Snow blower
 

Saw a couple older posts on snow blowers, but was hoping to get some new suggestions.

Live in s/e PA so we do not get a ton of snow, but typically get 2 to 3 storms with 8+ inches per year. My 15 year old Yard Machine has died and would like to replace it. I travel a lot and want to make sure my wife can use the new one. Easy to start, steer, etc.

Here are my requirements in priority order.

Easy for my wife to use. The Yard Machine I have required you to use brute strength to turn it. It also was difficult to start.

Easily capable of quickly clearing 75 ft x 25 ft driveway. Also being able to easily break through the snow pushed onto my driveway apron from the road plow.

I’m willing to pay for a little overkill on features and power.

Snow blower
 

I have a simplicity garden tractor with the single stage snow-thrower attachment. I think it was one of the best purchases I ever made. If you have a lawn or garden tractor, see if an attachment is available.

Or just use one of these....

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2018/01...v-box-orig.cnn

Honda makes good snowblowers

If you can justify a tractor for mowing as well, then that’s the way to go. John Deere makes great tractors with snowblower attachments. But if you don’t also do a lot of mowing, it wouldn’t make much sense to invest in a tractor. For regular snowblowers, in the category of 2-stage, Consumer Reports gives the nod to Honda for reliability, but Troy-bilt for ease of use. I’d never use CR for audio equipment, but for something like this it might be worth subscribing to their website for a month just to get some ideas. It’s only $7 for a month.

"We’re called The King of Snow, and we’ve earned it. Over 3 million snow blowers produced since 1960. The #1 selling brand of two-stage snow blowers in the world. Machines that are passed down from one generation to the next. No, it’s not just a snow blower. It’s an Ariens."

My brothers is 35+ years old and passed on from my Aunt. My Ariens is 15 years old and never needed service.

My sister is a Doctor and use's an Ariens for her driveway. Neighbors often ask to borrow hers, but instead she prefers to just do it herself.

Look for a smaller one that is still powerful.

Unfortunately real power = bigger engines + larger width = heavy.

Ron

another Ariens guy here myself. Bought a new one (30" Platinum series) last year and never used it (no complaints) , took it out last week for that little 3" dusting we got just to get a feel for it, much better than my previous model (8/24) in that there is noticeably less vibration of the engine which would be transmitted through the handles, plus they're heated which helps this old mans arthritis.

If you want something for the wife to handle I'd stick with the 24" variety, electric start makes it a piece of cake. I recommend buy from a real dealer instead of Home Depot or Lowes for the obvious reasons.

Ariens strongly recommended. My first machine is 20 years old and still running strong for my daughter. The deluxe 28 (which has auto steer).

Snow blower
 

A former Ariens owner here for almost 30 years with 2 machines. Sold the first one when I moved over seas. Just gave my second one away to a friend’s son. It is 14 years old and running strong.

Got a couple of Ariens dealers within 10 miles of my house. I will have to go out there and see what they have. Hopefully they still have some in-stock as I'm sure the "Cyclone Bomb" from last week caused a run on snow blowers.

For all Arien users - Do you recommend the EZLaunch - EFI Engine? What I read in the brochure makes it sound like this would be a great feature for convenience as it makes the snowblower easier to start.

Absolutely love my Honda lawnmower, but I checked the prices and they are up there. Will still take a look as one of the Ariens dealer is also a Honda, Cub Cadet, and Toro dealer.

While I have a lot of sidewalk to clear, not much yard as I have a corner lot shaped like a pie so no tractors needed here. Wish we had some more property as I really liked having an acre at our last house.