We got dumped on with about a foot of really heavy, wet snow last week and I spent several hours digging out two cars (unfortunately we have street parking only and no garage/driveway) and sidewalks/paths because this was heart-attack snow for sure. One shovelful at a time, scoop up, walk it to the lawn, dump. Agonizing and slow.

I've finally realized I need a snow blower, my boys are too young to really help with shoveling and at 48 I'm not getting any younger.

I'd love a Honda, as I've had an opportunity to use them before when a neighbor would lend me his (he moved away) but Good Lord they are expensive. The one I think I would need STARTS at $2,500

I'm thinking something under $1,000

I need it to be able to throw snow from parking spots on our street and ACROSSS a sidewalk and onto a front lawn, that's really my only stipulation here.

I've heard good things about Ariens? What are some good brands to look at and ones to avoid?

I will buy from the same place I bought my Honda HRX mower this year, it's a tractor/mower/snowblower equipment place, I will not buy some junk from a big box store.

2-stage 24" Ariens; you should be able to find one for about $1,000. I got mine from Ace Hardware three years ago after nearly crumping shoveling snow.

Find some non-ethanol gas for it.

I agree Airens. I believe made in WI. I would confirm there are still USA made. I would go that route. Although they do run a B&S engine. Which is not a plus.

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
Find some non-ethanol gas for it.

That is something I plan on doing, I did that for the new Honda mower. Found a place within a 30 minute drive and fill up a big can as needed to get me through the season. No ethanol gas will ever go in my stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by aileron:
2-stage 24" Ariens; you should be able to find one for about $1,000. I got mine from Ace Hardware three years ago after nearly crumping shoveling snow.

I've had a slightly bigger Ariens for a couple of years and it's been very dependable. I think I've changed the oil once.

Concerning gas - What I look for is a fuel shut off valve which my unit has. I run it dry and just before it quits I pull the choke to get a bit more out of it. Have not had any carb issues using that method.

Can you wait until spring? Its a great time to pick up a lightly used panic buy snowblower for a good price.

Personally I have a MTD 2-stage that has done a good job with the snow we get. I bought it used from somebody 10 years ago, and it is still doing fine. However, it definitely qualifies as a big box type brand. I have heard about Ariens as a good brand.

You might watch craigslist or similar venues. Lots of people tired of moving snow may be selling off their machines...to move to FL.

You are saying you want to go all out the first cycle. Its more of a process that you learn from. Sure, its your money and do as you please.

When I moved off the hill (big hill, still next door) I had a cheapo Toro power shovel. It was used when I got it but it sure worked. Then I found another at a yard sale the following summer. The advantage of having 2 identical 2 stroke blowers is that you can nearly always get one to start and work.... I kind of liked the Toro brand and moved off the hill. That prompted me to buy a bigger one. Still Toro, and it worked great for about 8 years until some dirt bag broke into my garage and stole it. If I knew who it was, I'd shoot the bastard.

It also prompted me to hate insurance companies who took forever to settle. So it snowed and I'd had enough. I needed a chain saw and snow blower. I finally gave up and just went to my favorite hardware and bought them. That worked because the girl who was causing the problems then paid me. Oh, tidbit of information, get replacement cost on your insurance. When other people see you they want to steal your good stuff.

I still bought Toro brand, and picked a model with a slightly narrower bite but even more horsepower, and electric start. Things that are left to rot all summer don't always like waking up when it gets cold after the snowfall. Going to sleep on the start button does wake them up with very little effort on your part. Much less than pulling on a cord.

They can also be used for neighborhood feuds. I liked my blower so much I went down the road out front to Mrs. Slays house (nice old widow) and then down the side road to where the cute babe lived (4 more houses). Even though I have a reputation here as a prick, I'm a good guy when it comes to great looking girls. The babe was also in the National Guard, so clearing off her drive was a service to my country. Or that's what I tell my wife.

Funny how cutting your grass on a weekend wakes up neighbors, but none of them complain about the 2 stroke blower clearing their sidewalk.

Anyway, the one I've had since 2004 is great. More horsepower and narrower swath. It'll pick up things like tricycles and small foreign cars and launch them all the way across the state highway out front. You really don't need the self propulsion because they walk themselves along a bite of snow at a time. Here on the sunny side of the river, we don't get much snow. About a foot at a time is maximum. I didn't buy for a once in a lifetime event, only to clear a more normal amount.

And you've still got to deal with the bastard who drives the snowplow and leaves you a 3' berm of ice. While warming up, I was digging for AP ammo to punch a hole in his engine block.

I have a 2001 Troy-Bilt, 9hp B&S Engine.
I'm at work, so iirc I think it is a 34" wide two stage.

Works great, especially from 6" to 18" of snow! I helped others who have a single stage, which are very good with 6" or less of snow.

If I had to replace it, I'd consider an Ariens or Simplicity built before 2013? which still had Made in USA engine.

See pure-gas.org to get sources of Ethanol Free gas.

