1st snow blower

[Daveboone]

PS: 

Not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but it is difficult to buy too much snowblower, but easy to buy too little. Wet heavy snow makes or breaks em, and you never know when we will get a true blizzard and it will get a real work out. Our current one is a bit small for what we are doing....whereas our 12 horse would eat through whatever he had, our present one we have to be sure to plow before it accumulates too much.

[BigVal]

I use an ariens on the sidewalks, Fisher on the driveway lol

[Steve D]

4 hours ago, moog5050 said:

My next snowblower (and my yard man stinks by comparison to ariens will be a plow on the ATV.  Seems like a fun way to move snow 

Or for about $3600 you can get one of these babies

 

[moog5050]

6 minutes ago, Steve D said:

Or for about $3600 you can get one of these babies

 

That would be just like me for an 80x24’ driveway lol.  Overkill is my middle name. 

[Red]

A lot of great advice. Looking like a lot of likes for the Ariens.  I'm gonna head out later this week and pick up the deluxe 28 it seems to have a lot of the bells and whistles the huge one for me is the 0 turn  21" intake .

https://www.snowblowersdirect.com/Ariens-921048-Snow-Thrower/p67263.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpfmFkLu53wIVhkRpCh1Btg5uEAQYASABEgJvI_D_BwE

[Steve D]

When I bought mine it came with handwarmer grips Not sure if the new 28's have them or not but trust me even if you have to add them they are well worth it.

[Don_C]

I have the Ariens Deluxe 28 SHO. Bought it last winter. Its by far the best snow thrower I have had, I have owned Toro, Craftsman, MTD and Troy Built, I live south of Buffalo, trust me, we blow more snow here in one winter than most do in a lifetime, 90% of my neighbors (and now me) have Ariens machines for a reason. Get the heated grips, you wont regret it.

[NonTypical]

I have the Ariens 28" professional. I agree with what everyone else has already said about them. Second to none. Built to last. 

Edited December 25, 2018 by NonTypical

[fasteddie]

Red -- Since you are in the Buffalo and getting snow dumped on you from Lake Erie , you might need something like this ....... It's a V-8

 

[sbuff]

I have a 2014 ariens deluxe 28 with the LCT 254CC. engine which would equal an 8hp engine. LCT took over after Tecumseh. Some don't like the lct and say it lacks the balls but I have yet to have an end of driveway pile that it can't handle.I live on a cul de sac so my driveway gets the whole street placed in front of it. Some say the auto turn isn't good but mine is a dream to use and turn. I change the oil twice a year at the start and end of the season with 5/30 synthetic. It's cheap piece of mind. Unless you buy a Honda you won't be upset 

[2012_taco]

I have a Toro 824, bought it new in 1982. I put about $100 in bearing in it about 8 years ago. The electric start took a dump a while ago, but it starts 1 pull every time! I always shut off the gas supply and run the carb dry after each use and put store safe in the fuel. It's been a good machine. Although like most everything else produced these days, the new ones don't compare to the old ones. Too much plastic and cheap parts. If I had to get  a new machine I would probably look for one at a garage sale in the summer where some one is moving south. JMHO.

[sbuff]

On 12/25/2018 at 8:07 AM, sbuff said:

I have a 2014 ariens deluxe 28 with the LCT 254CC. engine which would equal an 8hp engine. LCT took over after Tecumseh. Some don't like the lct and say it lacks the balls but I have yet to have an end of driveway pile that it can't handle.I live on a cul de sac so my driveway gets the whole street placed in front of it. Some say the auto turn isn't good but mine is a dream to use and turn. I change the oil twice a year at the start and end of the season with 5/30 synthetic. It's cheap piece of mind. Unless you buy a Honda you won't be upset 

I'll add one more thing, buy from a local authorized dealer, they'll go the extra mile before and after the sale. Snow blower direct is good to view but I'd never buy a snow blower on line .

[Jeremy K]

If you want the best buy a Honda,if you want something you can afford ,buy the ariens.

[TreeGuy]

If you want the best buy a Honda,if you want something you can afford ,buy the ariens.

Most important thing no matter manufactures name or where you get it, is the motor. Do you research. Honda has the best motor imo. But Kohler, Briggs, kawi etc make good and junk motors. There's also machines (toro) that have one with a no name motor and then one with a good motor ie honda.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[Red]

I went to a dealer and not a big box store. I purchased the Ariens deluxe 28 SHO 306 cc .  The just left the dealer and the machine will be delivered in an hr gassed up and ready to go.

[Jeremy K]

We can all thank red for our lack of snow fall this year now !

[Lawdwaz]

On 12/27/2018 at 11:14 AM, Jeremy K said:

We can all thank red for our lack of snow fall this year now !

Who's laughing NOW???????

[Red]

I had to drive the family to detroit for a hockey tournament this weekend. The entire time i couldn't wait to get home and try out the snow blower. What a great piece of equipment it ate threw the snow with ease took me 20 min to do the side walk and driveway i wish i would have bought one of these years ago.

 

[Lawdwaz]

1 minute ago, Red said:

I had to drive the family to detroit for a hockey tournament this weekend. The entire time i couldn't wait to get home and try out the snow blower. What a great piece of equipment it ate threw the snow with ease took me 20 min to do the side walk and driveway i wish i would have bought one of these years ago.

 

There you go, another satisfied customer!

I'm going to be ponying up some cash for a new Ariens too; Platinum 24.  My wife was pizzed back in November and December when we got some snow and I was hunting.  Our big NOMA has electric start but the bolts that hold the starter are stripped out by the previous owner.  I can pull start it but its 30-40 pulls and that just about kills me.  The new Ariens has that sweet assisted turning, electric start and heated grips that makes it a bit appealing to my wife if I'm out slaying the beast.

Buy once, cry 7 times................

[Red]

The assisted turning is really sweet. I told my wife yesterday that next year ill be buying the heated hand grips.

I'm also liking the idea that the wife can use this when I'm out hunting and i wont have to worry about her getting buried in. The ariens truly does start with one easy pull or just plug in it's so user friendly.  You and your wife will love it.

[nyslowhand]

7 hours ago, Lawdwaz said:

.........  Our big NOMA has electric start but the bolts that hold the starter are stripped out by the previous owner.  ........

Now there's a name not many will know, NOMA. IRC, my dad purchased his from a Central Tractor maybe in ~1985/90. I inherited it and used it  until last year when it started spewing oil while under load. Immediately parked it, but did put it out by the road for sale this past summer. No one knew what it was, so back behind my shed it went. Fortunately about the same time, a neighbor gifted me a used Big Box snowblower. What a POS that turned out to be for only being 2-3yo!!!!

Agree with others about using an ATV snowplow s/u. If you don't push snow way  off driveway in the beginning, you'll eventually run out of room over a WNY winter. They will not push previously plowed or compacted snow!!! Isn't the key to using a plow on an ATV, the HD frame support? Assuming the cheapo ones will not be friendly to your ATV!??!

[biggamefish]

I have an old Ariens, it is an awesome machine it ate a brick one day and didn't even blow the shear pins!! just spit it out the shoot. It is an old model well built.