Walk behind snowblower BOUGHT !!!

[ebinmaine 62,962]

Trina and I are looking to purchase a new snowblower.

24 -28 wide.

$1,500 or less.

 

Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated.

 

Edited January 22, 2020 by ebinmaine

[SylvanLakeWH 24,093]

I had a Troy Built 2-stage that is 30+ years old and ran like a top. Passed on to nephew and still going strong... Sorry - no pics (but it was / is red)...A beast though...

 

Now use a single stage toro 2 stroke just for touch up where the WH won't fit...Passed on to me from my 92 year old Dad a couple years ago when he stopped doing his own snow at 89... probably 15 years old and going strong...

 

[JCM 8,621]

Hey Eric, back in 1973 my dad bought a new Ariens 7 HP  24'', yes the engine was a Tecky but never had an issue with the engine or blower, paid 400 00 for it and was used for 30 years and the dealer told me he would give 400.00 to have it back. I decided to sell it to a friend who also bought a 312 and 520 from me and still has all 3 of them.The WH dealer who is still in business sold Ariens for many years until I believe a change in that Company and to many issues with them and started selling Simplicity. I used a new Simplicity that a family member bought from this dealer and it was a powerfull machine just to complicated to operate in my opinion, nothing like the old days. I think she paid at least 2000.00 . I think I am just to old school to own something like that. If you could find a mint old Ariens that would be my personal choice. Good luck in your search my friend.

Edited January 17, 2020 by JCM

[SPINJIM 1,978]

I have a Craftsman 30" with electric start (120 volt plug-in) and a Tecumseh engine.  It's probably made by MTD.  Tecumseh made decent engines for snowblowers, better than the ones used on small WHs.  I bought it because I figured that I could always get parts for it from Sears.  But with Sears being in trouble now, I'm not sure how long that will work.  If I had to choose today, I would probably go with an Ariens because they have an excellent reputation for snowblowers, and I like Ariens/Gravely as an American company.    

 

Whatever brand you choose, make sure you get an electric start.  No engine likes to start in extremely cold weather, and you could pull your shoulder out, regardless of which engine is on it.  Save your shoulders for shoveling the snow.   The 120 volt plug-in starter has been a blessing.

   Good luck,   Jim

 

[82Caddy 851]

Everyone I know that has an Ariens walk behind snowblower absolutely loves it.  You can get a brand new 28" for about $1100 plus taxes (at least that's what they're listed at in Minnesota).

 

Are you looking for new or used?

[ebinmaine 62,962]

Just now, 82Caddy said:

new

Most likely new unless we find a smoking deal on something that is only a year or two old

 

[WHNJ701 4,164]

I have toro 826, it's a great machine.  tons of power and throws the snow, starts on the first pull no mater how long it sits, I use it hard and takes the abuse.  I sent many newspapers, ice chunks and stones through it.  only major thing, I replaced the auger bearing.

Edited January 17, 2020 by jabelman

[82Caddy 851]

8 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Most likely new unless we find a smoking deal on something that is only a year or two old

 

 

Next question is, what do you have local to you for product support?  We all know stuff breaks at the worst time and being able to get a spare part quickly can influence what you end up buying.

[ebinmaine 62,962]

1 minute ago, 82Caddy said:

 

Next question is, what do you have local to you for product support?  We all know stuff breaks at the worst time and being able to get a spare part quickly can influence what you end up buying.

I had processed that thought as well. In my case I have to go with a big box type store unless I want to spend a fair amount too much money at a local dealer.

[82Caddy 851]

2 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

I had processed that thought as well. In my case I have to go with a big box type store unless I want to spend a fair amount too much money at a local dealer.

 

As much as I hate to admit it, that's why I ended up the the tractor (Deere) I did for my primary snow mover and have had no regrets about it.  Local product support was a key player in that choice plus diesel and 4x4.

 

Ace hardware carries Airens if you have one of those near by?  I have no idea where Hiram Maine is and google is only useful for so much.

 

How quickly are you looking to purchase?  Waiting until closer to spring would likely get you a new unit at a lower price with the changing of seasons.

[ebinmaine 62,962]

6 minutes ago, 82Caddy said:

 

As much as I hate to admit it, that's why I ended up the the tractor (Deere) I did for my primary snow mover and have had no regrets about it.  Local product support was a key player in that choice plus diesel and 4x4.

 

Ace hardware carries Airens if you have one of those near by?  I have no idea where Hiram Maine is and google is only useful for so much.

 

How quickly are you looking to purchase?  Waiting until closer to spring would likely get you a new unit at a lower price with the changing of seasons.

Actually looking today and tomorrow.

 

Spring would certainly be a better time but I'm coming into snow season in the mountains of Maine....

 

Our smaller snowblower has decided to be worn out a little too much to repair.

 

 

it isn't exactly a national emergency to purchase one but I have a couple days off and I wouldn't mind getting it out of the way.

 

But sometimes I change my mind and I may not purchase one for quite a while....

[ZXT 2,394]

I know you're on the hunt for new, but have you looked on CL any? I'm bored so i just pulled up Maine craigslist and there are a good number on there that look decent from the $100-400 range... For $1000 less, If it were me I'd be looking at a few of them. You never know!

 

I guess Maine is small enough that everything can be grouped into one section on CL? I thought it was fairly large. There are probably 25 area sections on ours 

Edited January 17, 2020 by ZXT

[Herder 2,354]

What?  I wouldn't recommend a walk behind snowblower to anyone!!  EB get a snowthrower for the Cinnamon Horse.    The last tractor in the pic is my C-160.  Once you have used a snowthrower you will never have no desire to use a snowblower.  Ever again.    

