View Full Version : Snow blowers
Any recommendations for decent snow blower? Getting tired of shoveling! Gas powered of course.
i've used
MTD single stage 2 cycle - Good for light snow, the unit is lighter but it is not driven. I can clear a driveway pretty fast with a single stage. Sucks for wet snow.
Craftsman 2 stage 4 cycle - Heavy SOB. Driven so you don't get man handled. I had to do the impeller mod to make it throw light snow (3" or so). Is it what i use now.
I would go 2 stage for sure, buy in spring when everyone is moving/upgrading. if you need something to hold you over check CL for a single stage. Nothing wrong with single stage, you just have to snow blow several times if we get a big storm.
Two stage. I use aeriens in a semi commercial setting exclusively. That being said snow blowers are for more than 6" of un packed snow. I typically dont break them out for anything under 12". Atv with a blade is the way to go.
Great-Kazoo
12-22-2015, 15:41
Ariens
gnihcraes
12-22-2015, 16:18
avoid the units with a Tecumseh snow king engine. otherwise, two-stage, larger the better.
I use the riding mower with blade in most cases, much quicker unless it's over 6 inches.
The one we have at work is bad ass. It's a Honda so I'm sure it was pretty expensive. I was using it to clear waste deep drifts with no problem.
I'm pretty sure it's this one.
http://powerequipment.honda.com/snowblowers/models/hss724aw-hss724awd
Looks like MSRP is around $2,200. Yikes.
I just bought a Craftsman 2 stage, 24in , 208cc at Sears last week. Its amazing.... I looked at Ariens and while I think they might be slightly better made i couldn't justify the extra $150 for what you get imo. The Craftsman has great reviews. I used it last week with 11in of wet snow and it demolished it.
Mine was $639 which i thought was reasonable. It has electric start, 6 forward gears and 2 reverse.
Do yourself a favor and at least look at it.
http://m.sears.com/craftsman-24-in-208cc-dual-stage-snow-thrower/p-07188173000P
crashdown
12-22-2015, 18:41
Ariens....
Same answer every year....
I got mine for free from my father-in-law, since he hired a service . . . so all I know is what I have. 8-HP Snapper 2-stage. We live on a corner lot and that thing has been a Godsend. So I am no expert on them--but get one! You will love it.
This was the first year he gave it to me.
http://i.imgur.com/j8dIRSR.jpg
BPTactical
12-22-2015, 19:29
avoid the units with a Tecumseh snow king engine. otherwise, two-stage, larger the better.
I use the riding mower with blade in most cases, much quicker unless it's over 6 inches.
Curious why you would say to avoid the Snow King? The engine on my 22" Yard Machine two stage is a Snow King and it has been flawless.
I scored my snowblower in the middle of the summer off of CL. I had a Craftsman but the gearbox exploded. I hoped I could find a good machine with a smoked engine and just swap the engines.
I found the Yard Machine blower that was virtually brand new. It had been used twice by a retiree and then had sat for two years. It wouldn't start and he was moving to AZ so $125.00 bought it.
I got it home, replaced the plug and fuel line and cleaned out the carb bowl.
Fired right up.
I put the Craftsman up on CL and sold it, blown gearbox and all(engine still ran great) for $125.00.
Free, nearly new snowblower.
Some day, I too will own a snowblower.
I was given a 22" Craftsman 2 stage from my neighbor when they moved to WA. Was used three times and always in the garage. Offered him money and he refused. Very lucky and I look forward to using it.
gnihcraes
12-22-2015, 21:12
Curious why you would say to avoid the Snow King? The engine on my 22" Yard Machine two stage is a Snow King and it has been flawless.
I bought a large craftsman snowblower off craigslist. Just after that massive storm we had a couple of years back. Guy used it once for that storm only. snow king won't idle for nothing, it's either full bore or nothing. It is configured to turn at a slow RPM for some reason, can barely toss snow when wide open throttle. I had to tweak some things to get it's HP/RPM up enough that it actually can do some work.
I just looked around on the web/youtube, a lot of "fixes" for the snow king problem I have, no idle and low rpm. I'll have to investigate the "fixes" one of these days. Just a frustrating engine to be new and it won't idle. Can't stop for a minute and let it sit without it just stopping.
Otherwise it's probably a fine engine, just poorly configured by sears or the factory it would appear. Never seemed to have these problems with a briggs or kohler.
