Snowblower

[caddydaddy]

I got a small (3 ounce) [URL="http://www.harborfreight.com/grease-gun-with-3-oz-grease-95575.html"]grease gun at Harbor Freight for $10.

I had the same one. Had! Biggest POS! The threads were not cut correct, so it kept popping off the tube, oozing grease all over itself. Straight to the trash it went!

[BostonSVkid]

Sold my single family for 600,000. I mean its nice but I would NEVER have paid that for my house.

I got a small (3 ounce) grease gun at Harbor Freight for $10.

Isn't Southie real estate crazy? Our neighbor had a run-down house with double lot she apparently sold to condo developers for $1.1 million.

[stoinkythepig]

Thanks Garandman. Yes its a 2007 with a 13 HP motor (358 cc as stated above). Yes it has the keyed electric start with a HO brand new battery. Belts are brand new just put in this year. I will be picking up shear pins and a grease gun soon since I am moving into the new house in February.

I appreciate all the other info I will print this out and post it in the garage. I have an ariens dealer about 5 minutes from my house so I have readily available parts. thanks All.

That's the same motor as my Toro 1332. Seems like a really good engine. Mines got the 120V starter though, not the 12 volt. Never really need it. Starts on the first pull, even after sitting for the off-season. Full choke, three pumps on the primer bulb, 1/3 throttle and it just fires instantly.

[Garandman]

You'll never use all that power.

[BostonSVkid]

Probably not but I like knowing I have it!

You'll never use all that power.

[Garandman]

JK, you can't have too much power on a snow thrower, because EOD pile.

Coming next storm: Honda 928 versus Ariens Pro 926 death match...

[Garandman]

So I ended up with a 36" Ariens Pro Series (used). Thing is the balls and I got a Phenomenal deal. It is 7 years old with low hours and no rust.

How'd you make out in this storm?

I'm bringing the Honda down to Boston as we have right around two feet. I've cleaned up most of it but left some areas for comparison. Ran the Ariens five hours yesterday, helping neighbors with drives and sidewalks. There are probably half a dozen people with snow thrower and they are all really good about helping out so you can use all the sidewalks.

[RandyO]

started snow removal @ 5:am haven't sheared a single pin yet !! 2½ hours, one full tank of gas, taking a break, still have 3 parking spaces, apron in front of my barn and walkways to do, kinda PIA, Monday when I was prepping my snowblower, had a sticky chute cable, I broke it when trying to get it loose, so I could not adjust the top flapper.

[Falko]

I did my driveway and two neighbors's drives yesterday. I am afraid the old girl is starting to give up the ghost. On the 1/4 mile walk home with it from the last driveway, it started to sputter. I also noticed a little black smoke on start up.
G-man, waiting to hear your comparison. I might need some advice on what unit to buy next. Then again, I could get a 20hp v-twin and mount it to the frame....

[BostonSVkid]

Yeah I am still here till the 14th its nuts. Condos selling for 500k. Southie wouldn't let me out without one more big storm. My dad seemed to enjoy using my snowblower though.

[caddydaddy]

This little Cub Cadet was a beast with the snow! It ate up the huge drifts and the piles the plow left!

[stoinkythepig]

started snow removal @ 5:am haven't sheared a single pin yet !! 2½ hours, one full tank of gas, taking a break, still have 3 parking spaces, apron in front of my barn and walkways to do, kinda PIA, Monday when I was prepping my snowblower, had a sticky chute cable, I broke it when trying to get it loose, so I could not adjust the top flapper.

I have never broken a shear pin on my Toro, it does not have any...

[Chippertheripper]

Thank you Clayton. Again and again and again.

[BostonSVkid]

Large piles and nowhere to put it per typical. Cant wait to get out.

How'd you make out in this storm?

I'm bringing the Honda down to Boston as we have right around two feet. I've cleaned up most of it but left some areas for comparison. Ran the Ariens five hours yesterday, helping neighbors with drives and sidewalks. There are probably half a dozen people with snow thrower and they are all really good about helping out so you can use all the sidewalks.

[jwm2k3]

Honda 928 tracks kicked ass...

But the snow was very light this storm, so I bet any snowblower worked great...

[nhbubba]

Mine did. Snow over the bucket and it just kept clearing. My only complaint is the first speed on this thing is too fast. Means I need to ride the friction wheel control when trying to punch through the berm at the end of the driveway. I'm sure I can adjust or modify the machine. But every year I find something else to do.

