Snowblower Advice?

[El Chupacabra]

Try a cheap warm-temp (soft for rubbage) ski wax? Used to work for me on shovels.

I wonder if that would work... I might try a spray-on ski wax first, or maybe a paste, and see what happens.

[XXX-er]

IME Cranking that chute around by hand sucks compared to the joy stick which will instantly put your pow stream anywhere in a 270 degree circle around the M/C, the power steering is real nice too and Heated grips are awesume if you can get them on a new M/C

Mostly what gets bought in this small town is craftsmen cuz you can buy them cheap from the catalog depot, 8 or 9 hp is about standard, is lots of power (now they don't rate HP) and what I found running the ex-GF's, running the landlord's, watching the neighbor IS that the older a snow blower is (suprise!) the less well it works.

Mine is 4yrs old has the options and works perfect pull starts no matter how cold, the old LL had a reasonable M/C but the ex GF had a semi piece of shit that was in the shop a couple of times, the neighbor had a real piece of shit and is shoveling by hand this year and I don't think any of them would pull start when it got cold

I think the chinese are making stuff as good or > America that chinese making junk thing doesn't count anymore

So do you really wana buy some old piece of shit and then have to work on it at minus a whole bunch Celsius, or shovel the driveway while you try to get the M/C to the shop by borrowing a truck and waiting for them to fix it, borrowing another truck ?

buy right ... buy once

[LightRanger]

I wonder if that would work... I might try a spray-on ski wax first, or maybe a paste, and see what happens.

I always crayoned on the solid wax because it seemed more durable then the others. There's no absorption when you're dealing with metal (versus p-tex), so you have to work with whatever residue you can get to stick to the surface.

[dewam]

So do you really wana buy some old piece of shit and then have to work on it at minus a whole bunch Celsius, or shovel the driveway while you try to get the M/C to the shop by borrowing a truck and waiting for them to fix it, borrowing another truck ?

buy right ... buy once

There is a reason the 15 year old Hondas are selling for so much money. Days ago I was going to comment " What part of Honda don't you understand?". Then I followed the link for the Denver craigslist and understood that everyone in the area seems to think the world is full of suckers, and their old stuff is precious. I spent too many years fixing crap. The Honda is VERY good, but a 15 year old is not worth the same as a new from one of the other brands.

bur right ... buy once is a Honda. If you have to buy an older model then Honda is still good, but an old "CRAPsman is crap. Sometimes a new Craftsman can be purchased for the price of an old Honda, then the decision could swing to the Craftsman.

[RShea]

I wonder if that would work... I might try a spray-on ski wax first, or maybe a paste, and see what happens.

Silicone spray is another option....

[XXX-er]

I've run honda too wearing crampons on the womens DH at whistler before the sun had come up, a nice M/c but I'm thinking lots of $$$, maybe twice as much $$$ to purchase new over the craftsman, could I buy 2 craftsmen for the price of a honda?

so maybe one should temper the " buy right " thing with what your app is and so IME/IMO for a regular sized city lot the craftsman isn't really a bad product SO I don't really need to pay all those extra $$$ for the Honda but YMMV with your app??

Ya a very good comparison to the holy grail of honda snow blowers would be those who are worshipping at the Temple of Toyota where sellers ask and buyers pay stupid prices for thehigh milage/beat up Toyota PU's and 4-runers which are now 15-20 yrs old

[Garth Bimble]

Forget the snowblower and buy a house that faces south/west. I lived in Littleton/Ken Caryl for 23 years and probably shoveled my driveway/sidewalk 20 times total. The view is better too.

[SB]

They make a spray on wax just for shovels , blowers and plows. Seems to work ok.

Was thinking of using it on the 4R rocker panels to keep those mid winter ice build ups off the vehicle.

[El Chupacabra]

Silicon spray is another option....

I used that once, but wasn't so sure about spreading it around the yard (plants + dogs). The cooking spray should be harmless.

They make a spray on wax just for shovels , blowers and plows. Seems to work ok.

Brand/ name?

[El Chupacabra]

I think the chinese are making stuff as good or > America that chinese making junk thing doesn't count anymore

That's not really the focus of my criticism of the Chinese-sourced motors. My problem with it is the lack of any established history for any motor manufacturer, and likely difficulty in getting parts in the future.

[XXX-er]

if it sez B&S or techumseh on the cover yer probably good but seeing how everything including this computer we are both looking at is made in china it wouldn't surprise me if the engine on my craftsman or the honda I could pay more money for... is also made in china

[AKbruin]

So . . . I'm pretty happy I opted for the 1132 Honda. That's 20" of Sierra sludge. If I wanted to, I could have painted the front of my neighbor's house completely white.

[Lone_Summit]

So . . . I'm pretty happy I opted for the 1132 Honda. That's 20" of Sierra sludge. If I wanted to, I could have painted the front of my neighbor's house completely white.

Good buy. I have 5 snow blowers at work. All different brands (Honda, John Deere, Troy built, Ariens, and I forget the last). They clear a ton of snow and go all day, the Honda is buy far the best machine. The thing will throw snow huge distances and churn any type of snow. But it eats through shear bolts at a ridiculous rate. We ended up drilling out the bolt holes and converting the auger to shear pins and have been much happier with its performance.

