There are a lot of Ariens fans on here, for good reason.
Snowblower
- Thread starter dcorbatt
- Start date
No recommendations, but I just bought my first snowblower. Last season sucked via shovel. Went with cub cadet 26". Almost went with an Ariens. Guessing you can't go wrong with those given the feedback on here.
In no particular order, Ariens, Toro, Simplicity, Snapper, Honda, John Deere. Basically anything that has a premium price has a reason for it. I have a 9hp Craftsman, it is 1/2 the machine as my neighbors 8hp John Deere. They look very similar from afar, but performance wise the JD runs circles around mine, specifically in ease of use. I have to work to keep mine 'down' in the snow, where his you just point it where you want it to go.
Look for the big wheels and heft.
Good to know. One of my colleagues is a big cub cadet fan so was going to look at that in addition to some of the ones you list.
They could be on the list too. Be careful with those and other brands they sell at box stores (Lowes, Home Depot) are often different (cheaper) models than what they sell at power equipment dealers.
Just like Boxster, I am in the Twin Cities. I have a Toro single stage and as long as the snow isn't deeper than the intake of the machine I don't have a problem with most snows. That is around 9". Chunks of ice at the end of the driveway pushed in by the plows are an occasional problem, but not worth worrying about. I have never gotten my single stage jammed in over a decade with it.
I would think width would be a bigger issue. I have a three car garage so the top of the drive is very wide. I generally blow to both sides but if the wind is blowing across it I will blow it with the wind and have no problem.
This resurrected thread reminds me I should maybe roll the Toro's out and give them a test run. Didn't do that last year and needed to replace a leaking gas line in the dead of winter.
Also been doing rehab on both rotator cuffs. After shoulder doc consultation I started strengthening exercises a few months ago and this have been getting better. Snowblower or no snowblower you still have to shovel toss some snow. Even at my advanced age.
Also been doing rehab on both rotator cuffs. After shoulder doc consultation I started strengthening exercises a few months ago and this have been getting better. Snowblower or no snowblower you still have to shovel toss some snow. Even at my advanced age.
On all but the heavy snows I miss my old(!) single stage, but my driveway is halfway as long as yours. If I had 120' of driveway to deal with I'd want the 2 stage.
On second thought, I am comparing my Craftsman to my old single stage, if I were to compare the neighbors JD, the JD would win out.
Last year after the first big snow storm of the season, and spending all morning shoveling the snow, I told my wife "we can either plan on paying for my heart attack or buy a snow blower." At 57 I was just getting too old to shovel snow.
My son had bought a Husqvarna ST224P a couple of years before from Lowes, I went online and there was a Husqvarna dealer not two blocks from my house, went down and talked to them, they had to order one, but he said he would assembly, deliver and gas it up for $1,050.
One of the best purchases I ever made, even though I only used it 3 or 4 times this past year. It's a two stage, electric start. I can now clean my driveway in 45 minutes, it used to take me 3 or 4 hours shoveling the snow. Works well on the rock portion of the drive way.
My son had bought a Husqvarna ST224P a couple of years before from Lowes, I went online and there was a Husqvarna dealer not two blocks from my house, went down and talked to them, they had to order one, but he said he would assembly, deliver and gas it up for $1,050.
One of the best purchases I ever made, even though I only used it 3 or 4 times this past year. It's a two stage, electric start. I can now clean my driveway in 45 minutes, it used to take me 3 or 4 hours shoveling the snow. Works well on the rock portion of the drive way.
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FWIW Consumer Reports rated the Cub Cadet 2X 30" HP their best buy. Their high rated models are littered between Cub Cadet, Toro, Ariens, and Troy Built.
My single stage worked great last winter when we had the snow and rain. Even at the the end of our driveway after the snow plow went by. I watched as my neighbors went from plugging their two stage snow blowers to using shovels.
I also have a pretty nice little MTD two stage 5 hp that had maybe one season on it that I got for nothing! Electric start version and the only thing that was wrong was that when it was assembled at the factory the drive pulley wasn't tightened down and was at an angle and wouldn't go hardly at all. Pulled the bottom plate off and took the belt off, got the pulley tightened down securely and was set to go. Works like a champ and only spent around $20 for fuel shut off and carb on it.
Where you buy it from is just as important as what you buy. A snowblower is a long term investment that will need service eventually. Find a dealer that will service it as well.
I have an EGO lawn mower and decided to get the EGO snow blower last year. It's great for a cordless electric! Last year was a rough one for snow and there was only one snowfall that was a struggle, but it always got the job done. I will say I only have one battery and it is barely enough to get my driveway done. The snowblower actually has two battery bays, so you can purchase a second battery for it.
I bought my Ariens from P&K Midwest (Eastern Iowa). They've been great so far. Took car of a warranty repair on the fuel tank without any issues.
Where is it leaking from gas line or carburetor?
If the carburetor, the float may be stuck and/or the sediment bowl gasket is not seated and/or if the sediment bowl has a drain on it check to if it is open.
This same thing happened to me last year. It was the sediment bowl on the carburetor that the seal was bad. Spent $16 bucks on a new carb and it fixed the problem even added a fuel shut off below the fuel tank.