I love having a newer machine with a quieter, more efficient OHV motor.

[Kurlon]

My poor 24" YTD got it's ass worked off today. Ended up rebuilding the carb for no reason this morning, turns out the issue was water in the tank freezing and slowing the fuel flow into the bowl, not a carb issue. Bah. Chemicals to the rescue 'cause I couldn't get up my road to get fresh gas till the blower was working again!

There were drifts that were over the chute, and dense because it was stuff I just blew from other areas that would stop the blower from actually throwing. No problem, just keep pushing through and the machine would knock it down and break it up. I'd then clean it up with a second pass. Slow, but the throw away machine did it. And part of our road... a 24" machine coping with 30" of snow is not how I wish to spend my time.

This year I'm going to have to replace the friction disk I suspect, it got one hell of a workout. If that involves dropping the motor it's getting an updated flywheel and charging stator so I can have a light and heated grips. And maybe an Oooga horn 'cause that'd be cool.

[Garandman]

Here's an update on the Ariens (1124 & 926 Pro) versus Honda (HS928TA - 28" bucket, 9hp engine, hydrostatic track drive).

I used the Ariens most of yesterday and the Honda today. Boston got 24.9" of snow officially, with some neighborhoods reporting as much as 31" and with higher drifts and some plowed up piles.

- The Honda engine is quieter but the Ariens have OHV Tecumsehs, not sure how quiet the new engines on Ariens are. It has good power, I haven't slowed it down much.
- I like the hydrostatic drive. You can change speed rapidly and go really slow in heavy snow. If you have the $$ it works better than the friction drive.
- The Honda is much lighter than the Ariens and this is a negative. More weight would help with traction.
- Mixed bag on the track drive. If the snow is over the top of the bucket, you can't really tilt the bucket up to clear it. Clearing big EOD piles isn't easy. The tracks don't seem to have much lateral traction so if you are any sort of side slope the machine slides sideways. But overall the Honda requires less physical effort.
- The big snow tires on the Ariens have pretty good traction, but with the friction drive you can't slow down enough: you have to use the clutch in the heaviest snow.
- I did climb some stairs with the Honda, no problem.
- The chute of the Honda is smaller and the volume of snow seems less. But Honda output is quite concentrated and you can aim it quite precisely.
- The chute crank on the Ariens and Honda turn in opposite directions. The Ariens turns clockwise to rotate the chute clockwise: Honda is opposite.
- The Honda has the choke and throttle on the handlebars. The Ariens has them on the engine. I don't really see the benefit of having them on the bars: you usually run flaht out. Not a positive or negative. The Honda has a key switch, on and off, on the bars.
- The fuel shutoff on the Honda is slightly more convenient.
- The Honda bucket is too low for big snow. I had snow going over the top of the bucket a lot and I was only using the Honda for cleanup. The chute and light are much closer to the front on the Honda and block a lot of the snow so it falls right behind the bucket. Then when you try and back up it jams under the bucket and you have to release the mechanism and let the bucket up to float position.
- My wife and kids find the Honda controls more intuitive, but struggled a bit learning how to maneuver it. With the differential unlocked the Ariens is much easier to manuever.

Even in Boston this snow was pretty light powder snow. Another important test remains: performance in heavy, wet, and slushy snow.

The Honda is a good machine and quite convenient. But if I had unlimited budget or wanted the most productive tool, I'd buy an Ariens Hydro Pro: taller, more rugged bucket, more weight, bigger motor, and hydrostatic trans. Ariens makes both wheel and track hydro pro models.

[scottieducati]

Got my 1984 Toro 3521 going. After sitting for 2 years in NH and used every winter from new before that... took some work on the carb (will probably snag a new one as backup), and handled everything we had here plus the huge snowbank with ease. She's a beastly little machine.