 

Edited January 17, 2020 by Herder

[ebinmaine 62,962]

23 minutes ago, ZXT said:

I know you're on the hunt for new, but have you looked on CL any? I'm bored so i just pulled up Maine craigslist and there are a good number on there that look decent from the $100-400 range... For $1000 less, If it were me I'd be looking at a few of them. You never know!

 

I guess Maine is small enough that everything can be grouped into one section on CL? I thought it was fairly large. There are probably 25 area sections on ours 

 

 

We've had enough bad experiences with ethanol filled non maintained garbage that we don't have a lot of desire to try that again.

 

Part of a purchase is the value that you get from it. There's no value to trying to fix somebody else's lack of maintenance on a piece of equipment that I know I'm only going to keep for 6 or 8 years Max.

 

I've found that when someone is trying to sell a snowblower they don't bother to tell you that it also needs $200 worth of repairs.

 

 

It's one thing if it is a Wheelhorse and we plan on never selling it.

Unfortunately a snow blower has turned into the disposable category such as most cars nowadays.

Particularly because of the fact that we get quite a lot of snow every year and these things just plain wear out over time.

 

 

 

@Herder I love the idea of having a snow thrower on the front of a tractor but there are parts of the yard that a tractor either won't fit or it's quite steep and we would get stuck. We need the maneuverability of a walk behind.

Both walk behind and tractor mounted would be great but if I choose between the two it has to be a walk behind.

 

[MikMacMike 479]

12 minutes ago, Herder said:

What?  I wouldn't recommend a walk behind snowblower to anyone!!  EB get a snowthrower for the Cinnamon Horse.    The last tractor in the pic is my C-160.  Once you have used a snowthrower you will never have no desire to use a snowblower.  Ever again.    

 

Absolutly. I think I mentioned this before too, if the snow is 4 foot deep I raise the blower, go in as far as I can and then lower it to finish. That was with a single stage too! Im still talking with the tracktor boys up in Stirling and also my parts supp;ier to keep an eye out for a worm gear and all the fixings....and Ill buuild a heavy duty but light weight that raises even higher specifically for those 4 n 5 foot drifts.

[Darb1964 1,014]

I got a five horse twenty-four inch at Wal-Mart about fifteen years ago to use on my deck. One speed forward no reverse. Been a great machine very easy to handle. My wife love's it also. We get lots of snow most winter's and that blower has worked it's A off.change the oil every year and plug.starts easy, think I paid around four hundred for it, four stroke two stage. I don't care for the two stroke single stage blowers. Made by yard man I think, plastic shoot but has held up good, I just put a new recoil pull starter on it this fall, only thing I have had to replace.

[edgro 676]

I would recommend one with "power steering" mine is Craftsman, identical to a troybilt. The power steering is actually a release on each wheel that makes it much easier to turn than struggling with a straight axle unit

[Achto 26,504]

11 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated.

 

I have had my Ariens 28 Deluxe for about 4yrs now & have no complaints. Most walk behind blowers now have some kind of imported Honda knock off engine on them, so i decided to take that factor for what it is. Any 2 stage blower will chuck snow a long distance, so I started looking at other construction factors. One thing that I liked about the Ariens is that there are no plastic parts on the shoot. In fact the only plastic on the machine is the dash & the belt cover.  It also has what they call auto steer, turning is quite effortless. Another thing that I like is that there is no difference between an Ariens bought at a box store and an Ariens bought at a dealership. Some companies like JD for example, offer equipment of lower quality at stores like Lowes.

I would recommend an Ariens walk behind to any one. 

[ohiofarmer 3,156]

EB I wish you could see the used stock we have around here. I just got a 8524 Ariends for a great price. It looked so good I thought it was a year old at most. I wonder if it's even been used in the snow. What I am saying is that places like Ohio have gently used machines that may actually be better than new ones once you consider that they don't make them like they used to

 I don't know when they quit making that model, but she's sure purdy. The 85 stands for 8.5 HP and the 24 is the intake size It has 115 volt start as well as pull start.

Edited January 20, 2020 by ohiofarmer

[ebinmaine 62,962]

6 hours ago, ohiofarmer said:

places like Ohio have gently used machines that may actually be better than new ones once you consider that they don't make them like they used

Agreed.

 

It's tough to find machines in that condition here but it can be done.

 

[Tractor boy 238]

Toro all the way! We sell them where i work and they are some of the most well built machines nowadays that ive seen. Just make sure you get a dealer only model instead and of one from a big box store. They’re two different animals when it comes to quality. 

[D_Mac 8,214]

Its true they dont make them like they used to. If you dont want an older machine and want to buy one new I would recommend an Ariens Deluxe or Ariens Deluxe SHO. I use a Husqvarna  10.5 hp that starts every time with one pull of the cord no matter how cold it gets. Has electric start but I never use it. Goes through a mountain of snow as well

[WVHillbilly520H 10,369]

On 1/17/2020 at 7:43 AM, ebinmaine said:

Trina and I are looking to purchase a new snowblower.

24 -28 wide.

$1,500 or less.

 

Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated.

 

You do know the older short chute blowers are only 32" wide without the side extensions... FIL has a tracked walk behind seems to okay but I'm spoiled and like sitting on my butt in a cab blowing snow.

[Pullstart 59,555]

Is 28” a width limiting factor, or preference?  For the money you’re willing to invest, I’d sink it into WH stuff too and get a nice blower for one of your existing horses.  Maybe that auto you’re reviving?

[WVHillbilly520H 10,369]

I know it's a bit off topic but also not...