Snow Blower advice please

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: chevys10
OP, your signature says you have a Honda and a Toyota. You obviously prefer Japanese brands. Why change on a snowblower?


Have you ever priced out a Honda or Yamaha snow blower compared to any top quality domestic brand such as Ariens, Toro and Simplicity?

 

[fred9xx]

+1 boraticus.
My last 7 auto purchases (since 1987) have been Toyota or Honda but I have an 8 year old Ariens b/c the price on the Honda snow blower was about 50% more.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: fred9xx
+1 boraticus.
My last 7 auto purchases (since 1987) have been Toyota or Honda but I have an 8 year old Ariens b/c the price on the Honda snow blower was about 50% more.


I've owned Toyotas since 1980. That's over 30 years of absolute satisfaction.

In that same period of time, I've owned two Craftsman (AYP), and one Simplicity two stage machines. Never owned a Honda although, I could have as many as I want. Reason being that the Simplicity is probably 90% of the machine a Honda is costing about two grand less.

To me, it's all about value. Honda and Yamaha are great machines, however, in my opinion, they aren't so much better to warrant such a price.

 

[exploreco]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
Originally Posted By: chevys10
OP, your signature says you have a Honda and a Toyota. You obviously prefer Japanese brands. Why change on a snowblower?


Have you ever priced out a Honda or Yamaha snow blower compared to any top quality domestic brand such as Ariens, Toro and Simplicity?


I ended up going to a local dealer here in town that carried Toro and Honda. I can get the Honda HS520 for $629 or the Toro Power Clear 621 for $559. Neither unit has the electric start. Would be a nice feature to have but not sure I need it for $100 more. Both are nice units and get good reviews so I don’t think I could go wrong with either. For the amount of use the unit would get, the Honda or Toro would probally last me for years and years.

I haven’t found an Airens dealer close by yet and our local Home Depot is out of stock on everything but a couple of Toro’s and said they didn’t know when they were getting more.

Still keeping the Simplicity/Snapper single stage on the list with the other two but haven’t found many reviews about them. Seems like the two stage Simplicitys get pretty good reviews.

Thanks for all the replies and opinions. I have enjoyed reading them!

 

[boraticus]

Simplicity two stage machines are right up there with the top three domestic brands. However, since B&S bought out Simplicity/Snapper, there has been some compromise in quality compared to the same products built five or six years ago and earlier. I bought a Simplicity that was built in 2005 in the Wisconsin plant (now closed) and it's a very well built machine.

Not sure I would buy the equivalent Simplicity being built today. I'd probably lean toward their Pro line up. Same with Toro and Ariens. They've also joined the "box store build" philosophy and have some models that aren't on the same grade as what their equivalents used to be.

If it's an SS machine, I'd go with either Toro or Honda. Functionally, both are very good SS machines but the Honda has a genuine Honda engine on it. The Toro comes with a Loncin clone which is apparently a good engine but not been around long enough to give us an idea of how durable it is.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: boraticus


If it's an SS machine, I'd go with either Toro or Honda. Functionally, both are very good SS machines but the Honda has a genuine Honda engine on it. The Toro comes with a Loncin clone which is apparently a good engine but not been around long enough to give us an idea of how durable it is.


That's for sure.

Even Toro's 418ZR uses a tiny 87cc OHV engine. I assume it's a Loncin, not sure.

These two manufacturers have been in the single-stage snow blower business for a long time and have the science pretty much perfected.

I know the Toro SS units I've worked on were relatively easy to tear into and Toro parts are easy to source.

Same goes with Honda, although I haven't worked on any Honda snow blowers.

Joel

 

[boraticus]

The Honda isn't quite as simple as the Toro. I have opened up my Toro 221QRE and it's pretty basic and easy to work on. From what I've read, the Honda is somewhat complicated by comparison.

 

[Clevy]

From my experience with small motors a Honda or Briggs and Stratton is always a safe bet. All my generators(6) and air compressors(8) have Honda motors and even in -40 they start first or second pull

 

[boraticus]

The Chinese engines I own usually start first or second pull so that's no measure of how well it will perform in the long run.

