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gman4


Joined: Nov 28, 2011
Points: 1

Ariens platinum 30 vs John Deere 1330
Original Message   Nov 28, 2011 10:31 am
pulling out my hair trying to make a decision on snow blowers.  latest challenge is ariens platinum 30 or john deere 1330?  Seems like they are pretty similar machines and the deere has electric chute options (convenience / repair issue).  i can save 150 bucks with deere, but thinking that is short money if ariens is better machine.  Any takers?
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FrankMA


Location: Merrimack Valley/Northeastern Mass
Joined: Jul 1, 2010
Points: 587

Re: Ariens platinum 30 vs John Deere 1330
Reply #21   Dec 1, 2011 7:58 am
I think if you're going to spend $ 1500.00 +/- hard earned dollars, you should be very happy with your purchase and not second guessing the performance. I think is was Dr_Woof (I may be wrong) who described almost the same performance issues as described by Stainless. I realize the snow was wet and heavy but unless it's borderline slush the machine should still be capable of throwing it a reasonable distance, especially 8" - 10" of accumulation.

Toro Wheel Horse 522xi GT, Honda HS928TA, Honda HS621AS, Honda HS520A, Toro CCR3000 (work in progress), Honda HS624WA (sold 08/23/2010), Stihl BR550 Backpack Blower, Stihl MS250, McCulloch MS1635, Honda EM6500SX Generator
borat


Joined: Nov 10, 2007
Points: 2692

Re: Ariens platinum 30 vs John Deere 1330
Reply #22   Dec 1, 2011 9:14 am
If it's not pumping snow, I'd say check the auger/impeller drive belt(s) to make sure they're not slipping.  If everything is operating correctly, it should move snow.  Super wet snow will be a problem with any machine.  Anything short of that should be manageable.  If his JD is built the same as my Simplicity and properly adjusted, it should move snow as good as anything out there.
Stainless


Joined: Nov 17, 2011
Points: 24

Re: Ariens platinum 30 vs John Deere 1330
Reply #23   Dec 1, 2011 10:05 am
I'm not sure I would say I was disappointed with the performance.  Like I said, this was the first time I had ever blown snow in my life and I had no idea what to expect.  As far as I can tell, the 1330SE got the job done.  I will say that I was anticipating, or hoping, that it would be a little bit more fun.   The machine threw the snow a good distance, probably 25-40 feet.  The only time it didn't throw it very far was when there was hardly anything to pick up, as in a strip a couple inches wide and a couple inches deep, and that snow was essentially slush.  That might be normal when dealing with a very small amount of material, but I'm not sure.  That was stuff that had spilled out the sides when taking a full cut.

When I got home from work, I realized that one of the things causing some traction issues was a 2x6 laying in my driveway.  Some snow had melted exposing the edge of the board.  This is a new house, and my builder had recently cleaned a bunch of junk out of my garage, and laid some lumber on the far side of my driveway to be picked up by the lumber company.  The night it snowed it was completely covered by the time I got home from work, and I had totally forgotten about it.  I'm glad that I only caught it with the edge of the front housing/intake/pickup. 

I also realized that I lost a bolt on the chute.  I had noticed when I was blowing that the chute seemed to be swaying a bit, and some snow was kind of coming out of the side at the bottom of the chute.  I guess they did not tighten this bolt during assembly.  I should probably go over the machine and check everything.  I just never got around to it prior to Tuesday night's storm.

FrankMA


Location: Merrimack Valley/Northeastern Mass
Joined: Jul 1, 2010
Points: 587

Re: Ariens platinum 30 vs John Deere 1330
Reply #24   Dec 1, 2011 11:09 am
Stainless wrote:
I'm not sure I would say I was disappointed with the performance.  Like I said, this was the first time I had ever blown snow in my life and I had no idea what to expect.  As far as I can tell, the 1330SE got the job done.  I will say that I was anticipating, or hoping, that it would be a little bit more fun.   The machine threw the snow a good distance, probably 25-40 feet.  The only time it didn't throw it very far was when there was hardly anything to pick up, as in a strip a couple inches wide and a couple inches deep, and that snow was essentially slush.  That might be normal when dealing with a very small amount of material, but I'm not sure.  That was stuff that had spilled out the sides when taking a full cut.

When I got home from work, I realized that one of the things causing some traction issues was a 2x6 laying in my driveway.  Some snow had melted exposing the edge of the board.  This is a new house, and my builder had recently cleaned a bunch of junk out of my garage, and laid some lumber on the far side of my driveway to be picked up by the lumber company.  The night it snowed it was completely covered by the time I got home from work, and I had totally forgotten about it.  I'm glad that I only caught it with the edge of the front housing/intake/pickup. 

I also realized that I lost a bolt on the chute.  I had noticed when I was blowing that the chute seemed to be swaying a bit, and some snow was kind of coming out of the side at the bottom of the chute.  I guess they did not tighten this bolt during assembly.  I should probably go over the machine and check everything.  I just never got around to it prior to Tuesday night's storm.


I did not know or realize that this is your first experience using a snowblower. That said, 25 -40 feet throw distance is very respectable. The situation you describe with the strip of slush is typical of any machine as that is not enough snow/slush to fill the bucket and allow the impeller to work as designed. More snow in the bucket/impeller is better than less snow.

