Does anyone have any recommendations for a good snow blower under $1000.00? I know Ariens makes the 624E, but I worry about that model because it can be found in HD. I can't help but think that Ariens was trying to "dumb" down the unit just to hit a price point for the mass consumer.
So far the "Snapper" I've seen at Sears.com is the best.
Hello
This is my first post, and this is my first season owning a new snowblower, but since I have just gone through the same types of decisions myself I thought I would share my experience.
I think the most important thing to keep in perspective above all else is: What is the job you are trying to accomplish? How much snow are you trying to move and how far in what amount of time? E.g. Do you need to throw heavy wet snow 25 feet, or do you need to throw much less distance. For me, throwing it 25 feet would often put it right on my neighbors drive way, and there is no benefit in that ;)
Keep the job in perspective and dont get caught up in features you may not need. I can comment on 2 machines under 1000 dollars, one of which my father in law just bought and one which I just bought. My driveway is two car wide by 45 feet long so it is fairly small but seems not far from yours. My father in laws is 1 car wide, but about 75 feet long.
The ariens 624E my father in law bought for about 900 meets every needs he has, except that it runs up a little in the end of the drive way snow pack the city plow leaves behind . Havent tried a front weight yet not sure if that would help, but Bottom line it gets the job done just needs a second pass down there to clean up. With the 1 driveway width, we arent talking significant time either way. Generally I like some things about this machine a little more than mine, it feels a little more solid with a litter heavier gauge steel in the bucket I think than mine, and it throws heavy wet snow several feet further than mine thanks to its Tec OHV engine.
For my machine I went with a Poulan 5524, a small 2 stage thowers for 650 out the door. http://www.poulanpro.com/poulanpro/getProductsForCategory.do;jsessionid=4F9EFBEB2B6DB64671531A4AFCB616D8?categoryID=SNOWTHROWER As far as I can tell this is the same machine as the Husqvarna 5524 except that the Poulan uses chain in the drive system while I believe the Husky has no chain. So far after a total of about 20 inches of wet snow over 2 storms and a nice 3 foot mess at the end of my drive way each time I have no regrets here. The ariens would blow this snow a bit further with its OVH engine, but the only time I have wished Id had more was at the bottom of the driveway in the wet snowpack I could not throw completely from one end of the drive way to the other with is probably about 15 feet I guess. The last 4 feet or so I was throwing snow that Id already thrown once. Also has the same issue as the Ariens of running up a bit in the end of driveway bank, but since the bucket is taller its actually throwing more snow it seems(just not as far). All in all, For the price I paid though, I think I did just fine, and with the headlight the Ariens does not have I am happy. Would be nice to have a 26 or 28 inch wide machine with 8+HP, but did I need it? No.
So, try to pick the right tool for the job. Oh, and maybe Id miss the easy turn if Id ever used one, but on these 24 inch machine I have no trouble turning it myself as long as I am not in the highest speed when I trying to turn. As far as homedepot that my father in law bought his ariens, I dont think the machine was "dumbed down" at all. Its still an all steel machine and has the Tec OHV on it. Was that worth 250 bucks....hard to say...time will tell as they get older.
Happy Hunting!!
Happy Hunting!!
Happy Hunting!!
Happy Hunting!!
