Walk behind snow throwers

[arthurb]

I am interested in buying a walk behind snow thrower as a backup to my gt with a front blade. I have a 20'x80' stone driveway. My gt with a front blade can actually handle a 12"-18" snowfall fairly well. It's the 3 or 4 larger snowfalls during the course of winter that are a pain. In regards to 2' of lake effect snow, and 2'-3' drifts from a northwest wind.

I don't want to spend the $1500 for a new front mounted blower on my gt. Also, I found from experience that my front blade does a better job of cleaning up the snow left over from the township's snowplows when they clear the roads. The township always clears the roads while I'm at work, and that snow is wet and becomes hardpacked for 8 hours of setting at the end of my driveway.

What make, size and hp. walk behind snow thrower does everyone recommend? Here in northeastern Ohio I have a choice of Ariens, CC, JD, Toro, MTD, Troybilt, Sears and Tractor Supply. I know that I will want the Tecumseh snow king engine for sure. Don't tell me to put up a snow fence to prevent the drifts. I have a wife and two young kids. I need some time to myself outside. I would like to stay under $1000.

 

[mark1]

I began assembling Ariens snow throwers way back in the 60's (I worked for a dealer)To me they are number "1" Parts are still easy to get even for machines still around from way back then. Of course now they have a ton of safety measures on them but They are easy to work on and get parts almost anywhere. I have a 8 HP 24" Ariens that I purchased used about 20 years ago.(I had a 32" one but didn't need one that wide). It has the Tecumseh 8 Hp engine, now called sno-king ,I see them for sale used all the time for around 500 bucks. and here in western New York they get a workout. So far all I have ever done to it was 1 belt and a new muffler! other than gas and oil etc.

 

[RWEST]

Don't tell me to put up a snow fence to prevent the drifts. I have a wife and two young kids. I need some time to myself outside.

LOL!!
Sorry, I'm not much help with your question (I have a 5' wide 3 point Lucknow blower on my 955), but, those couple sentences really tickled me!!

 

[AZinOH]

"Here in northeastern Ohio I have a choice of Ariens, CC, JD, Toro, MTD, Troybilt, Sears and Tractor Supply."

Given those choices, you will find the Ariens and the Toro to be the better choices. A 9 or 10 hp engine is desirable with that much snow, which might crimp your budget a little. Now is the time to shop around as you might find a good preseason sale. Don't limit yourself to the big box stores, check a few dealers as well.

 

[aesanders]

Any Simplicity dealers in the area? They make excellent snowblowers. Those and ariens are the tops in book. Ariens seems to have cheapened up a bit in the last few years but still better than most.

 

[bontai_Joe]

You missed a great opertunity last winter when Home Depot was selling Ariens snowblowers at close to half price. I would look at Ariens first and Toro and Simplicity second, Husqvarna/Craftsman 3rd. The Cub Cadet, MTD, Yardman, Troy-Bilt snowblowers are all the same machine with different paint, and the Deere walk-behind snowblowers are (at least at my dealer) overly expensive for what you get. I'd also check to see if Hondas are avialable in your area as they are among the best in reliability and very well built, but also expensive.

 

[arthurb]

bontai Joe,

I wished you wouldn't have reminded me about that half price sale. A person that I work with bought one of Ariens larger snow throwers last Febrauary during Home Depots half price sale. He saved about $800.00. I could probably wait until the next half price sale, but I would rather have a snow thrower before the start of this winter.

I have narrowed my choices down to Ariens, Toro and Simplicity. Thank you, to all who responded to my post.

 

[arthurb]

Well, I went out and bought my new walk behind snow thrower today. I bought an Ariens 926LE model. It has a 9hp. Tecumseh snow king engine with a 26" snow intake. I'll keep everyone updated on it's performance this winter.

 

[shvl73]

That hp (9) is well mated that width (26"), I think you be real happy with it.

 

[buffalohunter]

They are kinda expensive but the Honda walk behind with tracks works very well, I got one and like it alot.

 

[Casco1]

I've run the same Toro (8 hp + 24" ) for fifteen years. This machine has pushed some snow here in New England. My recomendation would be no wider than 24" you may have to make one or two more passes than with a wider machine but over it will be less work for you and the machine.

 

[SPYDERLK]

arthurb, The problem I think you will have on a stone drive is the height skids stirring up rocks and causing them to get picked up and thrown. I had this problem until I replaced the skids with little wheels. If you find you need to do this there are a few problems I learned from that may help in your mod. Contact me if you feel the need.
Larry

 

[arthurb]

I've always waited for about the first 6"-8" snow. Then I drive up and down the length of the driveway with my Chevy 4x4 to pack the snow down. Within a day the snow becomes hardpacked over the stones. This usually works pretty good as long as the temperature stays around or below 32 degrees. I normally set my skid shoes/runners all the way down to have the greatest amount of clearance. I still kick up a few stones, but not as much if I didn't pack the snow down in the driveway first.

 

[Willl]

Gallery.....The Original V8 Snowblower

 

[Fordlords]

Just a few fellows with a little too much time on their hands LOL! No surprise the idea came over, "A few adult beverages," LOL! That does look awesome and well made though Bet that exhaust out of those headers is deafening!

-Fordlords-

 

[The Gardener]

I am interested in buying a walk behind snow thrower as a backup to my gt with a front blade. What make, size and hp. walk behind snow thrower does everyone recommend?

We live in northern NH. We get a lot of wet, heavy snow each winter. It is not uncommon to get a couple of storms that drops in excess of 20" of snow. And, if that's not difficult enough, our unlined, country road happens to be on the school bus route. Hence, the plow passes by our house 6 or more times during and after each snow fall.

To answer your question(s) above, make horsepower your NUMBER ONE variable. There is NO substitute for HP. I bought our snowblower at a Cub Cadet dealership. I cannot remember the actual name badged on its side. However, it is a 10HP, 28" beast, and it does a fantastic job. My brother and my neighbor have 5 HP models. They have to nibble away at the drifts and the piles at the end of their driveway. The 10HP snowblower blasts through any pile and drift w/o ever needing to stop, nibble, or back up.

I really don't think brand is all that important. Most parts are shared.

I can give our snowblower two major thumbs up for performance. It has been maintenance free [4 years], and it has an electric start [w/ a pull back up system]. The electric start is worth every penny. It starts instantly on the first button push every time no matter how long it has sat between storms.

Best of Luck!
The Gardener

 

[shvl73]

I really don't think brand is all that important. Most parts are shared.

Best of Luck!
The Gardener

Cub cadet blowers are made by MTD, a brand that gets its share of criticism here, maybe justified.
Mine is also an MTD and it is 12 years old and the main problem has been rust from my lack of maintainence. I haven't cleaned and oiled it between seasons and have hauled it to my apartments (sold!) on a reciever hitch platform for a couple of winters, so it got nicely salted. With a degree of care it could make it to 20, I believe. Still going....

 

[DaveRR]

I see you've already bought your snowblower, but I'll put in my two cents anyway. Last year I bought an 11hp, 30" cut, Husqvarna. They sell similar units at one of the big boxes, but I got mine at the local dealer for $1000.

I live in northern NY state, a few miles from Lake Ontario, and I have an 80' stone driveway. We get lots of lake effect, and this machine handles it very well.

I agree with a previous poster, in that you should go with as much HP as you can afford. I live on a state road, so it's heavily salted and plowed frequently. 11HP throws that slush easily, and I haven't had to deal with a plugged chute yet.

This is a good machine, and I'd certainly recommend it to others. When I was shopping, it was definitely the most machine for the money.