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

I want to start out by saying I’m a huge John Deere fan.  Used their equipment on my uncle’s farm, with proper maintenance they were near bullet proof.  I have a John Deere X340 lawn mower that is great, my Dad had a John Deere 160 which still runs well for being 25 years old and used partially as my four wheeler as a kid J

My question is I went to buy a snowblower November of 2012 and found out John Deere wasn’t making them anymore.  I called 5 Deere dealers in Michigan and nobody had any, most were selling Ariens, some had Toro.  In fact a lot of dealers said they had many issues with them, sold a lot of them, but most came back in for warranty and service repairs.  One John Deere dealer refused to sell them from 2005-2011 and sold Ariens.  He said they were cheaply made.  He said they used to have the best blower but screwed it up and had Briggs and Stratton building the whole unit.  Interesting I found the identical machines here, http://www.briggsandstrattonsnow.com/en/snow-blowers/briggs-and-stratton-bm1227se  very similar to simplicity and snapper owned by Briggs as well.

I ended up buying an Ariens Deluxe 30, little more than I wanted to spend but had the 342 CC engine, 14” impeller, remote locker and bigger tires than the other deluxe models besides the 28+.  I think the crank 2.5X chute control is nice…real quick to turn, maybe takes an extra second to rotate over the joystick models.  The remote locker works ok…sometimes won’t unlock but depends if the wheels are binding, but will hold a perfect straight line when locked and real easy to turn when unlocked, and operator gets to have input on the situation.    

I really liked the electric chute control of the Deere 1028E and 1330 but I’m sure those could be fail points (?), I read reviews that the traction control likes to wander when trying to go straight, so makes me wonder if the trade off of “easy turning” for a wandering straight line is worth it?  Also I feel the 14” impeller on the Ariens is probably the most important part of the blower, has a faster tip speed and more capacity than all others at 12”. (?)

I found a 1028E left over 2011 at a dealer after I bought my Ariens, thought the front end was a little too heavy (less traction??) and the manual chute deflector had very close notches for moving it up and down making it finicky.  But it’s a Deere right?...pulling at my heart strings.  The 1330SE has an electric deflector which would have eliminated the deflector concern but $1500 and who knew who still had one. 

So are we missing out on the re-branded Briggs and Stratton some dealers didn’t have good things to say, should John Deere have kept painting the Ariens green like they did in the 90s…or is one better to go straight for the Ariens? 

For those of you trying to decide, I can review my 30 Deluxe in depth if you would like?

Hi I thought I would chime in. I purchased a new ariens 30 delux in late Dec. 20012. It is my first snowblower as the last 40 years I have used a 4 w Wheeldrive pickup and plow.to clear my 135 foot long x 18 foot wide driveway. I have been a Briggs and Stratton man all my life and find the 342 cc engine on my ariens Had plenty of power after 2013 blizzard to clear 21 to 23 inches of snow full chute wide I live in a rural area and we have our share of power outage problems My old powermate (1983) briggs flathead still runs strong. Last fall I purchased a B&S 10000 generator with a 420 cc engine. Are the newer engines as good as the older all American made engines? HELL NO I owned and operated a automotive machine shop for 37 years and worked on just about everything. There is a BRIGGS dealer on every corner in America for parts and service.

I wanted to update my opinion.  The deluxe 30 i had not only backfired but the remote locker also gave way, wouldn't work very often.  It had to go back for warranty and my dealer said if i wasn't satsified he would buy it back minus $175...so I did.  And, lucky me, i was actually able to find a 1330se left over at a dealership in Southwest Michigan.  I have used it twice, i think it is way better than the deluxe 30.  Now the platinum 30 might hold its own with the autolock.  But the electric chute controls are awesome, make your turn and you never have to leave the handle bars, rotate the chute, adjust the deflector for wind make the easy turn with "easy steer", lower the bucket and your off.  Never need to stop, or move your hands.  And i just blew 6" of slushy snow, threw it just has far as the ariens and nothing spilt over the bucket.  So not sure if the 14" auger makes a difference on the ariens after this performance.  I also like the speed ratio better, the gears are much faster, transport speed 6th gears is a brisk walk.  Yes electronics might give up...but i wouldn't want you take away my electric windows or power locks on my vehicles either.  So after trying both machines, i think we will miss these machines if you weren't lucky enough to get one.  Some delaers still have left overs and at  least Briggs is still making them in gray.  And for those of you who are comparing blowers and leary of electronic chute controls, don't, get them, they are incredibly nice to work with!