chrisexv6

Yeah now that I found a pic of the Toro version, I can see the differences.  Also interesting is that the plastic on the Toro looks more heavy duty in the picture alone, I can only imagine looking at it in person.  I played with the Craftsman version over the weekend, and the whole setup didnt move very easily for being all plastic, and the chute would actually squeeze together when moving because of the fact that it took so much effort to get it sliding.

Oddly enough the Toro version looks similar to the Ariens setup, except the Ariens setup has 2 separate sticks.

I guess its the little things that set every brand apart........if I didnt know any better I would have just assumed the Craftsman version was just as good as the Toro version.

-Chris

Is it just me, or did one of the previous models of Craftsman blowers have a joystick that looked/worked very similar to the Toro version?  I could swear I saw one like it, maybe last year or the year before.

Love my Ariens......was worried about the plastic joystick on the Toro as well, but nice to see they are all holding up.  I dont mind the 2 separate handles on the Ariens.......ANYTHING is an improvement from no remote chute angle adjustment, and the good old fashioned crank mechanism to turn it.

-Chris

I bow to his knowledge :)

At least Ariens wasnt charging the price difference just for 2 small parts, makes me feel better.  Also makes me think I should have gotten the 11528 instead!  Nice price on it at HD (I know, I know) during the clearances last year.

-Chris

Hmm, OK then.

The parts radar parts listings didnt show different "context notes" for the axle/wheel parts.  True, they are different parts on a 926DLE, but I had assumed that they were only different because the DLE has an actual diff.

Is a diff *required* for trigger lock to work?  I didnt think so, because the 1028 models seem to have the remote lock without necessarily having a diff (or did they?)  Maybe Im just getting all the models confused in my head :)

I have an 06 Ariens 926LE.  No remote lockout, etc.

Ive looked over the parts illustrations for the models with remote lockout (NOTE, they dont have a real diff, but they just remotely do what the pin does on the LE).  It seems that with relatively few parts, you should be able to add the remote trigger to the 926LE.

Am I seeing this correctly? 

Id love to be able to do this.....its not that Im lazy, its just that the (very well built) machine gets heavy to turn after a while, unless its really snowy/cold/icy out.

I also read here that full automatic diff kits are available for the 926 series.  Any pricing info on those?  The parts for the remote trigger (at least the ones I think are required) are quite cheap, but the automatic diff would be even cooler if within reason on $$$.

Thanks in advance.

-Chris