Snow Equipment Owning/Operating SNOW THROWER --- Tracks or Tires?

[HillStreet]

The walks, patios, and fire pit is now installed at the new house. Great job, looks terrific. Now, my snow removal activities will require a snow blower that I walk behind, at least to do the back area. I can still plow the driveway my normal way.

Been shopping online, and I really like the Ariens brand. I suppose I need a quick turn feature, probably a remote chute turner, electric start, and 30 inch cut. What about tracks versus tires. Driveway grade is pretty gentle and the driveway is paved. I think the blower will be able to walk just fine with tires only (no chains). What are your ideas please?

 

[IXLR8]

Tracks slip less than tires, but SB's with tires are easier to maneuver. I have no issues with my SB with tires doing some of the hilly trails in my yard. Except when the drifts get to the level of the top of the blower... then the tires tend to slip on the uphills. Electric start, plugging into an AC outlet is very nice, remote chute turner is a must in my book. I do like the heated grips on my SB when I am blowing for extended periods.

 

[crazyal]

I have a 10hp Ariens that I inherited from my father that's about 10 years old now. It works good but the wheels are kind of useless if you have any sort of slope. It takes very little for them to just spin so I end up putting it in the highest speed setting and just let them spin while I push. On flat ground it would probably be fine. A friend bought a tracked Honda about 8 years ago and it's on a different level. It's like going from a 1980s Chevy to a new Mercedes. Mine is difficult to shift gears, the engine (I do believe one of the last Tecumseh) always needs minor adjustments to run well, and the chute rotation never stays where you want it. The transmission in the Ariens is just a flat round steel plate with rubber bonded to it. A wheel pushes against the plate that's on a shaft so it can slide. The further it is from the center the faster you go. To go in reverse the wheel just moves to the center then past it to push on the other side of the flat plate. When the wheel is in the center there's a piece of steel that prevents the wheel from touching the flat plate, that's neutral. When you squeeze the lever to move you tighten up a belt that makes the flat plate spin. I have a bungie cord wrapped around the crank rod for the chute to give it some resistance. It helps but isn't perfect.

The best thing (for me) about the Honda (and tracks over wheels) is tracks can drive on top of snow. With wheels you have to clear a path to get to where you want to go. For me it's to clear a path from my woodshed to my cellar door. I don't need to make a path from my garage to my woodshed or cellar door other than to get the snow blower to where I need it. That's extra snow blowing. I've never seen the Ariens track snowblowers in person with their hydrostatic drive so I can't say if I would buy the Honda. I have never had any problems with any of my Honda engines so when I do replace my Ariens I'll lean towards a Honda but I will shop around. I'm pretty much set on getting a track drive unit.

 

[Garandman]

We have both. Ariens Pro 926, Ariens Pro 1124 and a Honda 928 HST. The Honda was redesigned last season.

Bought the Honda for up north which averages 10' of snow per season and had the Ariens in Boston. Swapped them winter 14-15 because the track drive and Hydrostatic trans were much better with the wind-blown wet concrete we get that's called snow on the coast. Oh, and we got 10' as well and Boston actually got more snow than Sunapee last winter.

Track cons: harder to move - we keep it on a furniture dolly in the garage. But takes much less physical effort and can climb stairs and steps easily.

Hydrostatic cons: costs more, but much easier to use.

Honda cons: lower bucket, shear pins are much easier to change but are made of butter. Had to bring the Honda home and get the 1124 to finish this.

In other words, the Ariens hydrostatic track drive machines are King of walk behind snow throwers. Hondas throw snow far but it's a 5" chute vs 6" so volume is less.

As far as quick turn, the Pro machines have an automotive differential but we usually lock it anyway and horse it around. Honda isn't very heavy, isn't hard to change direction. But the new Ariens track machines have quick turn anyway.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

I bought a Cub Cadet track drive two winters ago. During its third storm the tracks started popping off at the slightest provocation. I have adjusted them until I'm blue in the face, and they won't stay on more than 70 feet or so.

