Surgedork

RickJ wrote:
Yeah. I just got back from the local store. I had a hard time finding ice scrapers let alone snow blowers. Did a little phone work and all the reasonably close stores are out of stock. I'll probably pass on a new one this year and maybe modify my existing blower this summer.

I tend to keep to the big stores like Home Depot rather than dealers, but I haven't taken the time to look in store. I did check HD's website and found a nice looking Cub Cadet model with similiar features for $999 (I doubt their website would reflect any local clearances). I've read a bit about the Toro 2 stage models and they are tempting. My gut feeling is the Toro is going to be out of my price range but you never know (I bought a Toro self-paced lawn mower last summer and I'm very satisfied with the quality of the tool and it wasn't much more expensive than some of the other manufacturers models).

Maybe tomorrow (once the storms pass) I'll get out and see if they have any deals going. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the info. Enlarging and improving the efficiency of the impeller was not something that I thought about but makes perfect sense.

Ack, I'm jealous. I'm also in MN and cleared the same wet slushy snow this morning (about 6 inches worth). At MOST my 8hp/24in. Murray would throw it 4 feet. Basically each pass just moved the snow a little bit further to the side of the driveway until the final pass cleared the driveway. (I've checked the belts and they are not slipping, nor is the engine bogging down). I'm thinking I might be able to replace/hack the pully system to get the auger and impeller to spin faster, but I'm not going to mess with that until spring. (I'm trying to convince myself to buy a new one but I'm having a hard time justifying the cost)

Amazon has a deal going for a Poulan Pro 8.5 hp 27 inch snow blower (PP8527ES) for $639 (list $999) (minus an additional 10% for YARDSALE promo code posted on the web page, valid until Monday 3/5/2007). They also have a deal going on a Poulan Pro 10.5 hp 30 inch snow blower (PP10530ES) for $759 (list $1299)(also minus an additional 10% using the promo code). Shipping on either is a flat rate $99. Total costs would be $675 and $783 respectively (not including tax if applicable).

It sounds like a good deal to me given the features of the machines so I've been trying to do a little research and wanted to get some opinions on Poulan Pro. I'm leaning towards the larger 10.5 hp 30 inch model, as it has power steering whereas the 27 inch model does not. It would appear that the PP10530ES model is the same as the Sears Craftsman 88105 ($1049.88 on clearance) and the Husqvarna 1130SBE ($1199 at Lowes, but 11hp vs. 10.5). From what I've gathered, they are all the same machine with different branding and different engines.

Unfortunately Amazon's site lists very little information about the Poulan Pro and I am not able to find very many reviews about those particular machines.

My current machine is an 8hp 24in Murray with the Tecumseh Snow King engine. It's probably 10-12 years old now and I haven't had many issues with it. However the new machines I've seen with the remote chute joysticks are twisting my arm and tempting me to get a newer, bigger, toy (err, tool).

Does anyone have a Poulan Pro snow blower that they can provide some feedback on?