Abby’s Guide > Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) > Discussions > John Deere 1330 long term review or NEW Recommendation

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OmFlyer

Joined: Dec 3, 2011
Points: 11

John Deere 1330 long term review or NEW Recommendation
Original Message Dec 3, 2011 7:29 pm

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

This message was modified Dec 3, 2011 by OmFlyer

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royster

" It is the use of power tools that separates man from animals"

Location: New Brunswick, Canada
Joined: Feb 11, 2011
Points: 284

Re: John Deere 1330 long term review or NEW Recommendation
Reply #20 Dec 4, 2011 7:28 pm

My neighbour bought a new John Deere JD1330 With Easy-Steer in January 2011., he kept it only few weeks, did (3) 8-12 inch snowstorms with it. He said that he was fighting with it all the time, to

get it to go where he wanted. He returned it and got a full refund. After trying out my son's Husqvarna/ Craftsman 27 inch 52993 , and later my Husqvarna 30 inch 16530 EXL, He bought a Husqvarna 14527.

This message was modified Dec 4, 2011 by royster

borat

Joined: Nov 10, 2007
Points: 2692

Re: John Deere 1330 long term review or NEW Recommendation
Reply #21 Dec 4, 2011 7:59 pm

You have to ensure the Easy Steer mechanism is fully engaged or disengaged when using it. I use the easy steer function only to move the machine around. Never when actually working. After disengaging the drive to maneuver the machine you have to ensure that it fully re-engages before going back to throwing snow. If used properly, it works well and the machine is no more difficult to manage than any other machine that has both wheels driving when moving snow. What's important is to ensure the drive engagement mechanism has the proper lubrication. Too thick of a grease will either slow the re-engagement or not allow it to engage at all in real cold weather. I've got grease on mine and I'm going to be cleaning it off and will be trying motor oil. That's what's recommended for lubing the shaft that the friction wheel slides across. Considering that the easy steer operates in a similar manner, oil should be fine there as well.

OmFlyer

Joined: Dec 3, 2011
Points: 11

Re: John Deere 1330 long term review or NEW Recommendation
Reply #22 Dec 4, 2011 10:08 pm

Excellent info guys, thanks for all the input! I'll see whats available locally and report back on my purchase.

OmFlyer

Joined: Dec 3, 2011
Points: 11

Re: John Deere 1330 long term review or NEW Recommendation
Reply #23 Dec 5, 2011 3:58 am

Well, now I'm literally loosing sleep over this decision....

Based on everyones input I have narrowed down my options to 3 or 4

Please weigh in on the list, snow is coming and I sold my old blowers...

In no particular order

Ariens Pro 28 – ST28DLE (out of stock everywhere)
Toro Power Max – 1128OXE
Husqvarna Hydro - 1830EXL
Honda Hydro- 928WAS (Break the bank and pi$$ off the wife)

Thanks Again!

This message was modified Dec 5, 2011 by OmFlyer

New_Yorker

Preach the Gospel always, use words when necessary

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

Re: John Deere 1330 long term review or NEW Recommendation
Reply #24 Dec 5, 2011 9:18 am

Then buy a Honda. There is nothing wrong with a John Deere snowblower but it will never be as maintenance free as a HONDA. If cost does not dissuade you from owning the best, then get the HONDA. The other machine I'd consider falls between the two, a Husqvarna Track Drive with a Hydrostatic Transmission, they run about a thousand dollrs less than the Honda.

Stainless

Joined: Nov 17, 2011
Points: 24

Re: John Deere 1330 long term review or NEW Recommendation
Reply #25 Dec 5, 2011 12:39 pm

Man, The 1330SE is getting no love in this thread. I'm gonna have to sing a power ballad to mine, or something.

aa335

Joined: Nov 29, 2008
Points: 2434

Re: John Deere 1330 long term review or NEW Recommendation
Reply #26 Dec 5, 2011 2:24 pm

Stainless wrote:

Man, The 1330SE is getting no love in this thread. I'm gonna have to sing a power ballad to mine, or something.

Maybe that's a sign to move on. The 1330SE got really bad press in 2009 for the disc slip issue.

borat

Joined: Nov 10, 2007
Points: 2692

Re: John Deere 1330 long term review or NEW Recommendation
Reply #27 Dec 5, 2011 3:36 pm

aa335 wrote:

Maybe that's a sign to move on. The 1330SE got really bad press in 2009 for the disc slip issue.

Not just the JD 1330SE. Just about every machine that had a B&S snow engine on it and didn't have the improved belt cover suffered from disc slip.

I just finished cleaning all of the grease off of the coupler for the easy steer on my machine. It was -3F here this morning and the lever for the easy steer didn't want to move. Too much frozen grease. Now that it's got oil instead of grease for lubrication, it's working much better. I also had a frozen deflector cable. Must be from water that was in there from last year. I haven't used the Simplicity yet this season and it's stored indoors. I pumped a bunch of WD-40 into the cable and freed it up then put a good dollop of grease on the upward facing end at the deflector then put a good gob of grease inside the rubber boot that covers it. Hopefully that will help keep it from freezing for a while.

OmFlyer

Joined: Dec 3, 2011
Points: 11

Re: John Deere 1330 long term review or NEW Recommendation
Reply #28 Dec 5, 2011 5:00 pm

Found one. Picking it up Saturday! Ariens Pro 28 – ST28DLE

scopes01

Location: Montreal, CANADA
Joined: Nov 27, 2011
Points: 22

Re: John Deere 1330 long term review or NEW Recommendation
Reply #29 Dec 5, 2011 5:40 pm

Congratulations, you made an awesome choice and won't regret it....

By the way, make sure to drop the oil after the first five hours of use. Because this is special break-in oil formulated for new engines. I first flushed my oil out with regular 5W30 oil and then re-filled again with “Mobil 1” 5W30 Synthetic oil. If your snowblower will sleep outside during the cold winter months then go with 0W30 Synthetic oil. Make sure to verify the oil in the gearbox too. It should be fine…but you never know. You can verify this by removing the oil screw on top of gearbox (read owner’s manual to identify proper screw) and using a 1/8 diameter rod not too long but long enough so it doesn’t fall into the gearbox to measure amount of oil. You should have about 2.380" to 2.630" measured from the bottom of the inside top plate to the level of the red oil L3 Synthetic severe duty gear oil. Very important, DO NOT OVER-TORQUE this screw as it is very easy to strip the thread on the cover. It should be torqued at 80lbs per inch not feet. Please post some feedback after use…Good luck! Scopes01…

Here are two links below to the owner’s & parts manual of your 2011-12 Ariens ST28DLE (926038) snowblower:

http://apache.ariens.com/manuals/04337400B_ENG.pdf

http://apache.ariens.com/manuals/04337500A.pdf

This message was modified Dec 5, 2011 by scopes01

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