[RandyO]

- The Honda is much lighter than the Ariens and this is a negative. More weight would help with traction.
- Mixed bag on the track drive. If the snow is over the top of the bucket, you can't really tilt the bucket up to clear it. Clearing big EOD piles isn't easy. The tracks don't seem to have much lateral traction so if you are any sort of side slope the machine slides sideways. But overall the Honda requires less physical effort.

sure you can, push down on the bars, ride the back of the tracks, the only thing I don't like about the Honda is that the clutch and speed control are both on the left side, if it was on the right side next to the chute control, it would be a whole lot easier to back up momentarily and take a second pass. once you get use to the height control pedal can physically picking up the back of the machine, you will find it easy to lower the cutting blade

watch out if you get in a rut with one track, and try turning a corner at the same time, it throws a track fairly easy, but getting it back on is just as quick as a shear pin change, an extra long & skinny needle nose is all you need, tip on side against snowbank, pull the back cotter pin & washer , pull the wheel off, use the needle nose to lever the wheel in place then put the washer & pin back on, 30 seconds.
2 tools I carry in my pocket are 10mm ratcheting box end for shear pins and needle nose.

[01xj]

Here's an update on the Ariens (1124 & 926 Pro) versus Honda (HS928TA - 28" bucket, 9hp engine, hydrostatic track drive).

I used the Ariens most of yesterday and the Honda today. Boston got 24.9" of snow officially, with some neighborhoods reporting as much as 31" and with higher drifts and some plowed up piles.

- The Honda engine is quieter but the Ariens have OHV Tecumsehs, not sure how quiet the new engines on Ariens are. It has good power, I haven't slowed it down much.
- I like the hydrostatic drive. You can change speed rapidly and go really slow in heavy snow. If you have the $$ it works better than the friction drive.
- The Honda is much lighter than the Ariens and this is a negative. More weight would help with traction.
- Mixed bag on the track drive. If the snow is over the top of the bucket, you can't really tilt the bucket up to clear it. Clearing big EOD piles isn't easy. The tracks don't seem to have much lateral traction so if you are any sort of side slope the machine slides sideways. But overall the Honda requires less physical effort.
- The big snow tires on the Ariens have pretty good traction, but with the friction drive you can't slow down enough: you have to use the clutch in the heaviest snow.
- I did climb some stairs with the Honda, no problem.
- The chute of the Honda is smaller and the volume of snow seems less. But Honda output is quite concentrated and you can aim it quite precisely.
- The chute crank on the Ariens and Honda turn in opposite directions. The Ariens turns clockwise to rotate the chute clockwise: Honda is opposite.
- The Honda has the choke and throttle on the handlebars. The Ariens has them on the engine. I don't really see the benefit of having them on the bars: you usually run flaht out. Not a positive or negative. The Honda has a key switch, on and off, on the bars.
- The fuel shutoff on the Honda is slightly more convenient.
- The Honda bucket is too low for big snow. I had snow going over the top of the bucket a lot and I was only using the Honda for cleanup. The chute and light are much closer to the front on the Honda and block a lot of the snow so it falls right behind the bucket. Then when you try and back up it jams under the bucket and you have to release the mechanism and let the bucket up to float position.
- My wife and kids find the Honda controls more intuitive, but struggled a bit learning how to maneuver it. With the differential unlocked the Ariens is much easier to manuever.

Even in Boston this snow was pretty light powder snow. Another important test remains: performance in heavy, wet, and slushy snow.

The Honda is a good machine and quite convenient. But if I had unlimited budget or wanted the most productive tool, I'd buy an Ariens Hydro Pro: taller, more rugged bucket, more weight, bigger motor, and hydrostatic trans. Ariens makes both wheel and track hydro pro models.

I was out with my 926 in full force yesterday. Did my driveway which takes a disappointing 20 minutes so I moved over and did my two elderly neighbors.....plus the mailbox....and cleared some of the corner so it didn't get pushed back in front of my driveway. This is an absolute beast. I even built a little corral for it in my garage so my bucket is elevated slightly and the snow melts into a plastic catch area. Keeps my garage moisture free and the machine rust free (mostly)

[Garandman]

I even built a little corral for it in my garage so my bucket is elevated slightly and the snow melts into a plastic catch area. Keeps my garage moisture free and the machine rust free (mostly)

Clever! Pics?

[tsorfas]

ANYONE have one for sale?

[Chippertheripper]

ANYONE have one for sale?

I'll sell you mine for $2600. It comes with a ninja 650.

[01xj]

Clever! Pics?

Its made from old window trim and some heavy clear plastic i grabbed from from work. It's not really worthy of a photo shoot honestly. But it is useful and gave me the basis for something more permanent in the future.