreal, CANADA and recently we got little over 10" of snow...The snowblower is very agile and easy to manoeuvre...the Hilliard Auto-Lok differential works great and very easy to turn/steer. The motor is very smooth and starts very easily with only one light pull. Overall I am really happy with the machine and don't regret buying it...However, I must say that I am somewhat dissapointed with the way the chute operates...I find the design poor and not quite suited for a commercial grade machine...It is flimsy and doesn't lock in place properly when blowing snow. I went over the service manual and tried to adjust it...but it is what it is..I am considering perhaps in modifying it or install the chute system from the other Ariens models like the Deluxe model...It is a turn crank system from the top and it is rigid and stays in one place. Besides that....it is a very beautiful machine. Haven't considered making a video yet..maybe one day I will...Take care!...scopes01

scopes01, I played with a Pro machine in a store a month or so ago. I was curious how that chute-steering system worked, since you only had to move the lever left/right, but you did not have to, for instance, squeeze anything to unlock it first. If I remember correctly, there was a little locking mechanism underneath the control panel, which was spring-loaded. As you started to push the lever, the spring-loaded lock pulled away, and you could aim the chute. When you stopped applying pressure to the lever, the lock re-engaged. Am I remembering this right? Is the problem that it doesn't really lock back into place, and the chute can rotate on its own, while blowing snow?

It's sort of funny you mention possibly going to the Deluxe method. I actually looked at the Deluxe approach and thought it seemed like a rather non-ergonomic design. You had to kind of lean forward, beyond the control panel, and turn a crank using a little offset section in the middle of the rod. It didn't really strike me as being an improvement over the old method of just having a crank on the control panel, say. But maybe it's at least more secure than the quick-lever on the Pros.

Please don't take any of this the wrong way, they seem like awesome machines (especially with the big engine), and are much more advanced than mine. But it does seem like perhaps the different companies are still working to try and perfect the new-style chute controls.

RedOctobyr wrote:

Hi RedOctobyr...Your exactly right!...this systems works exactly the way you described it in your message above. I have the service repair manual and tried to make adjustments to this system...unfortunately the design limits me and connot optimize it's function. I was kind of made aware of this weaker design...but chose to buy the machine anyway. However, I had already thought of replacing the system with the crank style as used on the Deluxe models...Yes I would have to lean over to crank it...but I was also considering having a longer rod and crank it from the rear as used on older Ariens models. I think that the original idea is good on the Pro Series machine...but Ariens needs to make more adjustment possible to increase the load to the locking mechanism. The other flaw is that there is too much play between the teeth and the lock mechanism. Therefore, making the chute less sturdy while blowing snow. The size/thickness of the teeth on the gear or the mechanism locking piece should be increased a little to lock into each other better. Besides the chute issues...this machine is awesome...I have added the 10 lbs plate option to prevent it from lifting...but I think it could use another 10 lbs to keep it down a bit more...