Recommend a workhorse "no frills" snowblower

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted by JLawrence08648
On the side I fix snowblowers for $, also sell used snowblowers I've completely have gone through.

My favorites in this order are Simplicity then Toro. Those are the two I would buy. Then Ariens. Even the low end of those brands are quality sharing many parts of the higher priced of that brand.

Before you buy, check the clearance, space, between the impeller and the housing. Most times you will get substantially better throwing by installing rubber flaps attached to the impeller blade to fill in this space, called an impeller kit.



I added the impeller kit on my lowly 179 cc 24" Troy-Bilt and it made a world of difference in it's ability to throw all types of snow further. It was a very worth while "investment", especially for an inexpensive snow blower.

Whimsey

 

[JTK]

Agreed on the DIY impeller enhancement.

I used pieces of a scrap rubber impeller off an older Ariens single stage unit to make "paddles" or "extenders" for my 20yr/old MTD 24" machine. I just used self tapping bolts w/washers and some gorilla glue to hold them on. I installed them right through the discharge chute with a long extension on my drill. It's been 4-5yrs and they're still intact. It works OK, but is a better modification for an older, iron beast IMO.

If you want a machine that throws/blows snow well right out of the box, you need a higher end Toro, Ariens or Honda. I too agree on the Simplicity comment above, they are great, but Simplicity isn't what it used to be. The large frame simplicitys were like tanks. I've seen very few of those and never had to work on one, which is a great thing!

The newer standard Simplicity line has been owned by Briggs and Stratton since the early 2000s and the standard snowblower line I believe is based on a Murray design. Still better than MTDs IMO.