I'm in the market for a snow thrower. Home Depot has them out already. They have everything from a tiny single stage to huge monsters. How the heck am I supposed to know which one I need?

I have a two car garage with a driveway that can hold six mid-size cars if they park bumper to bumper. I'll also need to take care of my sidewalk that is on a corner lot. I also have a couple of walkways that go towards and around the house.

Since I'm in Jersey we usually get a couple of good poundings a year.

Does anyone use a private snow removal service? What do they charge? How long does it take them to get to you?

 

I have a 4.5 horse MTD,



Does the job fairly well (we get more snow than you will) but I wish I'd have gotten a 4 stroke.

 

Saved my ass this past winter...

 

Scrib, is that the Toro 826LE ?? I'm guessing you like it

I've got a 16 1/2 x 52 foot driveway and I've been looking at the Toro 826LE and Arien 926LE Deluxe... a little over $1000 or so...

I might just say screw it, and move to florida tho'

Here's a pic of my current snow throwers...

 

My snow throwers are like greenies. For me , its a good outdoor workout. Just what I need during the winter. But I'll admit that for those few times a year that we get dumped on real heavy, its a PITB.

 

yih... 826LE.

Worth every friggin' penny. I don't mind winters around here so much knowing that thing is in my garage ready to own any snow that falls.

 

4 stroke or two?

 

The shizzy!!!

http://www.ariens.com/snow_products/..._thros/926_le/

 

I have a contract w/ a guy who does my driveways (2); have a 21 hp blower I haven't used in 3 years.

 

The Driveway:


The blower:


(last one is just a pic to show what it looks like)
Takes about 3 hours to do the entire driveway, but its self-propelled so its more just steering the damn thing. Works great for our large driveway.

Used to cost over 1k for a snow removal contract each year. Parents bout this 4 years ago for around 1k and never have to worry about the guy not showing up, or pushing all the snow in the wrong spot. Plus it starts right up every winter, even though we don't summer-ize it like we should.

 

i have one similar to scribs, but mine is troy bilt.


the one thing i would have to say not to get is the ones with the cables that turn the chute. they will freeze up, unles there is a trick. my troy bilt was horrible last year when turning the chute, but threw the snow very well

 

What is the alternative?

 

Not really a thrower, butt if your going fast enough it throws the snow

 

Here are my snowthrowers...

 

 

If i didnt have the 4wheeler i was looking at these





The mother of them

http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/M...Name=hs1132tas

11 hp

 

the hand crank one like this one

 

They work for you too? I have them here too.

 

Is Toro a quality brand?? Or would you prefer a craftsman snow blower?? I am looking into spend around $600 for one.........any suggestions???

 

I think I'm going to end up with a 2 stage MTD of some sort. I would love to purchase something better but the big name brands are hella expensive and do I really expect to use this thing more than 10 hours a year?

 

Toro is a good brand

 

So far the Ariens 7524E is looking like the leader for me.
It's a 24" with a 7.5HP Snow King engine.
It can be had at Home Depot for $759. I also have a 10% off coupon so that will get it down to $683.

I looked at a 26" MTD. It is $50 cheaper and has 8HP. But I think the Ariens is built better and the 26" just looks like a monster. The Ariens has a 3 year warranty and the MTD 2.

I'll visit an independent Ariens dealer before dropping my cash at HD. I'd rather give the local guy the $ if it's practical.

 

CLASSYCLS, Ariens/Toro/Honda are all great brands... I'm a cheap bastard and a I love my 1987 craftsman riding mower, but I've elimanated the sears blowers from my search. Since most blowers are only used for like 20 hours a year (or so), they will usually last you a lifetime. Spending a couple hundred and buying a quality blower will help insure that it's the last one you have to buy. The motors will run forever due to the low hour usage, but it's the auger, gear case and other things that need to be long lasting too.

mclarenf3387's JD is a rebranded Ariens.... Someone else might make the new JD blowers now tho'.

doopstr, I've seen the prices at HD, and compared them to the "listed price" at the dealer. I like the idea of giving money to the local guy but the price difference is a little too much (over $200). When/If I get serious about a blower, I'll visit the dealer again, and try to haggle with him. Last time I was there, I was buying lawnmower parts, and just asked about the snowblowers in passing.

