Snowthrower

[kozanoglu]

I am thinking of getting a snowthrower for the season. Craftsman has one with 179cc engine.(6 forward, 2 reverse) Home Depot has similar units also. Cheaper ones sold at HD are rumored to have Chinese-made engines.

Craftsman unit claims it has 'Craftsman engine'. Is there such a thing? If it is not made in China I might buy Craftsman.

Any experiences, suggestions?

 

[Ken2]

I suspect that either will be cheap junk. Which has the best return policy?

 

[Seguino]

If it's in your budget, I would recommend a unit made 100 miles up the road from you in Brillion WI.

Having said that, I own a Craftsman which I share with nine neighbours, and it's still going strong after three years. It has a B&S engine.

Happy snowblowing

 

[MichiganMadMan]

The lower end Craftsman has a Chineese knock off engine, my sister has one. I would try to find one with a name brand engine as that always seems to wear out on a snowblower.
It's tough in that size range, it seems like all the small two stage ones are "built to a price" and don't last long.
Maybe a Toro or Husqvarna?
Good luck!
MMM

 

[Donald]

I had a Sears I bought in maybe 2004 and it worked like a champ. I assume it was an MTD. I was gone from home for a bit and wife said she lost it. I did have to tighten things up routinely, as things would rattle loose. I think it was a 30" and was one of the few I have seen to have a small trigger on each handle that would stop power to that wheel allowing you to turn on a dime.

Toro makes a good one. As do John Deere and Husky and Honda. Airens (at HD) sells an Airens brand and a Snow-Tek brand (cheaper). I would check out the Snow-Tek if you need to get one on a budget. If money is no object, then a John Deere.

 

[eljefino]

"Most" have chinese engines now after tecumseh went belly up. I would not worry about engine quality; I own several, and you can always get another one from harbor freight for $100. If the engine is "OHV" it's 99.9% likely Chinese. There are lots of go-carters running "chondas" with the 3600 RPM governor removed, and on this forum someone just posted a video of a turbo'd version.

Instead I'd worry about the auger gearbox, frame, and all the other stuff you might have a hard time finding parts for in twenty years.

 

[Nick R]

I have a 2 year old Craftsman 26" Snowthrower, with the 208CC "Craftsman OHV" engine. It's a chinese engine, made by Chongqing Heavy Industries iirc. It's not a bad engine. Decently powerful, extremely fuel efficient for an OPE engine. Ridiculously easy to start. It's actually at Sears for repair right now. The engine hunts and surges under load (A common problem they told me), and because I accidentally broke the pullcord when I yanked it to the stops by accident. The engine says Made in China on it, the thrower itself still says Made in USA.

FWIW, Home Depot has some really nice Ariens units. They are more expensive, but are all-metal, made much more sturdily than the craftsman, with Briggs and Stratton engines that say "Engine Made in USA" in big letters on them. I'd go with one of those myself given the choice.

 

[bepperb]

Small two stage units are junk. Buy a good expensive single stage Toro or Honda... or buy a good dual stage unit. But buying a 400 dollar two stage unit that's going to work for one season won't work out too well.

The good Ariens ones are the real deal.

 

[kozanoglu]

Thanks to each and every one of you for your suggestions.

My budget for new snowthrower is capped at around $500.And that buys me Sno-Tek or similar low-end machines.Guaranty term is usually 2 years.

I checked craigslist for used ones and came accross with several different types and brands. One is a smaller Honda HS35 4 cycle machine and the other one that attracted my interest is an Ariens.

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/tls/2635532236.html

You think it might be worth $200 ?

 

[Nick R]

My grandfather has one of those, but older. The engine runs, but has no power anymore. Made out of bomb grade steel though.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: kozanoglu
Thanks to each and every one of you for your suggestions.

My budget for new snowthrower is capped at around $500.And that buys me Sno-Tek or similar low-end machines.Guaranty term is usually 2 years.

I checked craigslist for used ones and came accross with several different types and brands. One is a smaller Honda HS35 4 cycle machine and the other one that attracted my interest is an Ariens.

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/tls/2635532236.html

You think it might be worth $200 ?


You could always offer $150.

Even if you had to replace the motor, you'd come out ahead considering the thicker steel of the older model.

 

[ffracer]

I have a Craftsman 26" with Tecumseh 5hp motor. Have used Pennzoil Platinum or Mobil 1 5W-30 since I have owned it every season. made by MTD, but seems to be solid.

