Snow blower recomendations

[gzecc]

After the most recent snow in the northeast, I will probably be getting a snow blower for the once a few yr accumulation that we get in our area.
What are your recommendations for a used machine. I use a plow on my JD420 for the driveway. This will be for the yard to get to the back entrance and various wood stores.
I borrowed my neighbors 8hp 24" wide unit and it worked well. In the used market with this configuration are they all similar. Anything to look for, stay away from?
Neighbor is moving and taking it with him.

 

[velvetfoot]

I have an Ariens 24". It's my second one and they both did/do good jobs. I use a Toro 2 stroke single stage for the walks and deck. It's soft blades go right down to the surface, which is not good for grass or gravel.

 

[greg13]

Ariens are about bullet proof, I also have an older Toro power shift blower that will chew through about anything.

 

[maple1]

Ariens or Toro or Honda - one of those 3 depending on what you can find locally & how much money you want to spend.

I have an 826 Toro Powermax, got it used 3 or 4 years ago. They really throw the snow. One hint when looking at used - avoid anything with a Tecumseh engine. They aren't made any more, so parts & repairs will likely be an issue. But then again, if it's an extremely super good deal, it might be worth it anyway if the cost savings covers a new engine should that be needed in the future. Mine has a B&S 250cc on it - works like a top, 95% of the time, which leads to hint no.2: If the snow is really fine stuff and it's pretty cold out & the snow is going in a big cloud everywhere due to contrary circular winds (which we had a lot of here last year), it can get ingested into the air intake and freeze the carb up & the motor will quit. Will likely need thawed out & some disassembly of the air breather stuff & maybe some hair dryer action to get things right again. I got some cheap stainless steel pot scrubber thingies (looks like a blob of stainless steel wool), and fit one over the air intake under the cover. Helped immensely. Guess that got a bit sidetracked....

 

[Wooden Head]

Another vote for the Ariens. I have a 28 Deluxe with the larger engine. Will move about anything.

 

[gzecc]

Looking at used -under $400. Thinking I want nothing less than 8hp because I'm only using this with the biggest snow falls we have. The plow does all else. Is this thinking correct? Should I stay away from ariens more than 10 yrs old?

 

[maple1]

Re. the $400 figure, depends what you can find around there & maybe how lucky you are in the looking, but if it's for big snow falls I would want something rugged. The kind of machines I see around here for that little aren't rugged - garden variety MTD type stuff. This is one place you get what you pay for (usually). Steel gearboxes vs. plastic, for one thing. Lighter weight construction all around. I found my nearly new looking Toro for $700 (Canada bucks).

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

Looking at used -under $400. Thinking I want nothing less than 8hp because I'm only using this with the biggest snow falls we have. The plow does all else. Is this thinking correct? Should I stay away from ariens more than 10 yrs old?

Last year I bought a refurbished Toro 7 hp 24 inch machine. Built like a tank.

There is a guy in the Allentown, PA area refurbishing these machines of various brands. I paid $350 for the refurbished machine I got.

 

[Mike M.]

I would not worry at all when looking at an older Ariens. They make parts for everything they sell for a super long time. Yes the snow king (tecumseh) motor is gone but you can always put a different engine on the machine if needed.

 

[BlackGreyhounds]

I picked up a used Ariens, 24" x 8 hp Tecumseh with absolutely no bells and whistles about 7 yrs ago. It is dead-nuts reliable and always gets the job done! I was cruising though some 30+" drifts with the last storm. It sure looks a lot like the restored Toro above.

 

[Ashful]

I have a late 1990's Ariens 824. Unlike most here, I think it's a POS, but it does the job. I'm not convinced there's much better out there, for the money, though. So, if you find one in good condition, I'd grab it.

 

[peakbagger]

If you get really lucky you can pick up a used hyrdrostatic Honda. They are commercial rigs blatantly overbuilt for homeowner use but will run forever.. Folks keep an eye out for them so they don't hand around long used.