I've looked at the Ariens 7524E (like the fold away handle and the crank for the chute control), but I might "overbuy" and get the 926LE. The extra power, larger impeller, light, standard driftcutters, etc. etc seem to be worth the extra bucks. I've gotten some big drifts and the extra height and power might be better for the EOD (end of driveway).

I'm probably going to wait another year and tough it out with the snow shovels. Late year HD dropped the prices on their Ariens at the end of the season. I'm trying to convince myself that shoveling snow is the only exercise I get in the wintertime, so I shouldn't get a blower till I hit heartattack age

 

you still get a decent amount of exercise muscling around the blower :twocents:

 

i would recomend scribs, if i had a home depot thats the one i would have bought, but since there is only lowes i got this one
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...711&lpage=none


spend the extra money, trust me, you do not want an underpowered thrower, you will regret it

 

Mine is an old 8 hp Yard Man. It reallys throws the snow. The only thing I'd like to get on it is a headlight. I might get an enclosure for it as well. I hate when the snow flies back in my face.

2417190-R1-014-Edited.jpg

And here is the snowblower operator.

2417190-R1-016-Edited.jpg

 

My folks have one of these. I used it once when I did their driveway. I was very impressed by how well it worked. Very light and it threw the snow.

 

I've got an older version of the low-end Honda track drive 2-stage blower shown earlier.

I bought it at Home Depot probably 4 years ago. It has run through every snow that Mother Nature has thrown at it - including clearing the side of the road right to the curb so that the mailperson has no trouble reaching the mailbox.

My one and only gripe with it is that it moves rather slowly and there is now way to run it other than self-propelled.

I've had a single stage before this one and there is no comparison to a powerful two stage.

Mike

 

That's the key... If you get large amounts of snow, and tend to be on the heavier (higher water content), a single stage snow thrower/blower is not a good choice.

Single stage units are nice because you can hang them on the wall, etc. But if the got the room and a couple hundred more $$$, get the two-stage.

 

I picked up my Ariens 7524E today from HD. Let it snow. I guess it would help if the leaves fell first.
Thanks for all the info that was in this thread. It helped lead me in the right direction.

 

i just picked this up tonight. after having my heart and back laughing at me after about an hour of shoveling, I was quickly on my way to the local store. doesn't do to bad of a job, and after last nights snow it might be a LONG winter


for snowblowers everywhere

 

I'm leaning towards a Deere for around $1800 Cdn. The Deere ones have a pivot steering where you can drive a single wheel which I thought was cool. The tracked Honda blower a few posts up was $3800! Yoikes!

 

For weeks the local Home Depot has been out of throwers.

Today I go in there and they have about 20 Ariens on sale for 20% off their normal price. That means you can get a 7524 for about $608 before tax. That's a damn good deal.

 

I picked up the Ariens 926 last Friday at Home Depot on clearance for $799 plus I used the 10% off coupon! https://www.homedepotmoving.com/sign...Mode=10percent

 

Hmm... I guess if I'm going to buy one, now is the time to do it...

I've been looking at the Ariens, but I'm too cheap to spend the money... These prices appeal to my frugal side tho'

 

greenie, your back will thank you, trust me old timer

 

That's why I bought one. The cost of any thrower is much < cost of a back injury. My back sucks, so it was either get a machine, pay someone to do it, or injure myself.

 

The Ariens and Toros are now 33% off at HD. If you have a 10% coupon or open a HD credit account you can save even more!

 

I have a 2006 Ariens 926DLE


Ariens and Simplicity are the top tier products in the two stage snow thrower world.

I recommend buying at a garden supply/lawnmower type store. When I was shopping this past fall, they were all able to price match Home Depot and any web pricing and have the advantage of giving good service if there ever is a problem. If it matters, make sure the Home Depot products are the same model year as what you're price comparing too -- when I was shopping I noticed that they carried last year's model thus making price comparisons confusing. At least with Ariens, there were some product changes with some of their models in this model year.

 

Was in Home Depot today and the 926 LE was marked down to $666 plus $15 assembly. I paid $799 a week and a half ago, but here in CT if the price goes down in 30 days they have to refund the difference. They still honored the 10% coupon I used on the original puchase bringing the final price to $612.90 before tax!

They only had 3 left and all had sold tags on them.