Well I finally got to use my new Ariens this morning. We received our first storm of the season last night. 25 - 30 cm was dropped from the sky. I had never used a snow thrower before, so when I looked out the window, I was jumping for joy. When I went to start it I had my first problem. I followed the instructions for starting with the pull cord but no luck. I then plugged it in and it started on the first crank. Don't know what the problem was (maybe where I leave it outside with a cover over it, it was too cold to start)
The snow was deep, heavy and wet and I was worried that the machine wasn't up to it. When the Auger bit into the snow, it threw it maybe 15 feet which was a surprise due to the weight of the snow. There was a lot of man handling involved, pushing it along in someplaces but I was very impressed with it's performance in this kind of snow. My neighbour wouldn't even attempt it. I noticed a few other people on the road were giving it a try but none of their machines were throwing half the distance I was.
I would definitely recommend this machine to anyone. It was baptized in very severe conditions and came through a winner. I can't wait to try it out on some light stuff.
John
