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

Hey guys,
It's good to be back....life has been hyperspeed the last month.  We just returned from seeing my son off to Africa, and we are now back in cold Western N.Y.

While we were gone, my youngest son, 16 yrs old, has been in charge of using the new Ariens 1332DLE.  While he was last using it, a small piece broke........nothing really important, just the thin plastic bracket that holds the "Lawyer -mandated chute clearing shovel/stick thing" on the front of the unit.

My son states that it did not break by pulling the stick off in a twisted way......he said that while he was blowing out the end of the driveway, a bigger chunk of ice came out of the chute and instead of getting thrown far , far away as usual, it kinda fell right in front of it, falling on the blower itself, thus breaking this little bracket and making the shovel/stick fall off. I tend to believe him, because there has never been a reason even to touch that shovel/stick thing.

Now I'm not complaining about my Ariens, it blows the snow far, etc, and has never clogged.  I DO have to admit though, that this "bracket-clip" mounted on the top front of the blower, IS made a bit flimsy....not in character with the rest of the unit....it is thin plastic, and seems brittle in the cold. I think this should have been made out of some sheet metal.

I plan on calling Ariens Tuesday and seeing if they will just send me another bracket.  Although I have not yet come close to needing the chute cleared, I'm sure they want me to still keep that shovel/stick close by, so I really do need a new bracket.  The bracket is pop riveted on, so I think I will replace the rivets with some small Stainless steel nuts and bolts, so if it happens again it will be easier to replace.

In other "Ariens snowblower news"..........I think I have decided to buy the snow cab and weight kit for the new Ariens. After checking all over, the best price came from the dealer I bought the snowblower from.......(DUH)........price being $160 + tax.  Other places wanted up to $199. for it plus tax or shipping.  I think they install it for $20.00 more, but I think I will do that, unless they also have that bracket thing, and want to just come and get it and do everything in a timely fashion.  I just do not want to be without it this time of year, unless they can return it in less then a day or so..........we'll see.

I may also think about snow chains for it.  I did not think I would need them, hearing so much good about these "new snow hog tires", but on my smooth driveway, I do get some slippage even when the traction shifts from one wheel to the other.....I wonder if the chains will help. The chains are not to nice to driveway sealer....I was hoping to get away from chains, but we'll see.   Yes, I know I can easily put it in "key lock" position with just a turn of the knob, but heck, when it is in that mode, it IS very hard to turn, and if I wanted to do that, I just would have bought the LE instead.

Anyway, all your collective wisdom is eagerly coveted.

Frank D.

Your post got me curious. Went to the garage and checked out the Honda's clip. It is made of steel and is bolted on, not riveted. In the two seasons that I have used the blower, I still have yet to use the stick. I guess spraying the intake, auger, impeller and chute with silicone before blowing does help.

The Snapper units in the shop have the snow poker fastened on the side of the machine to the handle.  No chance of out of control snowballs hitting it.

Sherri

One thing I like about plastic is that they don't rust but

 plastic at -30C degree are very fragile

If you left a 16 year old in charge of anything, you are lucky to escape the situation without a lawsuit.

I'm sure you will have the part Friday.

dear Rob,
I hear ya..........he's 6 foot tall and we trust him a great deal. I made sure he was supervised though when he was using the blower. We had many friends keep a close eye on things while we were gone.  He is quite mechanically inclined and loves to hunt, etc.  He is quite safety minded.........hunting, and being a firefighter's son has taught him that.

Frank D.

Hi Frank,

          Before they came out with these "doodads" I had  used those spring type tool clips on my snowblower . You know -  the ones that are for holding shovels,mops,brooms,etc. to the wall.  If I were you, I'd just drill out the pop rivet,and use that type of clip with a bolt & nut.  

    Just a suggestion,

                                         Ed

Frank,
I was teasing. I'm sure he is a wonderful young man for you to give him so much responsibity.
He sounds like one in a million.

Dear OT,
Good suggestion........but since it is still new and under warranty, i'll try to keep it stock..........but that IS a great idea!

Robmints- thank you. He has his moments, but most of the time I'd decline from selling him to Gypsies..........now that he is saving for a car, he knows that it is a privilege, he is on his best behavior.

I'm wondering if there will be any comments about the snow chain thing, etc...........I thought that they were a thing of the past with these "new type" tires......but I do get slippage on the parts of the driveway where someone has driven and packed the snow or ice down.............anyone else?

Do you think the weight of a snowcab and the 20 lb front weight would help....(the thing is already over 300 lbs.....)

Frank D.

So what do them snow blower things look like anyways?? LOL  I had to mow the yard  last week and today.  Take care Mike

Hi Frank:

I can't chime in on the chute poker or the cab...only the weight kit.  You will be glad that you bought that.  I orginally did not have the weight and found that the 1028 would tend to climb out of the snow I was trying to clear.  Once the weight was put on it solved the climb out.  Too bad that the hunk of steel is $50.

One thing I did when mounting the plate steel is to install some of the self adhesive "rubber" feet to the bottom of the bar.  These feet keep the plate off the top of the housing so that rust between the two from rubbing etc would not occur.

I too thought that chains would need to be used (after all, they were on my old one you know) but find that the Ariens tend to move along without too much balking.

bbwb