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

Hey guys,
It's good to be back....life has been hyperspeed the last month.  We just returned from seeing my son off to Africa, and we are now back in cold Western N.Y.

While we were gone, my youngest son, 16 yrs old, has been in charge of using the new Ariens 1332DLE.  While he was last using it, a small piece broke........nothing really important, just the thin plastic bracket that holds the "Lawyer -mandated chute clearing shovel/stick thing" on the front of the unit.

My son states that it did not break by pulling the stick off in a twisted way......he said that while he was blowing out the end of the driveway, a bigger chunk of ice came out of the chute and instead of getting thrown far , far away as usual, it kinda fell right in front of it, falling on the blower itself, thus breaking this little bracket and making the shovel/stick fall off. I tend to believe him, because there has never been a reason even to touch that shovel/stick thing.

Now I'm not complaining about my Ariens, it blows the snow far, etc, and has never clogged.  I DO have to admit though, that this "bracket-clip" mounted on the top front of the blower, IS made a bit flimsy....not in character with the rest of the unit....it is thin plastic, and seems brittle in the cold. I think this should have been made out of some sheet metal.

I plan on calling Ariens Tuesday and seeing if they will just send me another bracket.  Although I have not yet come close to needing the chute cleared, I'm sure they want me to still keep that shovel/stick close by, so I really do need a new bracket.  The bracket is pop riveted on, so I think I will replace the rivets with some small Stainless steel nuts and bolts, so if it happens again it will be easier to replace.

In other "Ariens snowblower news"..........I think I have decided to buy the snow cab and weight kit for the new Ariens. After checking all over, the best price came from the dealer I bought the snowblower from.......(DUH)........price being $160 + tax.  Other places wanted up to $199. for it plus tax or shipping.  I think they install it for $20.00 more, but I think I will do that, unless they also have that bracket thing, and want to just come and get it and do everything in a timely fashion.  I just do not want to be without it this time of year, unless they can return it in less then a day or so..........we'll see.

I may also think about snow chains for it.  I did not think I would need them, hearing so much good about these "new snow hog tires", but on my smooth driveway, I do get some slippage even when the traction shifts from one wheel to the other.....I wonder if the chains will help. The chains are not to nice to driveway sealer....I was hoping to get away from chains, but we'll see.   Yes, I know I can easily put it in "key lock" position with just a turn of the knob, but heck, when it is in that mode, it IS very hard to turn, and if I wanted to do that, I just would have bought the LE instead.

Anyway, all your collective wisdom is eagerly coveted.

Frank D.

Dear Rob,
I think you may be right. For years I scuffed up the driveway with the chains on my old Toro.  I did inflate the tires up to the specs....perhaps I'll go down just a pound or two. I can live with the occasional "spin".
The snow was very wet today...temp 34 °
Nice to have the chute not clog even with wet snow.

Frank D.

Hi Frank and welcome back !


Tire chains... see if Ariens allows them on the snowblower...

Regular chains will give it a bouncy ride...

One tire chain solution I used on an ancient history snowblower with the old style, almost smooth tires...
was using chain made for double hung windows in old houses... still available at hardware and big box stores...

This chain is not as big and clunky as regular tire chains... so the ride is smoother... and traction is good...
I cut the chain in individual lengths... wrapped each length over the tire... and attached the 2 loose ends with wire... there were holes thru the tire rim for the wire to go through... I don't see any holes in the Ariens rim at their web site...

Next "chain" idea... is using screws... screwed into the deep tire tread parts... can use regular, short sheet metal screws with the hex head... or... buy hardened screws made for use on dirt bike tires... which will last longer... there may be same/similar screws for snowmobile tracks too.. you determine how may screws to use...

My sons did this successfully on their dirt bikes for winter riding... using regular sheet metal screws... but they didn't last all that long with the rear tire spinning most of the time... should get decent wear on a snowblower though...
...unless you pull a lotta' hole shots !  


Dave...

Hello Frank,

I think chains may just fall between the treads of the snowhogs that come with the beast. 

I have snowblown my pond out back with my father's Ariens 924 with snowhogs and never slipped.  I never had a traction problem with them.  I was always so impressed with them. 

Perhaps they are over inflated?  Maybe the rubber is different  than the ones on our 96 model. 

C

there are special purpose chains for the sno hog tires and they work very wel but they aint cheep.

i would try the  air pressure trick first and then maybe the screws.

later chris