charlie1

I did notice that most of the Ariens models have much beefier shear bolts than the model that I have.  In fact I have a very hard time finding the bolts for my model because it is one of the only ones that use the tiny bolts.  If only I would have noticed this earlier. Oh well.  If you got a good quality unit from a dealer you are probably fine, but I wanted to make sure that people are aware that there are substandard Ariens models out there.

I live in Black Hawk Colorado and made the mistake of purchasing an Ariens from Home Depot last year.  It was an Ariens 5524 and I can tell you that it is horrible.  Ariens thought of every possible sneaky way of cheapening this blower to make it look good on paper but perform horribly.  It has 2 main faults that render it virtually useless:

1. The bolts that hold the impellers on.  These are a soft material bolt that are designed to break just before the breaking point of the gear case.  As you can see, these bolts are TINY on this unit, and they are also extremely soft.  This tells you a lot about the quality of the gear case.  These bolts break constantly, and you don't even have to hit a rock to break them.  Just hit an icy patch of snow and they break.  USELESS!

2. The "transmission", if you can call it that.  This cheap rubber spinning disc transmission gets very hot after about 10 minutes of use, and it begins to slip.  After 15 minutes it's time to park the thing for a couple of hours to let it cool down, since the tires won't drive anymore.  And yes, I have tried adjusting it many times, it doesn't help.

I have been told that Ariens produces this junk specifically for Home Depot, so maybe if you go to an actual dealer you'll be able to find a much better model.

I'm sorry I didn't see this post earlier.  I hope the Ariens that you purchased is not like mine.

I own an Ariens 5524 and I can tell you that it is horrible.  Ariens thought of every possible sneaky way of cheapening this blower to make it look good on paper but perform horribly.  It has 2 main faults that render it virtually useless:

1. The bolts that hold the impellers on.  These are a soft material bolt that are designed to break just before the breaking point of the gear case.  As you can see, these bolts are TINY on this unit, and they are also extremely soft.  This tells you a lot about the quality of the gear case.  These bolts break constantly, and you don't even have to hit a rock to break them.  Just hit an icy patch of snow and they break.  USELESS!

2. The "transmission", if you can call it that.  This cheap rubber spinning disc transmission gets very hot after about 10 minutes of use, and it begins to slip.  After 15 minutes it's time to park the thing for a couple of hours to let it cool down, since the tires won't drive anymore.  And yes, I have tried adjusting it many times, it doesn't help.

I have been told that Ariens produces this junk specifically for Home Depot, so maybe if you go to an actual dealer you'll be able to find a much better model.

Sorry Im late to chime in on this, but whatever you do, DO NOT buy the 5524!  I own one and I can tell you that it is horrible.  Ariens thought of every possible sneaky way of cheapening this blower to make it look good on paper but perform horribly.  It has 2 main faults that render it virtually useless:

1. Take a look at the bolts that hold the impellers on.  These are a soft material bolt that are designed to break just before the breaking point of the gear case.  As you can see, these bolts are TINY on this unit, and they are also extremely soft.  This tells you a lot about the quality of the gear case.  These bolts break constantly, and you don't even have to hit a rock to break them.  Just hit an icy patch of snow and they break.  USELESS!

2. Now look underneath at the joke of a transmission that this model has.  The rubber spinning disc gets very hot after about 10 minutes of use, and it begins to slip.  After 15 minutes it's time to park the thing for a couple of hours to let it cool down, since the tires won't drive anymore.  And yes, I have tried adjusting it many times, it doesn't help.


I hope I'm still early enough to save you from wasting your money, I have been told that Ariens produces this junk specifically for Home Depot. If you go to an actual dealer you'll be able to find a much better model.