Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I'm posting here in hopes someone can enlighten me.  I purchases a 926LE  new this year.  I did the set up procedures to ensure all was good and within specs.  I consider myself handy enough to do that competently.  I live in the Minneapolis area and got a chance to test the new blower today on about 3-4 inches of very light powder with about 6-7 inches EOD. I will preface this post by saying I'm a noob when it comes to snow blowers, my only experience being with a borrowed John Deere TRS 26.

Now  I know this isn't the best test of the machine, but hey, it's what we were dealt.  Here's what was going on.  When I started out, I had 1 wheel unlocked and this thing was almost impossible to keep straight--ok, no problem, lock other wheel.  Now, it still wandered around like a half drunk snake--not wide fluctuactions, but like short jerks on a steering wheel in a car.  It got better as the machine ran, so maybe  it was just something settling  in.  The really dissappointing part was when I hit the EOD.  Like I said, maybe 7-8 inches of piled  powder.  In low gear, the machine climbed up and over the pile without really blowing anything.  Ok,  so next pass, I tried a higher gear, same thing.  It seems like there is not enough weight on the front end to keep it down.  If  I tried to lift up a little on the handles, the tires would  spin.  My neighbor's John Deere had  no trouble next  door.  It took me almost an hour to clear a 40x60 drive that is basically flat.  I don't know maybe I had my expectations to high.  After looking at the Ariens & John Deere side by side, the Ariens body is about 8-10 inches longer, which moves the CG point back due to  the position of the engine.  While that does help for moving the machine around the garage, it seems to be a problem in the snow. 

The machine also would only throw the snow about 18-20 ft, but, I'm going to chalk that up to power with no mass behind it at this point.  One other question---on the scraper height--I put a finishing nail under each edge & adjusted the shoes.  It's about 1/8' all across.  Does that sound about right?

Anyone have any similar experiences or at least tell me what I experienced today was normal. Thanks in advance