Recommend a snow blower for $900.00 or less.

[Duffyjr]

You made it longer than I did, I bought my first snowblower when I was 38.

For a 30 ft drive I could live with my Toro 721R single stage, as others have said it's a little beast. You may have to go out multiple times or every 8-10 inches during a storm but you are only doing 30 ft. My drive is 120x20 ft plus sidewalks, 10 inches or less it handles no problem. I also have a MTD 5/22 two stage I bought in 1995 that still does ok on the deeper stuff but they don't make them like that one any more.

 

[JC1]

Go for a used snowblower 24 inch, 2 stage Ariens or Toro. Prices will be higher this time of the year and need to search daily for one in good condition.

 

[DwightFrye]

I started a thread about snowblower recommendations in the Lawnmower and Small Engine section a few weeks ago. I am 66 years old and live at 6000' elevation and have a 40' long concrete driveway. I decided last year that I wasn't going to shovel snow any longer. We only get a half dozen storms a year but the snowfall can be anywhere from 8-10" to two feet.

Well, as in most things what I wanted to spend and what I ended up with didn't converge. I bough a Toro 824 from Home Depot for $1100 plus tax and free delivery. There were none to be had for pickup at any of the big box stores within a 50 mile radius so the free delivery was a nice plus.

The machine is a beast. Maybe more than I will need, but just like in the automotive world there is no substitute for cubic inches and horsepower. If I can knock out the job in just a few minutes instead of two hours I'll be happy and the expense will be well worth it.

 

[sst9303]

Just tired of shoveling any deep snow at my 49 years of age. Would like to get a quality/reliable snow blower to ease the pains. Have a 30 ft. driveway and the side walks to contend with.

Thanks, Dale

I bought a 24" Cub Cadet ~8 yrs ago, I am pretty sure it's the absolute worst purchase/investment I have ever made........the first 3 years were ok since at least it was covered by the manufacturer's warranty they had to send a tech to work on it and even replaced the original one (didn't help).

My Grandfather had a 1974 Cub Cadet riding mower that is still in use, I based my decision to buy on that mowers history.

I sold it last year and bought a 24 " Ariens at Lowes........the 2 times I needed it last year it worked great.

 

[Dave9]

Please link your 2 stage blowers in that range with electric start.

Here's one $700 regular price
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Troy-Bi...ric-Start-Self-Propelled-Storm-2410/305562533

$643 https://www.homedepot.com/p/YARDMAX-24-in-Two-Stage-Electric-Start-Gas-Snow-Blower-YB6270/303311337
$606 for the larger 26" which doesn't make sense but there it is:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/YARDMAX...s-Snow-Blower-with-Headlight-YB6770/303108924

$630 https://www.homedepot.com/p/WEN-24-...ow-Blower-with-Electric-Start-SB24E/310864133
$529 https://www.homedepot.com/p/PowerSm...w-Blower-with-LED-Light-PSSHD24-LED/317029773

Here's a few probably hitting $700-ish on sale:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/PowerSm...wer-PSSHD24/314990248?ITC=AUC-105429-23-12070
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Champio...w-Blower-with-Electric-Start-100679/314921344
https://www.homedepot.com/p/YARD-FO...-with-Electric-Start-YF24-DS21-GSB2/317041198
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Legend-...-Blower-with-Electric-Start-THDSKU3/313380690
https://www.homedepot.com/p/PowerSm...ist-Turning-and-Headlights-DB7126PA/305949845

I didn't bother to check which of these have a B&S engine as mentioned, but frankly these days the LCT and Zonshen engines aren't bad either, not new entries into the small engine industry, have established years of use in the field and aren't too hard to find parts for either. Regardless, all these choices just from one website... like anything else costing the better part of a thousand dollars, I would want to see them in person and kick the tires before pulling the trigger on one, check how hard it is to source proprietary chassis parts or if there's crossover with another brand(s) which there often is.

Then again you specified electric start and IIRC I mentioned it's too much of a bother to me to hook up an extension cord compared to just pull starting, at least for engines this size rather than much larger. The effort is similar to a lawn mower.