Still runs like new, got lots of use. Main reasons seems to work well - I maintain it well (new oil and gas treatement, run tuill dry at end of season), and clean it.

 

[typ901]

for a $500 budget i would buy a Toro single stage.Light and easy to use. I bought mine from speedwaysales.com Real simple.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: kozanoglu
I am thinking of getting a snowthrower for the season.


What kind of conditions do you have? BIG driveway? Is it paved? Do you get lots of wet, heavy snow? A lot of that is going to determine if a single stage or two stage would work better for you.

$500 isn't going to buy you much. Like said, none of the engines are made like they used to be. Toro single stg machines are nice if you don't have a acres of snow removal to do. The cheaper ($800 and under) 2-stg units are all about the same quality wise.

Joel

 

[bepperb]

This is a bad time of year to craigslist a blower. Can you shovel until January, when prices will be half what they are now?

I have a single stage in Milwaukee. The skirt (between the sidewalk and the road) I basically have to shovel that area if there's more than a foot of snow there. If there's more than 6~8 inches of snowstorm I usually have to go snowblow once at night and again the next morning (once halfway through the storm). On the other hand, it goes in the attic of my garage all summer and I can carry it between two cars parked in the garage so I don't have to drive them over the snow to get the blower out.

You can't win, there are advantages and disadvantages to 1 vs 2 stage units. I'm not parking outside all winter so that on the two bad snowfalls each year I can save 15 minutes of shoveling.

My two cents. Best of luck.

 

[Quattro Pete]

During the last two winters here in Chicago suburbs there was only one storm after which I wished I had a 2-stage blower. Otherwise, my single stage Honda with the 160cc motor has been doing a fine job. My driveway isn't that big though. It takes 10-15 mins to clear it usually.

 

[kozanoglu]

This is a bad time of year to craigslist a blower. Can you shovel until January, when prices will be half what they are now?

I have been looking for one for almost a year now on craigslist.Interesting but I see more snowblower ads these days than summer.Last winter we had a couple of bad snowstorms as you know and it was back-breaking to shovel.The driveway is more than 100 feet long. I had to shovel in layers and it took me hours to clear the snow. You think prices will be lower in January?

I have a single stage in Milwaukee. The skirt (between the sidewalk and the road) I basically have to shovel that area if there's more than a foot of snow there. If there's more than 6~8 inches of snowstorm I usually have to go snowblow once at night and again the next morning (once halfway through the storm). On the other hand, it goes in the attic of my garage all summer and I can carry it between two cars parked in the garage so I don't have to drive them over the snow to get the blower out.

My mother in law has an older smaller Ariens single stage snowthrower. It does not work now, she says she was told that it needs a carb cleaning. But the thing is you have to mix gas and oil in that machine.If I can not find a good used one I will have to fix it or have it fixed.If it does not cost much, of course.I would prefer small ones if it works for me.

You can't win, there are advantages and disadvantages to 1 vs 2 stage units. I'm not parking outside all winter so that on the two bad snowfalls each year I can save 15 minutes of shoveling.

My two cents. Best of luck.

Thanks.

 

[kozanoglu]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
During the last two winters here in Chicago suburbs there was only one storm after which I wished I had a 2-stage blower. Otherwise, my single stage Honda with the 160cc motor has been doing a fine job. My driveway isn't that big though. It takes 10-15 mins to clear it usually.


I saw a couple of smaller Hondas and I like how they look. I even watched some videos of these on youtube. Some from Germany.Honda sells these for $700.I can't afford buying new but hopefully a good used one if I can find it.

So single stage means you have to mix gas and oil? If not what does single stage refer to?

 

[kozanoglu]

Originally Posted By: eljefino


You could always offer $150.

Even if you had to replace the motor, you'd come out ahead considering the thicker steel of the older model.



I did offer $150, seller said lots of people called, lots of interest.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: kozanoglu
I saw a couple of smaller Hondas and I like how they look. I even watched some videos of these on youtube. Some from Germany.Honda sells these for $700.

I bought mine new for $600 when it was on sale. But by this time of the year, most sales may be over. Plus, the Honda ones are usually in fairly high demand, so they rarely have sales on them.

Quote:

So single stage means you have to mix gas and oil? If not what does single stage refer to?

No. They use regular gasoline. No need to mix anything, other than maybe something like Sta-Bil to prevent gas from getting stale.

Read this about the difference between single and two-stage blower:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_blower#Single-stage_and_two-stage_snow_throwers