One thing you need to do before the next storm is to clear any debris or loose objects from your property before you either damage your machine or injure yourself or others. Loose rocks, pieces of lumber or other building materials, kids toys, hoses or extension cords, etc... should be picked up and stored properly. They can be become dangerous to you or others when you find them under a blanket of snow with your new snowblower.

Toro Wheel Horse 522xi GT, Honda HS928TA, Honda HS621AS, Honda HS520A, Toro CCR3000 (work in progress), Honda HS624WA (sold 08/23/2010), Stihl BR550 Backpack Blower, Stihl MS250, McCulloch MS1635, Honda EM6500SX Generator
RedOctobyr


Location: Lowell area, MA
Joined: Nov 5, 2011
Points: 282

Re: Ariens platinum 30 vs John Deere 1330
Reply #25   Dec 1, 2011 1:04 pm
To expand slightly on FrankMA's point, if you have a small volume of snow (spillover, for instance), you can help feed the augers and the impeller by speeding up. You won't bog down the engine most likely, so go from 2nd gear to 4th, as an example. That will feed the snow in more quickly, and will help keep the impeller full, which should make it throw better. And if you're getting 25-40 feet, with slushy stuff, I'd say that's doing really well.

I'm not trying to impugn the Honda people at all (I'd love to have one, if I could afford it). But some of the videos I've seen, where the snow is going about a half mile, are with very "dry", powdery snow. Not the wet, heavy, clumpy, slushy stuff. The right conditions can help enhance how the machine looks to be performing.
This message was modified Dec 1, 2011 by a moderator
aa335


Joined: Nov 29, 2008
Points: 2434

Re: Ariens platinum 30 vs John Deere 1330
Reply #26   Dec 1, 2011 1:22 pm
MN_Runner wrote:
Don't worry about the Honda snoblower videos as they are over-rated and most likely staged by Honda fanatics to look really good.  I am sure with time and some pratice, your blower will perform well and meet your  expectation.  My old blower (although it was a free one) was so bad that a SS can outperform without any issue.  When you have a wet snow to deal with, spray some generous amount of silicone spray around your chute and auger and perhaps the snow will move out much better.  Happy blowing.

I still like watching those overrated Honda's    fling snow 50 feet or up telephone poles.   And when the blower fan isn't loaded up with snow, you can hear it wind up like a jet turbine. 

I heard the snow was especially prepared to be more slippery as it flies through the air.  The chutes are charged with electrostatic to repel snow from sticking to them. 
aa335


Joined: Nov 29, 2008
Points: 2434

Re: Ariens platinum 30 vs John Deere 1330
Reply #27   Dec 1, 2011 1:50 pm
RedOctobyr wrote:
I'm not trying to impugn the Honda people at all (I'd love to have one, if I could afford it). But some of the videos I've seen, where the snow is going about a half mile, are with very "dry", powdery snow. Not the wet, heavy, clumpy, slushy stuff. The right conditions can help enhance how the machine looks to be performing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPSWe2ce4No&feature=channel_video_title


Here's a guy practicing mortar targeting with a snowblower.  Looks like wet snow.

Another video
This message was modified Dec 1, 2011 by aa335
Stainless


Joined: Nov 17, 2011
Points: 24

Re: Ariens platinum 30 vs John Deere 1330
Reply #28   Dec 1, 2011 2:58 pm
Here is a video my neighbor took of me and my 1330SE.

Me and my 1330SE

RedOctobyr


Location: Lowell area, MA
Joined: Nov 5, 2011
Points: 282

Re: Ariens platinum 30 vs John Deere 1330
Reply #29   Dec 1, 2011 9:32 pm
aa335 wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPSWe2ce4No&feature=channel_video_title


Here's a guy practicing mortar targeting with a snowblower.  Looks like wet snow.

Another video

Wow, those are pretty cool! My MTD doesn't throw *anything* that far. Very nice. I presume they must really crank up the tip speed of their impellers?

Oh, and Stainless, that sure is impressive. And all this time I assumed the "30" in the model number meant inches, not feet :)
croftwny


Joined: Dec 9, 2011
Points: 11

Re: Ariens platinum 30 vs John Deere 1330
Reply #30   Dec 9, 2011 11:55 am
Gman4, if you haven't made your decision yet, go for the Platinum 30.  I might be a bit biased since I own one, but here's why - there both similar in features, however the electric options only appear to be prone to repair down the road.  I admit when I was shopping around last year I saw that feature and thought it was COOL, then I started thinking about long-term and it just didn't sit well with me.  If there were manual over-rides (other than force) then maybe I would've considered, but if those little motors fail THEN WHAT?  I'm stuck with no control.  IMO electric motors on a machine that is exposed to the harshest element doesn't make sense, the contacts will eventually corrode then fail.  At over $1000 for a snowblower, I'd rather not take the chance of a "convenience" feature failing on me - it's not convenient if it' broke, maybe convenient for the repair shop or parts suppliet.  ATC/Easy Steer is a nice feature which eliminates extra cables and finger triggers which could be damaged during use, fairly easy to maneuver as scopes1 mentioned there is some resistance but not too noticeable, you get used to it after awhile and don't even notice.  Performance so far with has met or exceeded my expectations, watching how far it can throw in most conditions is AWESOME!  Let us know what you ended up with...
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