 

[Dadillac]

https://www.troybilt.com/en_US/two-stage-snow-blowers/storm-2620-snow-blower/31CM6CP3B66.html

I bought this snow blower around 2010 from Lowes. Mine was a little different likes the wheels and the engine on mine was smaller. Worked great for the 10 years I had it. I upgraded to an Ariens this spring and gave the Troy Bilt to my wifes sister. Still running like a champ. In 10 years I had zero problems with it. It didn't like to do the end of the driveway after a plow went past but the new Storm 2620 has a 243cc engine so it is more powerful and might do better. I highly recommend it. Do not listen to the "do not buy from big box store" guys. There is nothing wrong with the stuff they sell. You do not need to spend thousands to move snow. My experience with a big box store Troy Bilt confirms that some folks are sheep and just follow what others post on the net blindly. Sure the cheaper units can have problems. I do not dispute that. But the higher end units are not without issues either. Just my opinion

Don

 

[Highboy]

https://www.snowblowersdirect.com/Toro-38757-Snow-Thrower/p100160.html


I’m looking at this one to replace my old Toro ccr2450.

 

[Dave9]

I bought a 24" Cub Cadet ~8 yrs ago, I am pretty sure it's the absolute worst purchase/investment I have ever made........the first 3 years were ok since at least it was covered by the manufacturer's warranty they had to send a tech to work on it and even replaced the original one (didn't help).

What exactly was wrong with it? I have a ~10 year old Cub Cadet 24", 524WE. It has only had two carb-related problems, otherwise still running well last winter.

1) Carb mounting screws (actually I think it was acorn nuts on studs) came loose at about 5 years old, had to tighten them. Took only a minute to find and fix this (is one of the first things I check on small engines) If it kept happening I would've used threadlocker.

2) Carb fouled too much at 9 years old, I blame E10 gas mostly, which it's ran all its life. Eventual small engine carb issues are just something I accept rather than religiously acquiring ethanol free fuel. I don't see it as a Cub Cadet or Huayi (carb maker) specific issue. I could have tried running Techron cleaner through it every now and then but didn't.

Rather than a cleaning and gasket/rebuilt kit, I just got a generic $14 carb off amazon, price was right, delivered fast, and that got it back in service quick. My main gripe was it required taking more parts off than I'd have liked to get TO the carb to replace it, but I found a youtube video that saved me some time on that jigsaw puzzle.

Anyway this is a generic replacement for original Huayi HY-170SA carb on a Zonshen SN210 engine, or the MTD OEM (Huayi) carb is around $73, part # 951-14026A in case anyone finds this topic in the future and needs same thing done to theirs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LFQHL77

 

[THORROMIG]

I started a thread about snowblower recommendations in the Lawnmower and Small Engine section a few weeks ago. I am 66 years old and live at 6000' elevation and have a 40' long concrete driveway. I decided last year that I wasn't going to shovel snow any longer. We only get a half dozen storms a year but the snowfall can be anywhere from 8-10" to two feet.

Well, as in most things what I wanted to spend and what I ended up with didn't converge. I bough a Toro 824 from Home Depot for $1100 plus tax and free delivery. There were none to be had for pickup at any of the big box stores within a 50 mile radius so the free delivery was a nice plus.

The machine is a beast. Maybe more than I will need, but just like in the automotive world there is no substitute for cubic inches and horsepower. If I can knock out the job in just a few minutes instead of two hours I'll be happy and the expense will be well worth it.

Hopefully it gives you many years of reliable/quality service Sir.
Want to thank all you fine folk for your feedback & recommendations overall. Surely, with your feed back -- I will find a snowblower within my budget. Oh, I have an asphalt driveway.

Thanks, Dale

T

 

[sst9303]

What exactly was wrong with it? I have a ~10 year old Cub Cadet 24", 524WE. It has only had two carb-related problems, otherwise still running well last winter.

1) Carb mounting screws (actually I think it was acorn nuts on studs) came loose at about 5 years old, had to tighten them. Took only a minute to find and fix this (is one of the first things I check on small engines) If it kept happening I would've used threadlocker.

