Need a new Walk behind Snowblower.

[Jason B]

Hi

Well the old 28 year old Mastercraft( MTD) walkbehind blower finally went, now we are in the market for a new one. Deere & Simplicity Walk behinds are out of our price range for now, but can anyone recommend a good replacement Walkbehind blower or what is the best one out there for the best buck? Looking for a new one at 28 inchs over our current 33 inch model as it will be easier to get through are garage door. We also have a Garden Tractor mounted blower but it is kind of akward for some of the proporites we blow snow for.

Thanks, Jason B

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

I know there are some people on here that don't think too much of MTD but we bought a WHITE (made by MTD) back in 1995 and the only work I've done on it is change the oil. After 13 years it still runs great and I would buy another one. Ariens makes a good unit also.

 

[arthurb]

I bought an Ariens 9/26LE two years ago. I use it to clear deep snow from my 20' x 80' stone/gravel driveway. I haven't had any problems with it so far. It's a very heavy/solid unit. Here's a pic of it in my garage waiting to go out and play in the snow.

 

[Scooby074]

Our Honda 928 has been very good. Electric start and electric chute control.

 

[wallace]

Our Honda 928 has been very good. Electric start and electric chute control.

Well if he says that the Deere and Simplicity are to much than forget the Honda.
I would look at a Husqvarna.

 

[Scooby074]

Well if he says that the Deere and Simplicity are to much than forget the Honda.
.

Oops.. didnt read that part Honda was definitely not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

 

[Jason B]

Hi Guys

Sounds like some good suggestions. I will have to take serious look at an Ariens Snow blower. I was kind of hoping to get another MTD but we will see. For Kicks, I asked the Deere dealer what he wanted for 28" walkbehind blower. Quoted me $1500 Canadian, Have not found out what Simplicity is.

I will have to look into a Huskavarna Blower as well. I know Home Depo sells Ariens as well in our area, so I will have to check them out too.

 

[bontai_Joe]

Best for the $$$ in my opinion would be Ariens, followed by Toro. And I would definitely look at Husqvarna.

 

[coobie]

Hi Guys

Sounds like some good suggestions. I will have to take serious look at an Ariens Snow blower. I was kind of hoping to get another MTD but we will see. For Kicks, I asked the Deere dealer what he wanted for 28" walkbehind blower. Quoted me $1500 Canadian, Have not found out what Simplicity is.

I will have to look into a Huskavarna Blower as well. I know Home Depo sells Ariens as well in our area, so I will have to check them out too.

Not trying to hi-jack this thread but I always try to shop & give my business the local dealers when I buy equipment.Are home depot,lowes,menards going to service and get parts for your equipment?Not around here at least,half the time you can,t find someone to even wait on you.If it was me I would look at toro snow throwers at my local dealer who will be there after the sale to give me the service and parts that I may need.coobie

 

[bontai_Joe]

After checking out features, HP, size, etc, also check out if the machine fits you physically. My brother has a great Honda machine he paid over $2000 for over 10 years ago. It'll eat snow and ice like I can eat pancakes and butter, BUT it was designed and built by folks about 5'-6" tall and my brother is 6'-6" (I'm 6'-3") and we have to hunch over this thing every minute of operation. For me it means my bad back hurts just as bad as if I shoveled for the same amount of time, I just got more snow moved than if I shoveled. Also check the opposite end of the spectrum, is the machine too heavy for you or a spouse to manuver easily? My loving wife is 5'-0" and can't wrestle with a machine that outweighs her by a factor of 2 or 3 unless it's set up to steer easily, move without dragging her, has hand controls that don't require hands like vises to grip.

 

[Jason B]

Hi

Well I think we are going to bit the bullet on a new Simplicity Walk behind blower. Was not really wanting to spend that much $$ on it, but we have a very reliable Simplicity dealer close by with great service and support. We figured we might as well by something we can get service and support for, over an MTD version.

A Honda, Torro, and an Ariens would have been considered, if dealers were closer then 2 hrs away for service.

Thanks for the help, I appreciate this.

Jason B

 

[coobie]

Hi

Well I think we are going to bit the bullet on a new Simplicity Walk behind blower. Was not really wanting to spend that much $$ on it, but we have a very reliable Simplicity dealer close by with great service and support. We figured we might as well by something we can get service and support for, over an MTD version.

A Honda, Torro, and an Ariens would have been considered, if dealers were closer then 2 hrs away for service.

Thanks for the help, I appreciate this.

