 TOPDAWGPremium
join:2005-04-27
Midland, ON
kudos:3 | Help with snow blower what one to pick? |
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| Honda. |
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most of them are the same crap now a days. you either have to go commercial or honda to get a REALLY good quality one.
Personally i'd go with a good old used one before I went with a new cheap one.
Recently picked up a mckee bros blower, nothin like 6.5' of snow clearing goodness! |
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Reviews:
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| said by prairiesky:Personally i'd go with a good old used one before I went with a new cheap one.
yeah mine is 20 years now, only regular maintenance including 1 carb teardown. It may fart a little but it's reliable.
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 hm
@videotron.ca | reply to TOPDAWG
Down the road, I think you will have better luck with repairs and parts with the ariens. Snowtek, i believe, is made by ariens, but it's their cheaper line.
I would wait out the season and see if you can pick up an 28" ariens in March or April. But if you can't wait, then go for the ariens (my personal choice since parts for this machine are more readily available). No electric start on that one? |
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| reply to TOPDAWG
The difference between Ariens vs ariens snowtec is the engine, the later uses some Chinese made thing.
I have the Ariens 24" compact, works well. Traditionally I have liked Toros however getting the same size machine would have cost me 3x the price. Honda of course is good but again pricey.
You might want a wider machine, and heavier to deal with the snow you guys get. |
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Honda. |
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I have the one step down from the first snow-tek you linked. Zero issues and going on year 3. I know 4 others with the same blower as mine, all of them have had no issues (except 2 did have the recall issue for dripping gas when pressing the primer - which was fixed BEFORE they even used the blower).
If it's just a home use average sized driveway the Sno-teks should do ok. Other than that, Honda. |
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 donoreoPremium
join:2002-05-30
North York, ON | reply to TOPDAWG
Up until just a few years ago (3 or 4) my mom still had a snowblower my dad bought from Eaton's (Viking branded too!) before 1973. I do not know the year exactly other than it was before we moved to Port Hope. |
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Yamaha makes some damn good tracked snow blowers, they offer better traction over wheeled models, and I beleive they added differential steering as well so maneuverability is better. Not sure which engine manufacture they use.
On the Ariens compact and snotek range the axle is fixed and there is no steering option. I find that I need both wheels pinned (to the drive shaft), other wise using one wheel drive the machine wants to turn. |
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TOPDAWGPremium
join:2005-04-27
Midland, ON
kudos:3
1 edit | reply to TOPDAWG
well right now I'm sporting a 30 year old single stage I got off kijiji for $50 last year. thing blows to much snow into your face but it does get the job done.
On the honda are those blowers not pretty pricey I mean I know they make great engines but bother is poor.
I do want to wait till fall but I live in the snow belt so it seems stores in this area learned and did not order a crap-ton of stock like list year exp the ariens sales guy said this time last year they had ten now this year they got one lift.
Where can I even find some Honda blowers and prices? OS what is a good name to look for being as Honda is just out of my price range. |
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 KardinalDei Gratia ReginaPremium
join:2001-02-04
N of 49th | said by TOPDAWG:Where can I even find some Honda blowers and prices? OS what is a good name to look for being as Honda is just out of my price range.
We have a Honda dealer in the city that sells not just cars, but ATVs, motorcycles, marine, scooters, lawnmowers, snowblowers, trimmers and more. You might check to see if there is one in your area, but here's their website with some prices on snowblowers: Kanata Honda - Snowblowers
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 LazManPremium
join:2003-03-26
canada | reply to TOPDAWG
I have a Ariens 28" deluxe... Very solid machine.
The SnoTek has nothing to do with Ariens other then the name - it's more then just the engine; the frame isn't as solid, or well built. If you're considering a SnoTek, may as well just go with any MTD (big-box house brand, Toro, etc...) unit - they aren't any different.
I'd go with another Ariens deluxe in a heartbeat... Older Honda's are great, too - new ones can be awfully pricey. |
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hm
@videotron.ca | reply to TOPDAWG
said by TOPDAWG:Where can I even find some Honda blowers and prices? OS what is a good name to look for being as Honda is just out of my price range.
Yeah the honda's are stupid expensive for the small size of them. I know only one person with one. It suits them out in the sticks with the tracks on it, but for a driveway, the tracks are bothersome since they don't have the turn radius of the wheeled type.
