Snowblowers... (installing, electric, place)

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by Bydand

I'll lay odds that it is made by MTD. A lot of Sears stuff is sourced through them.

There are different grades of the MTD equipment. Cub cadets are made by MTD.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Bydand

I'll lay odds that it is made by MTD. A lot of Sears stuff is sourced through them.

and Home Depot,

and Lowes,

and Toro,

and ...

I seem to recall reading where MTD is a collective pool of multiple manufacturers overseas.

A couple years ago we were shopping for a tractor or crawler, so I tried to research where each brand name was manufactured. There is no definitive answer it is an 'Alice in Wonderland' rabbit-hole mystery trying to establish who exactly makes any of our heavy equipment. Brand name loyalty is all in the marketing.

'Reliability' has been replaced by insurance policies and statutory tables. When I finally bought a Massey Ferguson the dealer told me that each unit has an insurance policy on it [that is invisible to the buyer]. If I roll it in a swamp where it sinks, catches fire and explodes. They will give me a new one. They are banking that I can't destroy it before the warranty runs out.

[Robel]

Originally Posted by retiredtinbender

I see the snow is all gone. Must be a good snowblower. LOL

Yes it works great in January. Even better in June.....

[Robel]

Originally Posted by bangorme

My only advice is to stay away from Craftsman walk behinds. Mine has been nothing but a money pit since I bought it 7 years ago. Within a year of buying it, the repairs of it exceeded the cost of the machine in the first place. When the warranty expired, the repairman candidly advised me to buy an extended warranty because they break down all the time. He was right. Mine was one of those with the "joy-stick" controls of the chute. They do not work! This year I had it replaced with a crank, which has worked perfectly so far. Off course the starter, the chute itself, and transmission have also failed on it....

Consumer Reports rates them, and I would go with their recommendations. Always go with dependablity first, and always a two stage.

I would have to agree. I bought a brand new Craftsman walk behind a few years back. Big rugged 10 hp/ 30 inch path. Only ran it 2 winters before I got the lawn tractor/blower. It did a fantastic job of blowing snow but a little plastic part that helps to steer the chute broke on it. The part would probably cost 5 dollars to replace. Called Sears and found out you can't buy just the little plastic part. You have to buy the whole mechanism for 86.00. Sears replacement parts prices are outrageous.

[Zarathu]

Originally Posted by Bydand

Maybe the small amount of snow BH gets will let you get away with that toy. When I blow off a part of the lawn over grass I WANT my big two-stage blower to ride up over the grass and not dig in and toss giant chunks of sod across the yard. I must be missing how using the snowblower like a rototiller is a good thing.

When the ground freezes up, I'm sure that my other "big toy", a Toro 32 inch 13 HPmodel 2-stage will blow the snow the 65 feet that it is advertised to do.

Two years ago in PA we had 60 inches of snow, with several howling wind snow storms and 6 foot drifts, and my little Simplicity "small toy" chugged through all of it beautifully.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by Zarathu

When the ground freezes up, I'm sure that my other "big toy", a Toro 32 inch 13 HPmodel 2-stage will blow the snow the 65 feet that it is advertised to do.

Two years ago in PA we had 60 inches of snow, with several howling wind snow storms and 6 foot drifts, and my little Simplicity "small toy" chugged through all of it beautifully.

I've seen 200+ inches in Maine (usual was just over 110" which is still a far cry different that 60"), good luck with the toy Simplicity.

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by Bydand

I've seen 200+ inches in Maine (usual was just over 110" which is still a far cry different that 60"), good luck with the toy Simplicity.

I've lived in PA and I think part of it gets more snow than most of Maine.

[Zarathu]

Originally Posted by Bydand

I've seen 200+ inches in Maine (usual was just over 110" which is still a far cry different that 60"), good luck with the toy Simplicity.

Whether it snows for 60 inches a season or 300 inches a season, it RARELY SNOWS FOR MORE THAN 30 INCHES at a time.

Whether you wish to believe it, or you have some need to keep topping my stories, I used my little "toy" successfully for it all. Can you not read? Can you not also read that I own a rather large Toro too?

LET ME REPEAT. I have used the Simplicity successfully for 5 foot drifts and 30 inch snow falls. It simply chuggs on through. I'm sure it will take longer than the big Toro, but in certain conditions, such as soft ground underneath or stones or grass, it is much better than the big toro.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

99% of us get it Zarathu. I remember when Toro and Simplicity were rugged cast iron beasts that lasted for generations. Maybe the boards of directors realized that they lasted for generations and took corrective actions. The reputations of both brands have taken hits in recent years.

[beltrams]

Most snowblowers from what I've seen aren't nearly as well constructed as those from the 1970s.

Sure, the new ones have fancier chutes, more levers, bells, and whistles, some slightly changed geometry, and some of the things like deadman controls add a bit of safety, but almost all of the machines I've seen have pressed steel gearboxes at the auger/rake connection and much thinner steel on the housing and rakes than they did years ago.

I took my parents' 1974 Ariens snowthrower, repainted it, replaced the scraper bar and glide shoes, rebuilt the transmission (basically, I added one of those friction drive disks), and put a new engine on it - a 10 hp diesel.) It goes through anything frozen and throws the heaviest slush with ease. It will probably outlast me.

Our local power equipment company tech guys refer to 60s and 70s Ariens machines as "iron dukes due to their heavy construction."

If you can find one, rebuild it, give it a new engine and you'll do fine by it.