I had a 2 stage Airens from the 1960s. If their quality today is anything like their quality back then, buy with confidence. That thing would throw a tree stump.

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
Find some non-ethanol gas for it.

100 LL from a small airport is really what you want. Usually close to the same price, higher quality and great fuel stabilizer.

What a nightmare.
No off street parking.
I am sure you are used to it but,
I can't wrap my head around the whole ordeal.

You spend an hour getting your car dug out,
Where does the plow take all the snow that's on the street?

Or
Where do you put the snow ?
Then! THEN !
You gotta get rid of the snow that's on the side walk !

Where does THAT go?

And
If you do get your space dug out, what happens when you get home ?
Do you have to hope that some one is not in the space you cleared out?

It vey

When I lived in the Upper Midwest, I had a MTD single stage snowblower. It mowed through everything up to 6" and the consumable part of the impeller touches the driveway which has the benefit of assisting forward and cleaning down to bare pavement (assuming you haven't driven over it and compacted it). The only things it couldn't handle were the sludge from the county's snowplow at the end of the driveway and the rare snowfall above 6". I minimized the county's snowplow by snowplowing the "upstream" street about 8' wide x 30' long. It had a plug-in electric start (powerful and no battery to maintain), and when I moved away I gave it to Dad who is still using it 18 years later.

When I lived in Alaska, I had a 28" Craftsman 2-stage with an engine 150% larger than the comparable Honda for $900 vs $2700. It had the joystick for changing the auger direction so a 1 second flick of the wrist the auger changed direction instead of cranking dozens of times. It also had the plug in electric start so the big motor turned over quickly and no battery to maintain. Additionally, it had reverse (very few of the 24" 2-stages have this) which meant wasn't having to pull the heavy machine backwards (e.g. sidewalk) and risk falling on my fatass. Speaking of transmissions it was hydraulic so I could send power to either wheel to turn it which is something that made snowblowing less work. The downside was the auger doesn't have a consumable bolted to the impeller that touches the driveway and cleans the driveway bare. In other words, it left a little over 1/4" of snow to drive over and compact down into ice so I still had to use a push shovel after snowblowing.

My brother, lives in Upper midwest, has an older 24" Ariens 2-stage. It was pull start, he had to hand crank the chute dozens of times to change shoot direction, it didn't have reverse, and its transmission can't direct power to one wheel to steer. Most of the snowfall wasn't enough to need a 2-stage and he had a corner lot with sidewalks so he ended up shoveling a lot of surface area for small snowfalls or to get the approx 1/4" the 2 stage impeller doesn't clear. Over the years, he has had a few injuries that meant he couldn't pull it in reverse or manhandle it to turn and had to hire someone to clear his driveway (i.e. if he had one like mine he could've done it himself more often).

You may be asking for too much distance on a heavy wet snow, just sayin'.

I just bought an Ariens Deluxe 24" for work last week for $1,099......well worth the extra coin over the standard "Compact" version. AutoTurn, 2 speeds reverse/6 forward, electric start, cast iron gear box. Extremely heavy machine. It'll throw plow snow into the next county.

Buy from a mom and pop power center, should be the same price as a big box store. FYI I believe the engines are made by LCT now, not Briggs. And honestly, Briggs isn't the dirty word that it used to be in my opinion.

Ego Power Snow Blower - electric, no ethanol, no fuel or oil storage, just roll out and go.

Nice thing is if you get yourself an ego mower, edger, trimmer, whatever you can use the batteries from them in the winter on the snow blower, and visa versa.

Ego Cordless Snow Blower Amazon $600 $

Includes blower, two batteries and charger...

Toro SnowMaster.

Single-stage usually doesn't have the power you seek, but are much more maneuverable. Due to their simpler design they're far more maintenance-free. Two-stage has the power, but they're heavier, not as maneuverable, and, due to the increased mechanical complexity, more trouble-prone.

Enter the Toro SnowMaster: A single-stage snowblower that has nearly all the maneuverability of a single-stage but the clearing capacity to rival, or even exceed, many two-stage snowblowers. And because it's still a single-stage: None of the maintenance issues common to two-stage machines.

We've had ours for two seasons and it rocks! Our driveway is 100 feet long, two cars wide, and our lot 90 ft. wide. Other than straight-out slush, our SnowMaster will throw snow half-way across the front yard from the far side of the driveway. It goes through drifts and end-of-driveway crud with no problem. Starts so easily the only time I plug it in to use electric start is the first start of the season.

Check the reviews and YouTube videos.

I think we paid somewhere in the vicinity of $1200 for ours, two years ago.

Coming from a person that has had a Honda (HS1132TAS) tracked snowblower for the past 10+ years-buy quality and cry once. You will never regret the Honda. They are snow cannons. Mine will throw wet, heavy snow 50+ feet, when other blowers will barely make it out of the discharge chute.

Did I mention you will never regret it?

I picked up a used Cub Cadet 528 from a snow removal company eight years ago, and it's still going strong.