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

My old Deere 726 is on it's lastlegs. Looking at a $300 repair. I am considering buying a new Ariens in the next day or two. Local dealers have the following blowers:

2013 Deluxe 30 with the trigger differential lock and I think the 342cc briggs engine for $1399

2014 Deluxe 30 with new Auto Turn and the 291cc LCT engine for $1299 at another dealer which I don't really want to buy from if I can help it

2013 Platinum 30 with the Traction Control differential and the 342cc briggs engine for $1599

2014 Platinum 30 with new Auto Turn and the 414cc LCT engine for $1599

I am leaning toward the Platinum 30 for the extra power although the 2013 deluxe 30 has the larger Briggs engine if I want the trigger differential vs auto turn.

 I guess it comes down to Briggs vs LCT and autoturn vs trigger. On the engines, two dealers I have talked to have said they have had no real problems with the LCT engines except for some availability on carb parts.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for any help

Depending on your age and fitness, be aware of the physical demands that a large snow blower will put on the operator.  The formula is simple.  Bigger machines equate to more physical input from the operator.  Don't let all of the gizmos lead you to believe that they'll make operating the machine that much easier.  They do help but I'd take a lighter machine capable of doing the job over an over-sized machine with all the gizmos any day. 

borat wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I am in my 40s and while a desk job doesn't give me as much exercise as I would like; If I could manage to get the new blower into my exercise room I could theoretically benchpress it :). My old blower weighs about 200 lbs. The new ones are about 250. I have a 30x100 foot drive way and 500 feet of sidewalk. We get about 35 inches of snow a year with a lot of drifting. My old 7hp 26" takes me about 2.5 hours to blow and does seem underpowered especially at the EOD. So I would like to have more hp this time. Thanks! Dennis

Sounds like you are really wanting an upgrade. I can't help you with the decision of what to buy new, but if you tell us what is wrong with the old one we can help you fix it for a lot cheaper than the $300 the dealer was charging you. And, if you buy a new one you don't have to be in a hurry. Could keep it as a backup or sell it to recover some of your cost.

djarchow wrote:
The old machine is likely tired and with the amount of snow you need to deal with. it was also very much taxed.   I own a 2006 28" 11 h.p. Simplicity that weighs in at just under 290 lbs.  My neighbour owns a new 24" Craftsman with the same engine and it weighs in about 100 lbs. less.  At least it feels that much lighter.  I've used his machine a few times taking care of his place while they're out of town.  The reduction in fatigue due weight difference is very much noticeable.  However, at your age and reported condition, that would not be so significant.   As long as you're physically capable of handling the bigger machines, go for it.  In twenty years or so from now, you'll likely want to downsize.   

Whatever you buy, enjoy it!

I would avoid the 30" with the trigger axle at all costs. I used one and it is basically useless. It doesn't unlock and lock as quickly as you want it to. Def get one with the easy turn function,it is well worth the money.

Shryp wrote:

My blower is 30+ years old so it has more than paid for itself. The scraper bar got too low to the ground (my own fault) and wore through the center mounting bolts and the sheet metal. Then the auger caught the scraper bar chopped it in half and threw it out the front and ripped up the remaining sheet metal the scraper bolts to. So to fix it will mean cutting out the old sheet metal and welding in new, a new scraper bar, new skids etc. for about $300. The engine is also is also leaking oil and the friction plate needs replacing. So while it has served me well and is so overbuilt compared to the new blowers, I don't want to put $300+ in a snow blower only worth $300. Thanks and regards!

I have a 2011 Platinum 30 and am very satisfied with its ability to handle the Lake Effect snow we get as well as the heavy EOD stuff. I too wanted to upgrade and that's when I bought the Ariens. The ATC works very well and easy to maneuver, so I definitely recommend it over a trigger. Regarding Briggs vs. LCT, I can't speak to which would last longer or provide the best performance. I can say the 342cc Briggs on mine provides more than enough power to handle and throw snow at an impressive distance. Good luck! Feel free to report back what you ended up with.

Thanks for all the replies. I bought the 2013 Platinum 13 with the Briggs engine and the auto traction control. The dealer had both the 13 and 14 model. Ariens changed the wheelbase on the new one and it felt so much heavier and hard to manhandle than the 2013 and I am pretty strong. The 2014 weighs around 275 lbs compared to the 2013's 250 but the changes to the wheelbase made them feel much much different than the 25 lbs. I did like the larger tires and the AutoTurn on the new model but the handling was the big deciding factor for me. Again thanks to everyone for their feedback. Dennis

recently bought the ariens deluxe 28" 921030 with the ax 254 cc engine and the atc drive. the 28" model weighs 235 lbs just 6 lbs more than the 24" deluxe. the engine is rated at 12.5 ft lbs tq. and lct the engine supplier has it listed for 7.5 hp. i however used a formula to equate hp and it comes out to more like 8.5 hp. the formula is torque (12.5) times speed (3600 rpm) divided by 5252 = 8.568 hp. now does anybody definitively know the hp of the 254cc ax engine?

Don't know where you came up with that formula and I'm not saying it's wrong but I have always used this rule of thumb. I take the torque number say like in your case 12.5 and about 2/3 of that figure works out to 8.3hp. I don't remember where I got that info from but it gives me a quick ball park number.

i just googled horsepower formulas! http://www.iprocessmart.com/techsmart/formulas.htm