Good machine, but you can buy two snowteks for the price of one of those Honda's.
Stick with Areins due to the Briggs & Stratton motor and available parts for anywhere. The other will have you running around down the road looking for who has stock.
Sears is also having a clearance sale of end-of-line models I believe. Check searc.ca The sale has been going on for a month now. Not sure what inventory they have left on the clearance. But they might be more pricey than what you pasted above. So this is another make I would also go for.
Personally, I find the 24" a bit too small. But then again it all depends on your driveway and how/where you can store it. Larger one = problems if you have to get it through a gate or have storage issues.
I used the guy next door to me 24" Canadian Tire one he got on sale (end-of-line) last year for 500$. It's ok and does the job well, but it doesn't throw the snow as far as the Ariens I found. Which was a bit of a pain in the ass when doing a double-width driveway. It really lacked in throwing distance.
The Ariens. No issue with it, but I only used a 32" ariens on mine. More powerful so the distance, I guess, was better.
I never used the sears brands, but if you look at them, stick with the B&S motor, due to part availability. But some people down the road from me have the sears ones and they like them.
I was going to buy one this year, » Snow Blower (Thrower), but i'm going to hold off till March or April when people want them off their store floors.
What I have noticed with some newer 32" ariens models is that the front ends are lighter, so some of the newer ariens may ride up on the snow instead of cutting into it. Seen this issue with one model from last year. So they guy had to weigh the bucket end down.
Last year 1400$ ariens were selling for about 950 out of season.
Make sure it's all steel and check reviews on them. |
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TOPDAWGPremium
join:2005-04-27
Midland, ON
kudos:3 | reply to TOPDAWG
woo bother can't afford a Honda to bad. Guess I may go ahead with the Ariens being as from reading it's seem to be pretty reliable. I'd like the 28 inch one but don't think I'd need it really. |
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| reply to TOPDAWG
My brother got an Ariens Deluxe 28" plus on sale a few weeks ago.
»www.ariens.com/products/snow-blo···ult.aspx
He paid $1090 instead of the usual $1300+ and his has a 305cc engine instead of the usual 250cc. Apparently they ran out of 250cc B&S engines for that lot so they substituted a 305cc B&S engine (off the 30" models).
That's a blower that'll last you 20+ years.
Don't be afraid to visit your local small engines dealers. They can usually easily match the big surface prices but you'll get a much better, more personalized service. |
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donoreoPremium
join:2002-05-30
North York, ON | said by IamGimli:My brother got an Ariens Deluxe 28" plus on sale a few weeks ago.
»www.ariens.com/products/snow-blo···ult.aspx
He paid $1090 instead of the usual $1300+ and his has a 305cc engine instead of the usual 250cc. Apparently they ran out of 250cc B&S engines for that lot so they substituted a 305cc B&S engine (off the 30" models).
That's a blower that'll last you 20+ years.
Don't be afraid to visit your local small engines dealers. They can usually easily match the big surface prices but you'll get a much better, more personalized service.
More power! Grunt grunt grunt.
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I wish i could afford a used one but i can't even afford gas for my rusted out 1970 Ford Pinto. Well back to shoveling the ten feet of snow in Ottawa that fell. |
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 dirtyjefferAnons on ignore, but not due to fear.Premium
join:2002-02-21
London, ON | reply to TOPDAWG
Re: Help with snow blower what one to pick? 27" Poulan Pro from Costco is a good machine (although, i'm not sure if there is a Costco close to you)...i got mine a few years ago on sale for $799...it is made by Husquvarna and has a Briggs and Stratton engine...the same machine with a Sears Craftsman label was $1299 at the time.
all i do is grease the fittings and change the oil every spring and it works great.
whatever you look at, try to get something with "steering control"...it is essentially little levers on each side that unlock that side of wheel (these things are heavy, so it is much easier to use them)...also, a quality engine is good, Briggs and Stratton being a decent choice, but many of the sub $1000 machines have cheap Chinese engines in them...heated hand grips are nice (mine doesn't have it), but a good set of gloves will like be fine and most models that have the heated hand grips are likely expensive.
of course, the worst time to look for a blower is after a big storm, so good luck.
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