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

I was wondering.Does a friction disk use more power than a hydro drive? Which drive uses less power to run, friction disk or hydro drive. Ariens shows their Hydro pro 32 towing a truck and trailer. That must put a lot of stress on the drive pump thus taking away the power to blow snow. A friction disk I'm sure will not tow a truck yet I'm sure it to looses power driving the wheels. I also believe a tracked unit uses, even more, power. The hybrid units from Honda do not have this problem because the tracks are driven by electric motors. All the engine power is directly going to the impeller and auger. That being the case do you guys think an Ariens pro track 28 will out throw a Honda HSS928AT or even an HSS1332AT? The Ariens has a bigger engine and more torque. Who is king of the Snow Ariens Hydro Protrack 28, Pro track 28 (friction disk) or the Hondas? If so why?

I have to agree that the so called "infinite" adjustment of the hydrostatic transmission is great. The limitation to how much snow you can clear is basically how much volume can go through the impeller. If you go too fast or take too large a swath then the impeller backs up and snow goes out the front of the auger housing at the top, sort of like a snow plow. You therefore have to either slow down or take a smaller width swath. The hydrostatic transmission allows very fine speed adjustment and is handy for making those changes "on the fly" with out having to stop. I must admit I also like going from forward to reverse without disengaging the traction clutch.

We have a 2015 Honda HS928T (since redesigned), 2004 Ariens 1124 Pro (disc drive) and a 2017 Ariens RapidTrak Hydro Pro. The Honda is a good little unit. It will throw snow quite far. The RapidTrak Hydro Pro moves a LOT more snow. Don’t see image tags or Id post pictures.