From my experience, durability is measured in hours of operation and years of ownership.

The oldest Chinese engine I own is a6 h.p. 208cc Mitsubishi which I suspect is Chinese because it does not have a country of origin label on it anywhere. I've owned it for seven years or so and it has run well over the years but has low hours on it. It seems to be a well built engine and performs well but, with limited hours on it, it's too early to say how durable it will be in the long run. So far, so good.

 

[Nick R]

If it's a 208cc it's chinese. It's made by Chongqing Vision industries most likely. They work well, but tend to have cruddy carbs. I'm considering buying a genuine Honda carb and slapping it on mine since it is probably a direct fit.

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
If it's a 208cc it's chinese. It's made by Chongqing Vision industries most likely. They work well, but tend to have cruddy carbs. I'm considering buying a genuine Honda carb and slapping it on mine since it is probably a direct fit.


As a matter of fact, I did have a bit of a carb issue with this one soon after buying it. I pulled the float bowl and it had quite a few very small particles of what appeared to be red plastic that would get sucked into the main jet and cause the machine to run poorly. I cleaned the bowl, blew out the main jet and it's been flawless since.

 

[Rand]

I think most people knocking the single stage havent used a good one recently.

I have a toro 2450 gts (11 years old) and it will absolutely TEAR into anything under 9" upto about 12" is fine.. taller than that.. is taller than the snowblower so it has issues.

IF we are getting 2ft of snow.. I just hit it once before bed.

I paid 200$ used for it. To get a decent 2stage would have been at least 800. And I don't have a place to store it.

Would I like to have big hoss snowblower in my garage.. sure. Does mine do the job fine.. yes.

Also my driveway isnt really turn around friendly on the ends.. so having a lightweight maneuverable Single stage is much less operator fatigue.

Not knocking 2stage but to say single stage are worthless isnt a very informed opinion.

I now also have a 1 year old toro 221.. That will move CRAZY snow. Again the only catch is if the snow is Deeper than the unit is tall.. its quite abit of extra work. That might happen once a year and I can usually just hit it once at night so it isnt so bad the next day.

 

[Jeepster_nut]

I recently bought a 221QE. I have yet to blow any real snow with it, but I am liking all the good I hear about it on this forum!

 

[boraticus]

Originally Posted By: Jeepster_nut
I recently bought a 221QE. I have yet to blow any real snow with it, but I am liking all the good I hear about it on this forum!


I bought anew 221QE last January. For a single stage machine, it's very impressive. Check the engine RPM to ensure you're in the right range. Should be between 4000 and 4100. Adjusting the governor is simply bend a tab that the governor spring is attached to. Very little increments are required.

I have a 110' long driveway with a 10% grade. If I set the engine rpm past 3900, it pulls me down the hill faster than I'd like to go. Accordingly I've reduced the rpm to keep it manageable. If you have a relatively flat driveway, go for the max. I'd even jack it up a bit to around 4500 for more throwing power. A few hundred rpm above factory spec won't hurt anything. Those R-tek engines are supposed to be pretty rugged.

 

[Jeepster_nut]

Originally Posted By: boraticus
Originally Posted By: Jeepster_nut
I recently bought a 221QE. I have yet to blow any real snow with it, but I am liking all the good I hear about it on this forum!


I bought anew 221QE last January. For a single stage machine, it's very impressive. Check the engine RPM to ensure you're in the right range. Should be between 4000 and 4100. Adjusting the governor is simply bend a tab that the governor spring is attached to. Very little increments are required.

I have a 110' long driveway with a 10% grade. If I set the engine rpm past 3900, it pulls me down the hill faster than I'd like to go. Accordingly I've reduced the rpm to keep it manageable. If you have a relatively flat driveway, go for the max. I'd even jack it up a bit to around 4500 for more throwing power. A few hundred rpm above factory spec won't hurt anything. Those R-tek engines are supposed to be pretty rugged.


What would you say the absolute max operating RPM range would be on the 221? I adjusted mine by bending the governor tab to the left a little bit and it really throws the snow now! I don't have a tach but I would guess i bumped it up a couple hundred RPM's.