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

Last year I bought a John Deere 1130SE snowblower and for the most part I was extremely happy with it's performance. I love the hand warmers, electric chute rotation, easy steer and the front end weight just to name a few.  The only problem I had, which was pretty significant, was the intermittent transmission slipping.  After sealing the transmission housing with silicone and some weather stripping, the problem was completely gone.  The remainder of the winter was very pleasing and I always looked forward to using the 1130.  I also had a second snowblower that I'm trading for a new 1330SE.  So now I'll have the 1130 and the 1330.  The 1130 will be for my business parking lot.  Some of the interesting features of the 1330 is the addition of an electric deflector control and dash area integrated headlights.  So now the chute is totally electric (both rotation and the deflector).  The slipping transmission should be resolved from water getting into the rubber/aluminum disc drive.  To fix this problem, Deere added a rubber gasket between the engine mounting plate and the transmission housing.  I'll try to post some pictures in the future.
BTW, my second choice would have been an Ariens since they seem to give people on this website support from at least one poster.  I wish Briggs, Simplicity or Deere would give the same support.

FrankMA wrote:
With 32" wide manual snow pusher, he can be done in 10 minutes.  Getting some exercise and not having to breathe in that exhaust fume of that beast. 

Yeah......well, what can I say???

If he had a lot more snow, maybe he might have given a more impressive performance.  As it was, I'd have to say, at best, lackluster if not bordering on the absurd. 

On the upside, I have to say that it certainly turns nicely and with it's bulk likely could push  some serious heavy snow.   He could be assigned the e.o.d. man for the entire block. 

I'm already jealous of the Honda snowblowers.  Those things seem to throw snow an absurd distance.

My house is 140 feet from the highway centerline.  With a good avaerage Saskatchewan helping wind behind me, my Honda will throw snows into the field on the other side of the hwy.

Dr_Woof wrote:
Well, not to diminish the potency of your Honda but I'll put my money on the Saskatchewan wind any day.   Blow into that same wind.  Tell us how far the snow goes. 

Shoot!!  Just throw a handful of snow in the air on the right day in Saskatechewan and it'll end up in Ontario. 

well...just shows you cant fight mother nature.  Make her work for you.  This is where the electric chutes show to advantage.

Has anyone ever measured their impeller on the 1330SE.  A lot of websites list it at 16".  My owner's manual says it's 14".  After measuring mine, I would say it's actually 12".

borat wrote:
Maybe he could hire himself out for ski resort parking lot snow removal.

I am considering a 1330SE for two reasons.  First, I have a side-load garage.  In front of my garage doors, a single stage blower can't throw the snow far enough to reach the yard.  I'd like something that will allow me to move the snow in a single pass, without having to throw the same snow two or three times.  In addition, in out in front of my garage, I only have a relatively narrow strip of yard between my drive and my neighbors.  Therefore, accurate and easy control of exactly where the snow is going is key, since I want the snow to pile up in that strip of yard.  The 1330SE's electric chute controls for direction and pitch are very attractive, for this purpose.  In all other respects this machine will be overkill, but not sure how to satisfy these aspects with a smaller/cheaper unit. 

I don't know how far this machine throws. But if you would be getting electric controls for chute rotation and height, that might be good for accuracy. One issue that I see with the joystick-type chute controls I have tried in stores is that they seem to have certain detents that they can use. So maybe you can set the chute to 15 degrees right, or 25 degrees right. But not 17 degrees.

A manual crank for chute rotation, as an example, allows that infinitely-variable control (you can do 17 degrees). An electric control is presumably just a motorized version of the same thing, so you should be able to set it wherever you want. One consideration is how fast the chute rotates, for instance, and if you'll be able to make fine adjustments.