[comish]

I'm gonna bump this thread as after our dump last week we are in the market for a snow blower. We are in Mammoth, looking for something to blow our deck which is approx 10' x 30', but the roof does shed onto it. When it snows here, it really snows. We got 6 or 7' last week in 48 hours. We shoveled 3 times and there is still snow on the deck. Deck is flat trex. Don't need to do the driveway if the plow guy actually shows up.

Toro any good? I have been told Honda Honda Honda, but not really looking to spend $2k to just get the deck.

Anyone have experience with the Toro Snow Master or Power Max? Is Power Max overkill for a deck? Wifey would likely use this quite a bit so easy to use is key. She doesn't want a monster.

[wooley12]

Blower that will clear 3' of snow weekly and can be handled by the wife. To clear a deck. Got it. Does the deck have railings and do you want to keep them?

[CaliBrit]

I'm gonna bump this thread as after our dump last week we are in the market for a snow blower. We are in Mammoth, looking for something to blow our deck which is approx 10' x 30', but the roof does shed onto it. When it snows here, it really snows. We got 6 or 7' last week in 48 hours. We shoveled 3 times and there is still snow on the deck. Deck is flat trex. Don't need to do the driveway if the plow guy actually shows up.

Toro any good? I have been told Honda Honda Honda, but not really looking to spend $2k to just get the deck.

Anyone have experience with the Toro Snow Master or Power Max? Is Power Max overkill for a deck? Wifey would likely use this quite a bit so easy to use is key. She doesn't want a monster.

For grass. Honda. For snow. Ariens.

[comish]

Blower that will clear 3' of snow weekly and can be handled by the wife. To clear a deck. Got it. Does the deck have railings and do you want to keep them?

Yes it has railings and yes would like to keep them. It's 15 to 25' above grade. Don't need a kid falling off the deck. in a real snow year no biggy, but yeah, would like to throw the snow over the railing.

The Ariens look like beasts. Good for driveways, maybe overkill for a deck, but I'm a jong with snowblowers. We always had a condo till now so didn't have to worry about it...

[wendigo]

I have an Ariens deluxe 30 - has been great, even sat for 4 years and fired right up
seems you could could do fine with a compact or even path pro for a deck and save yourself a load of money from a Honda (great machines).

[m2711c]

yer decks 15 to 25 feet in the air already? you dont need no snowblower... just put a set of hinges on a small section of railing and get yer wife one of these here dealies.





she'll love it, and you won't have to worry about engine maintenance.

[undertow2]

For grass. Honda. For snow. Ariens.

Cali speaks the truth... Would never part with my Honda lawn mower and would never ever give up my Ariens snow blower... Every year when I pull it out of the corner and start it up for the first snow fall it starts on first pull and just gets the job done...! 5 yrs now and going strong...


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[wooley12]

Yes it has railings and yes would like to keep them. It's 15 to 25' above grade. Don't need a kid falling off the deck. in a real snow year no biggy, but yeah, would like to throw the snow over the railing.

The Ariens look like beasts. Good for driveways, maybe overkill for a deck, but I'm a jong with snowblowers. We always had a condo till now so didn't have to worry about it...

Tell your wife she's not getting any younger and that a good workout with a shovel is better than the spa for keeping fit.

Seriously, maybe there are blowers out there that you don't have to muscle around and that wont take off your hand or go through a railing if you're careless. I'd by a couple of shovels and shovel a path to the jacuzzi and call it good. Or get a small light electric blower and let her move snow until she gets bored. This sounds like more of a problem with a wife than a problem with snow. The doctor is in. Just trying to help.

[detrusor]

I’m all about honda snowblowers. 15 years into ours and no issues at all. Except the time I somehow snowblower a large chunk of barbed wire, that took some effort to fix


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[Hopeless Sinner]

I’m all about honda snowblowers. 15 years into ours and no issues at all. Except the time I somehow snowblower a large chunk of barbed wire, that took some effort to fix


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Honda uses really light shear bolts and that's my only issue. It does only require 1 wrench and they've made it very easy to replace, but it's still a nusiance.

[Flounder]

5 yrs now and going strong...

Our Ariens is going on 20. Would definitely recommend, just not so sure on using one on a deck.

I have no experience with one but maybe look into electric? Less fumes, less vibration,less noise. Even if it’s not as powerful it’ll be easy for the wife to run it a couple of times in a big storm. You don’t have a long way to throw and you just have to clear the rail, not 8 foot tall banks. Not sure how it will work on the roof dumping.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Yes it has railings and yes would like to keep them. It's 15 to 25' above grade. Don't need a kid falling off the deck. in a real snow year no biggy, but yeah, would like to throw the snow over the railing.

The Ariens look like beasts. Good for driveways, maybe overkill for a deck, but I'm a jong with snowblowers. We always had a condo till now so didn't have to worry about it...

I agree about Ariens, or laborers couldn't kill them. If you're just clearing a deck, those single stage push around paddle throwers work pretty good. No need for a burly 2 stage monster.