:)
newracer
12-22-2015, 21:34
MY MTD has has worked great for several seasons now.
Ford Chevy Dodge...
sent from somwhere
gnihcraes
12-22-2015, 21:51
Ford Chevy Dodge...
sent from somwhere
yep, i think they are all made by MTD anyways.
BPTactical
12-22-2015, 22:15
I bought a large craftsman snowblower off craigslist. Just after that massive storm we had a couple of years back. Guy used it once for that storm only. snow king won't idle for nothing, it's either full bore or nothing. It is configured to turn at a slow RPM for some reason, can barely toss snow when wide open throttle. I had to tweak some things to get it's HP/RPM up enough that it actually can do some work.
I just looked around on the web/youtube, a lot of "fixes" for the snow king problem I have, no idle and low rpm. I'll have to investigate the "fixes" one of these days. Just a frustrating engine to be new and it won't idle. Can't stop for a minute and let it sit without it just stopping.
Otherwise it's probably a fine engine, just poorly configured by sears or the factory it would appear. Never seemed to have these problems with a briggs or kohler.
:)
Interdasting, the one on my blower starts, idles, throttles up and runs WOT just fine. On mine when I shut it down I turn the petcock off, let it run out of gas. Wonder if that makes any difference.
I would like to do the impeller mod though, it seems to make a huge difference.
My old one was a Craftsman, one thing about them. It seems if they are much more than a few years old parts can be tough to find.
Have a 24" craftsman, 6+2, electric start, steering, etc. Starts great, only use electic for first start of the year. Honestly, get whatever you want/can.
One suggestion is to get the easy chute control as found on the craftsman and others. You can set and reset it on the run, great for clearing the driveway. Otherwise you have to stop and crank away to point the chute the other way.
Oh and the 2 stages are heavy and large so make some room.
Governor sticks on my crasftsman (Briggs?) when it's really cold. Wife/kids bought it for me ages ago. Too small engine 5.5hp, but it was a gift and I grumble through the clearings. Still works tons better than a shovel until we get really heavy and wet stuff. Carb has been rebuilt, lots of fuel line parts replaced, primer bulb, etc. Lately it will only stay running on 1/2 choke, but always starts first pull after prime even though it has electric (corded) start.
Had to replace the drive wheel in the "gearbox." Rubber had worn off the "gear" wheel. I do hate the friction drive as it's unreliable.
SideShow Bob
12-23-2015, 06:32
Yep, finding parts for a 10 year old craftsman is a bi$$h, the skid shoes are $20 each plus shipping from Sears direct parts, and you will need to replace them at least 2X a year. And a scrapper blade about every other season.
Other than that mine has been going strong.
newracer
12-23-2015, 08:07
I put some aftermarket poly skids on mine last year, they are way smoother. I am interested to see how long they last.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51oa7aULuTL._SX466_.jpg
Husqvarna. It will take heavy slushy snow and make into a winter waterfall. It ate the sunday paper and and kept on chugging through 3 feet of snow several years back though there was confetti all over the yard after it melted off...
Husqvarna. It will take heavy slushy snow and make into a winter waterfall. It ate the sunday paper and and kept on chugging through 3 feet of snow several years back though there was confetti all over the yard after it melted off...
Yep, snowblowers are hell on newspapers! I have a 24" 5hp MTD that a neighbor gave me when he moved. It's old and ugly but works great. Can't beat freebies.
Husqvarna. It will take heavy slushy snow and make into a winter waterfall. It ate the sunday paper and and kept on chugging through 3 feet of snow several years back though there was confetti all over the yard after it melted off...
Mine only ate the paper once . . . and not successfully. Now I have a large backup supply of shear bolts for the auger in case it ever happens again.
I've been using an electric Toro PowerCurve 1800 for nearly a decade now w/o a single problem. Even sent a few Wednesday impact news papers over to a neighbor's yard a time or two w/o incident. The same oops put my neighbor's $2k two-stage rig down for a couple of weeks and cost nearly $300 to repair. I think I paid $150 shipped on a sweet deal back in the early 2000's and have loved it ever since. Sure the cord gets in the way sometimes and a $2k 2-stage would do a better job (my neighbor and I have had competitions and the little Toro has held it's one amazingly well) but for my money and needs it's fantastic.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.