Jason B

Good news Jason,Sure glad that you bought from a local dealer that will give you good service & support.I wish more folks would do the same.Good luck,coobie

 

[Jason B]

Well

Dealer dropped off the new Simplicity Walkbehind this past Tuesday. Its a Simplicity 1428L. Has a really powerful Briggs & Stratton engine on her which puts out 13.5 Torque hp. 28" cut. A little smaller then the old MTD at 33" but she is very manuverable and fits though the garage door better then the old MTD. "Easy Steer" is nice for making sharp turns. Very bright work light for blowing after dark. Got about 15cm of snow yesturday so I got to try her out. Really does a nice job. The new Simplicity can really shoot the snow far. Best $$ I have spent for a new blower. Hope she lasts me 27 + years like the old MTD did. Glad to have bought it from a local dealer with support then from a Big Box store.

Take Care Jason B

 

[ChuckinNH]

I've had Simplicity blowers for a few years, and they really have been reliable. I gave one to my son, and bought a new one with the "easy steer" three years ago, and it's been great. Good luck with yours, I think you will be really happy with it.

 

[Jason B]

Yeah So far I am pretty impressed with the new Simplicity. Really walks through those deep drifts without a problem and she does not have drift cutters on her! Lots of nice improvements on the new model compared to the 1980 MTD. Can't belive I blew snow with out a work light for so long, really like the work light for blowing after dark. The remote shoot is a huge plus for adjusting the snow throwing distance on the go, big help when you need to change the direction of the snow in a hurry. Definately Glad I spent the extra $$ on a Simplicity instead of buying a new MTD.

 

[KentT]

Yeah So far I am pretty impressed with the new Simplicity. Really walks through those deep drifts without a problem and she does not have drift cutters on her! Lots of nice improvements on the new model compared to the 1980 MTD. Can't belive I blew snow with out a work light for so long, really like the work light for blowing after dark. The remote shoot is a huge plus for adjusting the snow throwing distance on the go, big help when you need to change the direction of the snow in a hurry. Definately Glad I spent the extra $$ on a Simplicity instead of buying a new MTD.

IMO, you can't go wrong with either a Simplicity or Ariens snowblower... they're well worth the price difference over MTD or other box-store brands...

 

[bontai_Joe]

Congratulations on the new machine. Simplicity makes a really good snowblower, and I'm glad you got one instead of a lesser machine. You may cry once when paying it for it, but you will enjoy using a quality tool long after the purchase price is fogotten.

 

[Fordlords]

Congrats on the Simplicity. They were my next choice behind the Ariens I bought that has already been getting major workouts here in Erie. Simplicity is owned by Briggs and Stratton now, and they also build the John Deere and Snapper blowers. They looked to be well made blowers, maybe just the difference of a choice between having the Briggs engine on one of them or the Tecumseh on an Ariens, the rest of the credentials are about identical. I also agree it's better to spend a little more on a better quality machine.

-Fordlords-

 

[Jason B]

Yes spending the extra $$ was well worth it for the Simplicity. I still can't get over how powerful the Briggs 9.5 hp is for blowing snow. Really walks through the deep snow banks without a problem. Have had a few big dumps of snow since I got her last Tuesday so she is getting broken in well. The new Simplicity Blower I got (1428L) is nearly the same as the Deere, seeing as both were made by Briggs. Not sure why the Deere was $200 more then the Simplicity. But none the Less I am very pleased with buying the Simplicity.

Did look at a few Ariens last year at Home Depo, they seemed like a heavy well built blower as well.

Was shocked when I priced out a Honda Walk behind with a 28" cut. Was quoted $2,200 verses the $1450 I paid for the Simplicity, which is just as well built as the Honda in my opnion.

 

[KentT]

Was shocked when I priced out a Honda Walk behind with a 28" cut. Was quoted $2,200 verses the $1450 I paid for the Simplicity, which is just as well built as the Honda in my opnion.

In fact, Simplicity made the snowblowers for the Honda garden tractors -- before Honda discontinued them in the US...

Part of the price difference is the Honda engine -- the most expensive small engine, HP for HP... part of it is the name, the advertising costs associated with it, etc -- the same applies to the snowblowers sold by John Deere...

Shile Briggs does own them, Simplicity manufactures all their their own machines, now in the Snapper plant in Georgia. Simplicity had bought up Snapper a few years before they, themselves, were bought by Briggs. Simplicity also owned Ferris (commercial ZTRs) and Giant Vac...

The medium size snowblowers are Snapper designs, while the small and large ones (like you bought) are Simplicity designs, the last I heard...

BTW, here's a pic of a 10HP Briggs running a Simplicity-made 36" snowblower, 1966 vintage, while hauling my butt around... For perspective, it has 23" tall rear tires...