Which snow thrower?

[fxtrader]

I have an Ariens from the early 70's. I rebuilt it when I bought in in 97 and it has been running strong ever since. There are no plastic parts like on the newer models. On another note I bought a plow truck for $1100 dollars last fall and prefer clearing snow from the comfort of a cab anyday. Still use the snowblower for the walkways.

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by Maineah

LL Bean sells them in their fishing department for ice fishing. They're about$5.00 a pair.

I bought a pair from Bean, and they work great.

The kind I got have little dull spikes on them (as opposed to the kind that look like they have wire spirally wrapped around rubber "X's").

But one word of caution: the first couple of years they worked great (I used them to go for long walks most every winter day).

But then what must have happened is the rubber knobs on the bottom must have worn low, because they became incredibly slippery to wear on tile and linoleum floors.

It was ironic that after getting me over a half mile of icy sidewalks on the way to the store, that as soon as I entered the supermarket I nearly fell on my keyster.

I had to do my shopping that day holding on to the cart like a walker most of the time.

Time for a new pair this winter!

[Submariner]

Long ago I bought a set of tire studs and mounted them into the tread of my boots.

The last few years I have been installing 3/8" wood screws with hex heads into my boot treads. Five on the heel and six on the ball, seems to work fine.

Gotta stay off ceramic tile floors with those boots though.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Long ago I bought a set of tire studs and mounted them into the tread of my boots.

The last few years I have been installing 3/8" wood screws with hex heads into my boot treads. Five on the heel and six on the ball, seems to work fine.

Gotta stay off ceramic tile floors with those boots though.

That works. You can also drive the hex head screws in to the knobbed tires of a motorcycle or ATV to make pretty good ice tires on the cheap!

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Maineah

That works. You can also drive the hex head screws in to the knobbed tires of a motorcycle or ATV to make pretty good ice tires on the cheap!

But they have got to be little bitty screws. One time I could not find any screws shorter than 1/2". They came up through and hurt my feet.

3/8" work fine.

[riddei63]

Originally Posted by davey cricket

routine maintenance always helps no matter if its a mtd or a honda

I can understand the need for changing the oil, spark plug, air filter, and running the gas dry in the off season.

What I don't understand is an auger belt system that has just two set holes for the tensioner pulley. Once the belt has stretched beyond a limited point, it must be changed. In order to change the belt, the entire machine needs to be split in half. I have a pretty good idea of how to wrench on equipment, but for this process I use a dealer. I've had to change the belt twice (every other season). An expensive job. I called the manufacturer and was told "you have really wet heavy snow on the east coast".

On my machine, the starter was installed so loosely that in one season I needed to replace the starter and flywheel. Now the starter holes are stripped in the block so I do not use the starter at all, I pull start it. The machine lives in my attached garage so it never gets cold enough that I can't pull start it. But it irritates me.

I have spent enough $$$ on this relatively new Ariens to have purchased another one by now. This is on a short suburban driveway by the way.