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

Well I've spent a lot of time researching new blowers and came very close to bring home the JD 1330se today but got cold feet after reading about the slipping drive issues. I'd be very interested to hear any long term reviews on this unit as it appears unchanged since 2010. I do have a JD dealer 10 miles from home so prep and support should be better than a Lowes units? Also if there is another blower 30ish inches I should consider please let me know. I live in northern MI with a 150' drive see a fair amount of snow. I dont mind paying a premium for quality if it makes for years of trouble free operation. Thanks for your input

Friction disc drive system = simple mechanism
                                             occasional replacement due to normal wear
                                             works very well assuming operator doesn't abuse it (causing excessive wear due to not stopping before changing speeds, allowing
                                                  grease/oil/water to get on it, etc.)
                                  
Hydrostatic drive = more complex system, but easy enough to understand how it works
                               long-term reliability
                               infinitely variable speeds without stopping
                               expensive to replace if something happens to go wrong

Each to their own.

You got that right