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

Hello all,

I've read all the discussions here and have gained a lot of information. Unfortunately, I'm still unsure how I should proceed with the purchase of my snow blower. Let me give you some information so you better understand my dilemma.

I've just purchased an acreage  that has about 575' of driveway that is 20' wide. The driveway is gravel and the grade is fairly flat with the exception of 150' that has a 5 degree grade. I live in southern Alberta Canada and we generally get a moderate amount of light, fluffy snow. However, because of the layout of my driveway, the location of the trees and garage, I get a lot of drifting snow. In front of my garage door and across the drive to the door, the drifts are almost 2' high. Needless to say, I'm looking for a blower so I can park in my garage again, which leads me to my dilemma.

All the local dealers are sold out of snow blowers so I have to buy something used. Almost all the used stuff is Craftsman. I can pick amongst a handful of 9 to 11 HP and 27" to 30" Craftsman blowers that are less than 2 years old for $800 CDN. There's also a Honda HS928 with track drive that was purchased last year but has never been used (which means there's 1 year remaining on the warranty) that I think I can negotiate to $2,000 CDN.

So, what should I purchase???? I know the Honda has great reliability (I've owned several Honda dirtbikes that are bulletproof as long as regular maintenance is performed) but is it worth 2-3X as much as the Craftsmans I see on the market? I would love to get something in between like a heavy duty Simplicity or Ariens, but the dealers in my area are either sold out or don't exist so these are my only options. What would you do?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Check with Honda guys about track drive on gravel-If they say OK then buy the Honda if you have the coin. No contest between Honda and Craftsman.

There would be a lot of discussion if the choices included Simplicity,Toro,Ariens,Snapper but between Honda and Craftsman it's a no brainer if tracks are ok on gravel.

Marc 

$2000 for a one year only never used 928 honda is a steal. A new heavy duty ariens would put you in the same range. No comparison between honda and craftsman.  If those are your choices, no question, Honda!

A walk behind snow thrower doesn't sound like the answer to your needs.  That's too much driveway for a walk behind unless you're looking at spending a great deal of time behind the machine as well a considerable amount of time  on maintenance.  Being that you're out in Alberta, I'd be looking at a small used Kubota or John Deer diesel tractor.  Preferably with four wheel drive.   Might cost you more but would be the right tool for the job.      

borat wrote:
I was thinking the same thing, that's a lot of driveway.  Is there no one nearby that can come and
clear most of it for you ?

Paul

    A tractor does seem to be the way to go but if for some reason you opt for a snowblower then here's some points about your choices.

   Baised on pecker matching with the maintenance guy next door who uses a Honda track an MTD, Snapper, Toro, and Ariens can't match the distance or speed of the Honda.  A 9hp Murray or MTD built Craftsman will take almost twice as long to clear as the track.  An 11hp Craftsman might keep up if it had the ground speed which it probably does not if a Murray.  MTD's are pretty fast and a huge (11-13hp) MTD may come close to the Honda but taking that kind of workout for an MTD will lead as Broat mentioned some extra maintenance compared to the Honda.   The MTD's are lightly built but parts are cheaper than the better machines.  You'd probably go through the friction disk rubber quickly but they are only 14 bucks and take a few years to do it.  The same for the impeller bearing, gearbox helical, and side bearings.  If the Craftsman is a Husqvarna then I'm not sure. 

    800 versus 2000 is a big difference and would buy a lot of spare parts if you don't mind installing them.

david

Too much driveway for a blower.  I think a used 4wd plow truck would be the way to go.  An old rust bucket, say a 80's F150 4wd with a fisher plow.  Plow trucks take a beating and after a few years of this abuse they are almost worthless.   I often see old plow trucks for sale that will no longer  pass state safety  inspections.  These trucks ussually get sold off for parts, but as long a you don't intend to try to register the vehicle they would be perfect for a 500+ foot driveway.  I saw one listed recently for $500 with a plow.  The catch is this; because these vehicles are unregistered they have to be towed or lifted onto  flatbed to get to your house.  And then you'll need someplace to store it.  But just think, next storm you'll be sitting in a warm cab with your best friend (bow wow), sipping a hot cup of coffee, wearing nothing but  your long johns.

That's a reasonable solution Underdog.  Being that he's in Alberta, fuel costs shouldn't be too much of an issue for him.

Gas prices don't appear to be much cheaper in Alberta.  Right now the main brands
seem to be around 84-85 cents a litre, cheapest around 65 (probably depends on
where you live).

I like the way the oil companies say that their prices are tied to the futures market
(which is crazy in itself) so they raise their prices the minute the futures market
goes up.  But then when the futures market falls they say hey, we paid a lot for the
gas we have so we have to keep prices high for a while.  Of course the idiots that
we are,  we let them get away with it.

Paul

pvrp wrote:

I entirely agree with you Paul.  The gasoline prices will go up instantly in conjunction with rising oil prices.  However, when the oil price drops, the oil companies alway say that the gasoline presently in the system was made with expensive oil.  I've yet to see the price of gasoline go down proportionately with the price of crude.  The true crime here is our governments going along with it.  They do so because taxes (in Canada) rise proportionately with the cost of fuel.  Therefore government rakes off as do the oil companies when gouging consumers.  I said around eight months ago when gasoline was $1.30 to a $1.46 a liter that this gouging won't stop until the economy is brought to a standstill because fuel cost will cripple transportation & manufacturing.  I'm not saying that it did.  However, it was a significant contributor to the manufacturing end of things..