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

Really these units are similar, but if you ask a dealer you'd think they were exact opposites.  Never used a lever traction system like the Toro, but did briefly try the auto trac on the Ariens.  I live 1/2 hr from Brillion WI and really do feel an attraction to Ariens, but that is another issue... Help me out guys!  I'll be pissed if I choose wrong.  Price is the same.

The quickchute is nice -- but I gotta say that I find Ariens controls very easy to use and fast as well.  They dont get points for 'cool', and it might take an extra second if you need to change both chute direction and deflector height at the same time, but other than that I like the controls just fine.

I went with the Ariens Platinum 24". I think I'll be happy- $1150 plus tax Thanks to everyone for you input!

jviera1298 wrote:

I'd like to read some of those stories of the Toro's quick chute system breaking. I've looked and all I hear is people saying that they've heard of them breaking. From what I've seen for actual evidence they break there's not much out there. Plastic doesn't break, not like the old stuff this new stuff is really slick as well. If you prefer metal which dents that's ok. But don't say it breaks unless you've had a few of them break on you. My dealer who also sells Ariens says the few that have broken were from people backing their car into it or abuse like that. He also pointed out that those same things would have destryed a metal chute as well.

My wife weighs 84 lbs. and could not turn the Ariens. The Toro was very easy for her to use. Granted I blow most of the snow but she's always wanting to get her turn in on the Toro. But as I said Whatever brand you own is generally the one you will be in favor of. Toro's sell much faster than Ariens around here because they are fast and easy to use. Ariens work very well but the colleges here don't buy Ariens, just Toro's and Honda.

Everything you read online is hearsay (including what we can claim actually happened to our own equipment). Are the stories of the plastics cracking/breaking true? I dont know. Is what you're saying true? I dont know that either. It's a discussion board and were discussing what we've read - Ill still take steel over plastic anyday -- especially when the equipment will be subjected to a harsh environment. A dent and a crack are two totally different animals. The likelyhood of either happening to the chute isnt much - but it exists. I was at Home Depot a couple days ago re-examining my choice to go with the Ariens - and as smooth as the quick chute controls are, Im still happy with my steel Ariens -- and have zero doubt that the Toro chute would break before the Ariens one if the right object ever impacted it.

jviera1298 wrote:

So all you are left with is an opinion which has no credibility. I've worked with steel, aluminum and many other materials my whole life as a machinist. Yes, all sorts of plastics and phenolics too as did my father before me. All steel (sheetmetal in this case) is not created equally. Sheetmetal is going to dent or bend, plastic will crack given enough force. We made tests strips for the huge Nitrogen and Methane tanks. Pretty cool to watch steel that's 1000 times (at minimum) stronger than your Ariens sheetmetal chute shatter like glass. If you actually worked with this stuff everyday you'd appreciate the fact that some materials work better in certain enviroments better than others. Quality of material as well as many other factors all contribute to strength and longevity. The new plastics are very good for extreme cold enviroments. So don't dismiss them because you personally prefer metal. Chutes are basically feeder tubes and not subjected to *much force* through impacts. If I take a 5 lb. sledge to both chutes, after 2-3 hits it won't matter if it's plastic or metal. But chutes aren't subjected to that kind of force, if they were they'd be made of something other than sheetmetal or plastic.

Keep in mind we are both happy with what we own, but I am against the mythology that plastic is inferior to metal for every application. There isn't any evidence to support that Toro's plastic chutes have any more problems than metal chutes from other manufacturers.

Well, I need to add my $.02 since I just took delivery of an Ariens Platinum 24 a few days ago.  Purchased online through HD, and set up and delivered by an Ariens dealer who is 80 miles away.  Obviously I can't comment on snow throwing ability yet this year but some things I have noticed:  The AutoLok steering seems to work fine on dry pavement, however I did notice a strange "shift" in one of the turns I made.   Now that this year's Toro 826 OXE has the freewheel steering, it's a tough call to say which is better.  The handling/balance between both machines is no issue for me.  I think the Ariens Quick chute mechanism is a bit clunky and sloppy feeling.  I am using it correctly but it's still nowhere close to the smooth convenience of the Toro joystick.  I don't know that either one is going to last any longer than the other because while the Toro is plastic, the Ariens design looks questionable.  I would be surprised if the design does not get changed or refined in the coming years.  The Ariens' separate control for deflector angle (which hung up on delivery) is less convenient than the joystick as well.  The Ariens overall seems to be a bit beefier in some areas, but the Toro uses reinforcing brackets on it's impellers and bucket to strengthen it up. The Ariens' Briggs 249cc engine may have ball bearing crank journals as opposed to sleeve bearing on it's competitors, but the damn engine backfires every time you turn the throttle down, unless you move the lever at a snail's pace (this is #%& annoying!).  This cannot be good over the long term for the head gasket.  Other than that the construction is decent except that Ariens uses control rods with hairpin cotter pins everywhere, and there are no flat washers between the pins and the control arms...cheap.  Also much of the linkage was not lubricated, the bucket had chipped paint and some bolts for the shift linkage were loose.  The bolts that hold the chute mounting rod (1" square steel tubing)  were tightened so as to crush the tubing.  The skid mounting bolts were tightened enough to bend the washers there into serious "u" shapes.  I am going to call Ariens today to see what they have to say about all of this (good luck, right?)

Ariens has a lot of folks dealers and owners alike both pushing their lineup. Every dealer pushes Ariens hard, I mean it's crazy how hard they push it but if they sell Simplicity and Toro you don't hear about those makes. They always try and steer you to Ariens. Now Ariens might make a decent machine but I dislike it when they try and steer me like a cow to the slaughter. I'm very happy I got the Toro. I did sort of wear down the skid shoes last year and after this year I'll probably have to buy another set. But the driveway has to be down to bare tar so that's the price I pay I guess.

I hope it all works out with your Ariens but it sounds like you're having buyers remorse. I had that with my Honda 928TAS, wife couldn't steer it either. So I lost a few bucks on the return and got the Toro 1028. Since yours is still new and Home Depot has a great return policy if you decide to return it and get a Toro you probably would be able to.

slinger: If you're not happy now, after just purchasing a new toy like that, you never will be. Steve_Cebu is correct - take it back and get the Toro or whatever brand that makes you happy. You're going to own this for a long time so you might as well spend a few extra dollars to enjoy using your equipment. Sounds like the QC department was sleeping the day the one you purchased rolled off the production floor.

Ariens has offered to send me a new chute pedestal (support rod) and some Ariens orange touch-up paint for the chips, but told me I would have to talk to Briggs about the backfiring engine.  It seems this is a common enough event that Briggs has adddressed it in one of their FAQs.  They say that it will NOT hurt the engine.  There is supposedly no adjustment screw for the carb...just a fixed jet.  The throttle should run at full speed during normal operation.  Any throttling down must be done verrrry slowly in order to avoid the backfiring issue.  They don't say why it is that way though.  The engine runs fine at speed...just don't shut off the key from full throttle & reduce throttle really slowly.  Have any of you Toro owners experienced this backfiring issue with your Briggs snow series motors? 

slinger wrote:

My Toro 1028 does not backfire when I OFF the throttle. I just push the lever all teh way left and it rumbles dead quickly. One pull to start it up again. I have a Briggs engine not sure of the exact size because it's being serviced right now. But mine for certain does not backfire. It sounds like you got a lemon.