I am in the market for one. Any Tips? Good Brands? Bad Brands? If I buy used what to look for? I need a snowblower for a fairly large driveway(200+yrds of Crush and Run). I would buy a plow for my ATV but I plan on buying a new bike in the next couple years and will likely do so with it. I know most plows sell separate brackets fairly cheap, but I will always use a snowblower I think for the walkways. I mine as well get one now. A buddy used his new Craftsman 26" blower last year and it worked great with the gravel drive. I didnt have many rocks in the yard at all. It also surprised me how fast he was able to get done, so I think this may be my best option anyway. I think I do want a wider blower though 28" or wider.... Thanks in advance
We get a lot of snow up here(220 something inches last year)...and most everyone uses Ariens. We personally use a SnowKing that mounts on the John Deere and is about 6ft wide with a double auger - lol --Oh yeah - Toro is another decent brand and if you want to spend more money there is Husqvarna
I bought my first one last year. I paid a little more and got a Toro. I looked at the Ariens as well and probably would have been just as happy, but I liked the longer warranty that came with the Toro. I got a 26 wide and wish I would have gone a little bigger, but it still gets the job done fairly quickly.
Ariens over Toro every day of the week. Ariens, +10000000. Second choice would be simplicity. Toro's are good too but Ariens and Simplicity are heads and tails above with 2 stage throwers. The single stage ones Toros are good for what they are. Tips: 1. Get a 2 stage 2. Don't buy the Home Depot units. They are lesser quality than the actual dealer ones. 3. Bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. Size, moverability is really nice with the mid sized units (7.5-8.5 H.P.) If you get too big of a thrower the large units won't throw the snow very far for small snowfalls (i.e. 2-3 inches) because there isn't enough snow going into the chute to create the pressure necessary. You can still do the heavy snow falls with the middle of the pack sized unit but it just takes a little longer. I've seen guys buy too big of a 2 stage thrower only to realize it didn't work well for small storms and ended up buying a single stage thrower to take care of those so they needed two machines. The 24-26" 7.5-8.5 H.P. sized units are perfect IMO. 4. The cast iron auger differentials are a big plus when you are dealing with rocks in the driveway. Here is my baby.
I bought a JD 20 years ago and gave it to the kids two years ago looking and running like new. Even after all those nasty ND winters. I now have the newer version of the JD in my garage. Runs rings around any other blower on the block. They are worth the extra money you may have to pay.
Mines has a Kohler engine and it's 15 years old at least. Runs fine. The body is a bit rusted...I think it might be a craftsman.
No kidding. Mine is 8 years old and it feels like 3 years. The last one I had before was a hand me down from my parents. It was 24 years old and and still worked fine. I sold it for $100.
if you don't get much snow where you are probably all you would need is a singles stage, they are faster and cheaper, only downfall is they only come in 18" or 21". I prefer toro, i sell both toro and ariens here in michigan and the toro is a better blower for both single and two stage.
Thanks for all the great tips guys! I will do a little more searching today and see what I can find. I dont believe I even have an Ariens dealer in the area? BJE....I have never heard that about too big of a unit, but thats good info to know. The majority of our snowfalls that I would even bother blowing would be 3+ inches. In this area 1-2" will melt off generally in a few days anyway.
Just think about if you don't have enough snow going through your chute how is the thrower going to get the pressure required to get it to fly? Kinda like a garden hose when you put your thump over the end. More snow through the same area will fly farther than less snow because the velocity has to increase.
I have to agree with all the Ariens people here, Mine is 27 years old, has a little rust, not much, but that is expected. Like everything, you may have to do a little maintenance once in a blue moon, tune ups, new belts, things do wear out, it's just like your car. I've had a few tune ups, replaced the wheel chains, they wear out on concrete, and have replaced the belts for the augers, they wear out and stretch, all necessary items for a machine that's older. I have a 5 HP, 2 stage with the electric start. Never has let me down.