2) Carb fouled too much at 9 years old, I blame E10 gas mostly, which it's ran all its life. Eventual small engine carb issues are just something I accept rather than religiously acquiring ethanol free fuel. I don't see it as a Cub Cadet or Huayi (carb maker) specific issue. I could have tried running Techron cleaner through it every now and then but didn't.

Rather than a cleaning and gasket/rebuilt kit, I just got a generic $14 carb off amazon, price was right, delivered fast, and that got it back in service quick. My main gripe was it required taking more parts off than I'd have liked to get TO the carb to replace it, but I found a youtube video that saved me some time on that jigsaw puzzle.

Anyway this is a generic replacement for original Huayi HY-170SA carb on a Zonshen SN210 engine, or the MTD OEM (Huayi) carb is around $73, part # 951-14026A in case anyone finds this topic in the future and needs same thing done to theirs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LFQHL77

The first one never ran right from day one, it revved up and down, ran hot and would shutdown maybe 20 mins after starting it up, it didn't have enough power to push heavy wet snow when it did run.......the tech changed out several carbs, the exhaust and I don't know what else but they finally replaced it when he said he thought it had a cracked block.

The second unit wasn't much better, it even came from the dealer with the chute broken and the electric start unit/module wasn't wired up, when priming the gas mostly just leaked out onto the ground and I replaced a fouled carb 4 years in........2 years ago the wheels locked up so I contacted the dealer and he said it was a known issue and the sent a tech to fix it no charge and he said "honestly if you can sell it you should move on from it" took his advice sold it and bought the Ariens.

 

[odie]

TROY- BILT Storm 24 from Lowes . Purchased 2 or 3 years ago after a 4 foot snowstorm . 17 year old 24" Yard Machine w/ Tecumseh engine couldn't keep up with with high amounts , now 19 years old . Had to replace auger belt after it broke the year before . The other original belt looked fine . Use it for lesser snow . Both get SHELL Rotella Gas Truck 5w-30 ( S.N.+,GF-5 ) .

 

[Jim K]

These blow snow as fast as your arms can move . And they are cheap.

 

[Jackson_Slugger]

Totally agree,, you'll be happy with a Toro single stage and have a few bucks left over.

My father's Toro single stage is a beast. I sold his two stage Yard Machines for him because they have it plowed now but still use the Toro for trimming and occasionally if a big storm might cause a driving ban. The YM was nice, even with its underpowered but reliable Chinese engine, we had a storm where we had about seven feet of snow fall and battled to keep up, they didn't open the roads for over four days on that one in Nov. 14....

I don't know everything about PA, but doubt you'll see much more than a foot in the worst storms...

 

[hemitruck]

My father's Toro single stage is a beast. I sold his two stage Yard Machines for him because they have it plowed now but still use the Toro for trimming and occasionally if a big storm might cause a driving ban. The YM was nice, even with its underpowered but reliable Chinese engine, we had a storm where we had about seven feet of snow fall and battled to keep up, they didn't open the roads for over four days on that one in Nov. 14....

I don't know everything about PA, but doubt you'll see much more than a foot in the worst storms...

Nah, live across the Delaware river from Milford, we often get more than a foot of heavy wet snow. Then there is the occasional 3 foot dump.

 

[odie]

These blow snow as fast as your arms can move . And they are cheap.

Not as young . Take breaks more often and feel the burn more .

 

[odie]

Do like this ! Clever !

 

[odie]

TROY- BILT Storm 24 from Lowes . Purchased 2 or 3 years ago after a 4 foot snowstorm . 17 year old 24" Yard Machine w/ Tecumseh engine couldn't keep up with with high amounts , now 19 years old . Had to replace auger belt after it broke the year before . The other original belt looked fine . Use it for lesser snow . Both get SHELL Rotella Gas Truck 5w-30 ( S.N.+,GF-5 ) .

Oops , the Yard Machine bought at Walmart in 2002 is a 22" with a 5 H.P. (?) Tecumseh .