shiva916

I have used a model similar to the one you are looking at. My inlaws own a husky 8527 with a tech 8.5hp motor. I'm guessing that this is simply the newer briggs powered (no more tech) version. I did post a thread on here where i gave a review of this machine as well as my ariens compact which I was able to use on the same storm on the same day pretty much back to back.

It looks like the 14527 that you are looking at has power steering according to the husky website, and that would have been my biggest complaint with my inlaws machine which has no power steering and it simply a pin lock system. The bulk of the machine with the locked axles made turning it a bit of a chore after a while. However, power steering would take care of that. The machine felt pretty beefy with the 8.5hp motor on it, and had no problem chugging through 8-10" of heavy wet snow when I used it. My inlaws machine also has a sort of hydrostatic drive which made fine adjustments to speed possible, but I felt the mechanism was a bit clunky to use on the fly, rather than the simple 6 speed friction plate drive I was used to. I also found the speed adjustments a bit odd as the slowest crawling speed looked as if you would have been putting the machine in reverse. While I'm sure i would become familiar with all these little quirks with more use I felt as though this was a solid machine in my brief time with it. I'd say the machine is about 4 years old and they have had no problems with it to speak of. My only other complaint is a somewhat limited range of motion in the chute. My ariens provides a good 15-20°of turning, the husky doesn't even turn directly to the side (90°) which i found kind of anoying. The chute movement was also a bit stiff and difficult to adjust while on the move. You have to depress the lever while adjusting it, then release it to lock it. I enjoy my quick turn crank better.

Again like I said, the machine that I have used may be the equivelant of the 11527sb or 12527sb as it looks like the 1427sb has heated handles, but I felt that this machine was more than enough for most uses. Not sure where in Canada you are, so you may be better served by the bigger engine, but living in south eastern new england this machine would handle pretty much any storm we would see no problem. We've been getting hit pretty hard this winter with about the yearly snow average already falling and we have a few months of snow season to go, and I haven't seen this machine even bat an eye at whatever I or my father in law have thrown at it.

Good to see it looks like others may have felt the same way i did. Not to single out anyone in particular, and i think it's great that some people will go all out to show brand loyalty but it tends to make post quickly get off topic.

Steve...lucky man that the Mrs. wants to get out there and use your toro, mine only looks at it and says that its in the way.  I shouldn't say that, on the first storm that i used it out I got her to make about 2 passes down the driveway, then she thought it was kind of fun. Sorta like all sorts of chores, seems kinda fun at first, but it quickly gets old. Although I can't say the task seems old yet with the new machine. With my last junker it truly was a crummy task. I guess thats what a better piece of machinery will do for you.

MN & trouts, please don't take me the wrong way, I think that all members opinions are great to be voiced on these boards as thats what keeps them going and as great as they are. Obviously with any forum community you will get members that favor particular brands over others. Since getting my particular machine I think it's quite nice and will sing it's praises as much as anyone else if I were asked, but I also would not rule out any other type of machine were my needs to change or if somene asked me for an opinion about different machines.

Maybe it's just me, but some members seem so biased that if anyone mentions a machine other than the one that they love reguardless of the content of the post or what the OP may be looking to answer the response will be that "you should just buy XXXX machine it's the best" with little else. While this will happen in any kind of discussion and forum of any kind I just happened to see it on quite a few posts that I was looking at; and not to say it's limited to Honda, or Yamaha, but there are also Ariens fanatics as well. I think this is a very valuable website and with many very knowledgeable members as I have said before. I know first hand as this site actually helped me in my purchase.

Off topic a bit, and not that I think I would ever pony up the money for it but has anyone heard of Yamaha being sold in the US market again? And as far as the big Honda machines not being sold in the US market, you would think that certain parts of this country certainly would receive enough snow to justify one of these monsters. I kinda wish I had one just to blast out my driveway in like 10 mins, and bury the neighbors in the process. Just for laughs, then I could go blow them out too.  Don't want to be thought of as that guy....lol

trouts2 wrote:

Trouts, I agree that likely the OP is long gone and has likely made a purchase by now but I was just getting commenting on the issue that someone asks a question about certain types of machines they are thinking of and someone usually responds with "Honda's rule and are awesome" or something along those lines. No doubt they are great machines and I would like to have one but I don't think that they are the best solution to everyone's situation.

I must admit that prior to buying my Ariens I cruised these forums looking for advice and suggestions from prior posts and that helped me in purchase. For one, prior to checking out the Ariens line at HD, I was pretty unfamiliar with them and if someone asked me what type of snow blower they should buy I would have likely said go to sears and get a craftsman. I do see quite a lot of them around and have to admit I owned one myself, but I guess thats called being unknowledgeable in a subject. I think that there are some very experienced people on this forum with a great deal of worthwhile opinions and smarts about OPE, and then there are others like myself that are just trying to get some help and offer some assistance where possible. While I am not a wiz with snow blowers I do know a little about small engines and tinkering around is a bit of a hobby, so I may not be in a position to offer an opinion on every thread in here, but it gets a little old with people just throwing 2cents in about Honda, Yamaha, etc when a person like me may not be able to devote $2k + to a machine that only gets used a few times a year depending on where you live. This is not to say that the red and blue claims may not be without merit but my opinion is that they may be machines better to suited to someone elses need. It's kind of like going to a car forum and asking about a corolla or a civic and the only answer you get is...BMW is the ultimate driving machine.

Just my 2cents

I love the guys on here that are all about Honda machines. While no one will doubt that they are great, the OP is looking in the low $1k price range and asking about 2 particular machines. Someone almost always comes on who loves and/or owns a Honda and suggests they spend almost 3x the money that they were asking the question about. If they were considering spending close to $3k on a machine I'm sure they would have posted that in the first place.

I am perfectly happy with my $700 Ariens, and while some may scoff at it's lack of headlight, differential, non heated grips and small engine it does the job well enough for my needs. To me I was not crazy with the chute mechanism on the deluxe (ice drill I think it's called), I just found it kind of awkward to reach over the control panel to crank the chute. Had the deluxe had the same quick turn chute on the compacts I might have considered it. The toro stick does look pretty slick although I've never actually used one other than playing around in the stores.