There is conundrum with used snowblowers, the older models tend to be heavier duty construction but the engines less ethanol tolerant. If the prior owner drained the tank yearly and you do the same or have a source of ethanol free gas buying an older namebrand like ariens. The major service parts are shear pins, drive belts and drive clutch wheel. If you can determine the availability of these parts you shuld be covered (I keep all three in stock in case of winter breakdown).

 

[Mike M.]

The first thing I would do on a used machine is remove the shear bolts. Make sure the augers turn free on the shafts with the shear bolts removed. People often neglect to grease and the augers rust tight to the shafts, basically making the shear bolts useless. If rust is an issue than try to free things up with a good oil. If you cannot free up the auger or augers leave the shear bolts out. This can save costly damage to your front worm gear box.

 

[kennyp2339]

I have a 2 year old cub cadet 530swe, The snow blower blows snow but in regards to construction / craftsmanship its not worth its weight in the price I paid for ($900.00 brand new) The biggest problem / turn off and I would suspect other brands of having this problem is the single joystick plastic shoot. In the show room the plastic seems tight and stout, unfortunately under cold weather conditions (which is when we use it) the shoot turns into this uncontrollable brittle piece of plastic. If you have the shoot pointed to the left with the shudder aimed low as soon as you hit deep snow the shutter will automatically go up and the shoot will pivot or kick to the right, this is a bad design and frustrating. Its also uncomfortable to run the machine with one had and the other on the joystick to keep things pointed were you want it. I'm actually thinking of selling this unit and finding something comparable with an old school metal shoot in the manual turning rod and manual adjusting shudder / deflector. Hope that helps.

 

[velvetfoot]

I'd like to add that my new Ariens has a differential, I think, that allows easier turning. I'm not sure it makes a really huge difference though, because the ground does have that white slippery stuff on it. Also the Ariens have metal chutes.

 

[Ashful]

My Ariens has a metal chute with the old-school rack and pinion on a hand crank to turn it. Rear axle is solid/live, but you can pull a pin on the right hand wheel to make it 1-wheel drive and easier turning. That's handy for moving it around in the garage, or servicing it in the off-season. I usually pull the pin each spring, and re-engage each fall.

Now, if you want a real snowblower, I can recommend the Woods SB64S. Just a wee-bit heavier than the Ariens, but I anticipate this snowblower will outlive me. Outlet chute is all metal, and 12" diameter.

 

[velvetfoot]

My neck is hurting just looking at that.

 

[Ashful]

My neck is hurting just looking at that.

That's why you need the big machine. At 64" width, I can do my driveway in one trip up, one trip back. It probably takes me less than 10 minutes to do 450 feet of driveway. When I'm too decrepit to look over my shoulder for 10 minutes, I'll either install towing mirrors on the uprights of the loader arms, or ask my wife to shoot me.

What takes much longer is doing the walkways and parking areas, but I'm not usually using that snowblower for those tasks.

 

[velvetfoot]

True. It takes a certain minimum amount of time to do, regardless of the amount of snow.

 

[peakbagger]

One annoying thing about older Hondas are they are designed by folks whose height is substantially lower than the US average. I am 5'10 and I definitely wish the handle grips were a couple of inches higher> I have heard that newer models are taller.

I don't think my neck would survive a back mounted blower

 

[Jim H.]

2nd the motion or was it 3rd for Cubby! Here is a video of this years 31.9" and it will still do 4 plus as well.....so can use many times when it snows.

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[velvetfoot]

That Cubby's chute didn't look like plastic to me, as someone said earlier.

 

[Jim H.]

No, mine is the HD (heavy duty, not to be confused with Home Depot!) LOL The HD series has higher bucket, thicker gauge steel construction, crank to turn chute, and thicker scraper bar. 357cc of fun! LOL

 

[maple1]

That thing was moving some snow. Nice!

 

[Jim H.]

In a snowblower forum last year I reported how well it did on 2" up to about 10 or so including heavy slush. I said the real test would be 30"! LOL Got my wish and then some.....better be careful what I write this year....Ha