Cub has discontinued that model, so I suspect it's a design problem, rather than an indictment of all tracked blowers, but I thought I'd pass it on.

 

[RjCorazza]

I narrowed my shopping down to Ariens for the brand, then agonized over track vs. wheel. The 2 big benefits of tracks are traction, and the ability to ratchet the front end up a few inches (may be an Ariens specific feature). I can't really comment on how much better tracks are in use because I ended up with a wheeled Ariens Deluxe 30. My decision was based on price difference, as the blower is really just for maybe 100' of sidewalk and a backup to my tractor. The Ariens turns with very little effort, starts easy (pull or 120v electric), and the grip warmers are a nice plus.
I will add that the super aggressive tires on some blowers are usually adequate, but finding chains will be a hassle. I got some euro style chains for it but I suspect they will mess up the pavement more than standard ladder chains. The 2 and 4 link ladder chains just fall into the tread. I re made the 2 link chains into a Z pattern which I like better.
Anyway, if the walk behind blower was my primary snow removal tool or price was not a consideration, I would have bought the tracked hydro model.

 

[Garandman]

Chains are a pain.

The new Carlisle XTrac are great in snow BUT most dealers air the tires up to make them easy to move. Check the air pressure before next season and lower the pressure to the sidewall or owner's manual recommendation.

The older Carlisle Sno-Hog is good but i actually upgraded my older machine to the XTrac.

Another "gotcha" on the Ariens friction-disk machines is that the lowest speed is usually too fast. The linkage can be adjusted and you want to move it so first gear is slow as possible.

The big advantage of the hydrostatic machines is that you can adjust them to exactly the right speed for conditions.

Where the track hydrostatic machines really shine is the EOD pile. Most wheel machines ride up, but you can set the angle of the track machine so it augers in.

Ariens has a 10 lb weight kit you can add inside the bucket. Helps a lot.

 

[HillStreet]

The walks, patios, and fire pit is now installed at the new house. Great job, looks terrific. Now, my snow removal activities will require a snow blower that I walk behind, at least to do the back area. I can still plow the driveway my normal way.

Been shopping online, and I really like the Ariens brand. I suppose I need a quick turn feature, probably a remote chute turner, electric start, and 30 inch cut. What about tracks versus tires. Driveway grade is pretty gentle and the driveway is paved. I think the blower will be able to walk just fine with tires only (no chains). What are your ideas please?

Update from OP. I thank everybody for your input, and the track info was informative. However, I bought a model today with tires. Trying to keep it local, my wife and I stopped in to a small dealer/repair shop. We got to talking politics with the husband and wife and boy did we agree on everything they said, and they were not afraid to say it either.

Anyhow, they had only one model in the building, and it was an Ariens Platinum 30 414cc machine. I like the blower, feels well made and strong enough. Ariens makes their own engines now so I certainly hope it is a good one. A couple of things like the chute remote and hand warmers are nice too. They will prep and deliver it this coming week. I am glad that I bought a quality American product and from a local small business.

 

[Garandman]

//Ariens makes their own engines now so I certainly hope it is a good one. A couple of things like the chute remote and hand warmers are nice too. They will prep and deliver it this coming week. I am glad that I bought a quality American product and from a local small business.

Not exactly. The Ariens AX is designed by LCT (Liquid Combustion Engineering) and imported from China. Has a good reputation and lots of torque, though. The 414cc has 20 ft lbs of torque, which is huge.
Ariens AX Engine

"Since the beginning of the 2013-14 snow season, there is no longer an American-made two-stage snow thrower engine available in the market. "

 

[HillStreet]

Not exactly. The Ariens AX is designed by LCT (Liquid Combustion Engineering) and imported from China. Has a good reputation and lots of torque, though. The 414cc has 20 ft lbs of torque, which is huge.
Ariens AX Engine

"Since the beginning of the 2013-14 snow season, there is no longer an American-made two-stage snow thrower engine available in the market. "

No kidding Garandman. I didn't know that but I'm not surprised either. Well, I do hope it's a good one.