Snowblowers

What do you guys have for snowblowers? Kicking around the idea of picking one up now that we own a house. I'm thinking that a 2 stage would probably be the best bet since snowfall can get heavy up here and we live on a plow route, meaning we'll likely have the snowplow rows blocking the driveway to bust up.

I'd love a Honda but looks like their dual stage blowers start at $2600. Crappy Tire has a Briggs&Stratton 2 stage for $1200 ish. I've also heard Ariens is a good brand. The Homeless Despot has a 2 stage model for $1100.

 

My 2 cents. I'll never buy a new snowblower. Hit up FB marketplace or whatever the Canadian craigslist is and buy an older Honda, Toro, Ariens for a couple hundred bucks.

Most blowers aren't used much more than a handful of hours over 10 years and people dump them when they have stupid problems like needing belts or a carb cleaned.

 

That's a good point. My biggest concern is having to deal with something that was neglected or abused (very common with power equipment in this town). I've always liked buying new equipment so I have a clean slate and can know everything done to it. That said, savings on buying used can be substantial.

The Woman just reminded me that a friend of mine was trying to sell me his snowblower last summer. I'll have to call him and see if he still wants to get rid of it. I know he takes care of his stuff.

 

We have my dad's old one and I rarely use it. Now it needs a tune-up as it just sits for 9monrhs of fhe year.

I find it easier to grab shovel, curse a few times and do it my hand. It's always a hassle to clear for it as we don't have a garage and it's in the backyard shed. The gates freeze up or shift, our trailer is in the way...you get the point. Plus we have a gravel driveway

If I owned a longer driveway, I'd get a plow for my truck.

 

I have an ariens 28" deluxe SHO, the sho has high output impellers, throws more snow, farther. I love it. Older ariens or toros with snow king engines are solid and will last forever with minimal maintenance.

 

^^^ He beat me to it. Find one used... there's bound to be a bunch of posts from people saying "it worked last year, but just wont start this year". Clean the carb and you got yourself a new snow blower.

 

Try to find a used Ariens with a track drive off Craigslist. Honda track drive as a runner up. my dad has had second hand ariens for 10+ trouble free years - only belts, oil and plugs

 

I'll agree to disagree I just sold my Honda HS55 track drive, my grandma bought it new in 1985, 1 set of belts and normal maintenance. Still started on the first pull, only reason I sold it was I bought a Wheel Horse with a blower and didn't need two.

Only thing to watch for with the real old stuff is parts availability, Honda discontinued the tracks for the model I had a few years ago.

I agree on the abuse thing but snowblowers are pretty easy to tell. Basically if the augers/housing are straight and it runs good there's not really a whole lot to them.

Depending on your snowfall the Toro 3650 single stage blowers are terrific in anything up to about 8 inches.

 

I used to do small engine repair, if you want a new quality snow blower, look at the Simplicity Signature Series. Not cheap but less than a Honda. It’s about the only new domestic snow blower that isn’t a disposable piece of junk. If I was in the market for a new one, it’s the only one i’d get.
As far as size, get bigger than you think you need, you will move more snow faster and you’ll be happy about that. Don’t get a single stage for a driveway.
Good luck!

 

Ariens two stage, I have been very happy with mine.

 

I’ve got an Aries 26 inch 2 stage with a 249cc Briggs and Stratton push button start.

it is bulletproof, I change the oil and put air in the super cool dirt bike looking tires. It starts on the first push and crushes snow up to 30 inches high.

If you plan on keeping it for a while go with new . Like the guys mentioned above a lot of people don’t look after their stuff and you don’t want a machine that hasn’t had the oil changed for 5 years.

 

Do not buy one that whistles, they are nothing but trouble.

 

Thanks for all the info everyone! I'm waiting to hear back from my friend and gotta get the go ahead from The Woman. She's on the fence about spending the money right now, so I'll wait for another big dump or two of snow where we have to shovel for a half hour or more. Then I'll make my case again.

 

Truth time! I only change the oil in my OPE every couple years. Small engines are a lot hardier than people give them credit for and it seems like a waste of oil to change it every 50 hours when it still looks good.

Hell I bought a $40 push mower that has oil black as night in it probably never been changed. Topped it off with fresh 30w and mowed away, if it blows I'll scrap it and buy another $40 mower.