Thinking about purchasing a snow thrower (a.k.a. snow blower)?

Living in Northeast US definitely has nice privileges. Fresh flowers blooming in Spring, hot beach weather during Summer, pretty fall foliage, and white snow…wait, back up. Snow?! I used to like snow until I bought a house with an 80 ft long gravel driveway with a “helipad” parking lot in the rear!

I shoveled for over 7 years and when my old but trusty, ergonomically shaped snow shovel broke, I figured it was a sign that I should upgrade and get myself a snow blower. The following article describes how I researched and finally bought a John Deere 1330SE snow blower.

CONSIDERATION #1 – Brand Evaluation

There are many brands and sub-brands to consider.  To make the matter more confusing, certain brands like Sears Craftsman and John Deere snow blowers are made by contract manufacturers.

• Ariens
• Honda Outdoor Power Equipment (OPE)
• Husqvarna
• John Deere
• MTD
• Simplicity
• Toro

Ariens ($$ – $$$$)

• Known as the “King of Snow”, Ariens (pronounced “aa-rons” NOT “Ary-ann”)
• Company has been around for more than 50 years
• I believe it also has done contract manufacturing in the past for John Deere.
• Sold at most Home Depot stores and local retailers (if purchased fro HD, HD will contact local retailer for setup and delivery)
• Medium to high quality (exception being Sno-Tek, sub-brand of Ariens; this model is considered to be low to medium quality)
• Ariens link to snowthrowers

Honda ($$$$)

• Brand related to legendary quality
• Available through local dealers
• Medium to high quality machines
• Uses Honda engines only
• Honda Outdoor Power Equipment link to snowthrower

John Deere ($$$-$$$$)

• Highly recognizable classic green and yellow color
• John Deere no longer manufactures snow blowers itself (contracted out to Simplicity starting in 2008-2009?)
• Available from local retailers and at some Lowes locations
• Medium to high quality machines
• John Deere link to snowthrowers

MTD ($-$$$)

• As far as I can figure out, MTD now ownsa whole bunch of diverse brands such as Troy-bilt, Yard-man, Yard machines, White Outdoor, Bolens, Cub Cadet, Remington.
• It is my understanding that they also have “secret” contract manufacturing with other snow thrower companies (i.e. lower end machines from Toro and Sears Craftsman).
• Most Lowes stores sell Troy-bilt machines.
• MTD link to snowthrowers

Simplicity ($$$-$$$$)

• Owned by an engine manufacturer, Briggs & Stratton (BASC)
• BASC also owns other well-known brands like Snapper, Ferris, and Murray (Murray used to contract out its snowthrower manufacturing to MTD before it was taken over by Simplicity)
• Available only through authorized local dealers
• Medium to high quality machines
• Simplicity link to snowthrowers

Toro ($$-$$$$)

• Established brand for over 80 years
• Owns other brands like Lawn Boy, Pope, Hayter
• Available through local dealers
• Medium to high quality machines
• Although unconfirmed, Toro’s lower end machines are (or used to be) made by MTD
• Toro link to snowthrowers

CONSIDERATION #2 – Snowthrower types

• There are two main types of snow throwers:  single stage and two (dual) stage
• Single stage is used for light duty as it has single auger that is responsible for scooping up and throwing the snow
• Two stage (or dual stage) is used for medium to heavy duty as it has an auger to scoop up the snow and impeller for throwing snow.
• Two stage units can be further brown down into medium duty or heavy duty.  Heavy duty snowblowers come come with larger frame or chasis, larger engine, augur, etc.
• It is RECOMMENDED to buy a snowthrower that is appropriate for your use.  Heavy duty snowthrowers are more difficult to handle as they are larger and heavier than medium duty snowthrower.

CONSIDERATION #3 – Mechanics

• Engines: Almost all snowblowers today use engines from Briggs and Stratton with Robin/Subaru engine taking up the small market share..  Techumseh used to be other major engine manufacturer but they went bankrupt few years ago (parts business was re-sold to an Asian company).  One exception is Honda which uses its own Honda small engines. Generally speaking, larger the engine size, further it can throw the snow (keep in mind that when you have a two car width driveway, you may be forced to throw snow in one direction only)
• Starter: Recoil (pull to start), Electric (may or may not have to be plugged in to an outlet, as most snowblowers do not have batteries attached to them), or Recoil/Electric combo.
• Wheel or track: Tracks provide, well more traction.  However, prices on tracked Honda (Ariens has a small line up of track models)is astronomically high.  If you have lots of extra cash, buy a Honda snowblower with tracks.  Just keep in mind though, you will need a dolly of some sort to move that beast when the engine is not running!)
• Augur: Ribbon auger or stamped auger; Most come with a ribbon design which I believe are superior as it has less surface area for the snow to stick
• Chute control: Manual or electric; Typically you need one hand for throttle (to move the snowblower) and one hand for all other tasks (augur, chute direction/height controls, etc).  Electric controls (as found in John Deere 1330SE) makes your life bit easier
• Dealers: HD/Lowes send out snowblowers with warranty and/or repair issues to local dealers.  You pay a slightly higher price to support local businesses and get to know them to get your snowblowers serviced right.

CONSIDERATION #4 – Gotcha’s to think about

• Storage: Unless you have a large garage with lots of extra space, you will need a storage shed.  Potential problem comes when you get whacked with deep snow and you have to retrieve the snowblower out from the shed.  In my case, I have two, standard 8×7 garage doors which house a minivan and a wagon.  After getting rid of lots of junk and custom building shelves using 2×4 (will post info on that project later), I was able to squeeze in my blower between 2 cars with the ability to get it out without moving either cars.  Just something to think about what you will do in your situation.
• Debris: You most likely will know when you will need your snowthrower in advance.  To prevent breaking your shear pins, take a walk around the area you will be clearing.  Pick up any large debris like branches, large rocks, and especially newspaper.  I did all of these and still ended up breaking my shear pin when I cleared my elderly neighbors sidewalk when broken part of her gas shutoff housing got stuck in my thrower.
• Tools: Have at least 4 to 8 shear pins on hand (they should come with cotter pins as well).  In addition, have a long flat head screw driver, hammer, large pliers in a neon zip lock bag.  Oh yeah, and have latex gloves handy too as you cannot work replacing shear pins with “oven” gloves on (latex gloves will protect your hands somewhat from the cold).
• Markers: I thought I knew the driveway like the back of my hands and boy was I wrong.  When the snow covers everything (rocks, retaining walls, curb stones, etc), it becomes very disorienting.  before the storm hits, go buy some orange marker sticks and place them around places so that you know where to stay away from
• Fuel: At least a 5 gallon gas container with fuel stabilizer (trust me, you will thank me when your snowblower starts with one pull).  Also remember, red container is for gasoline, blue is for kerosene and yellow for diesel.  Most gas stations will not sell you gas without correctly colored cotainers.
• Eye protection: If you can, get a detachable cab to protect yourself from the element.  I thought that was for sissies until I started to clear the snow in 15 mph wind.  At minimum, wear ski pants, and wear some type of eye protection.

Final Decision

It took me about 2 long and agnozing weeks to thoroughly analyze the specs and match them to my needs (i.e. gravel driveway, budget, etc.).  My top three choices came down to:

• Ariens
• John Deere
• Simplicity

When comparing respective mechanical specifications, each brands were fairly close to each other, not considering minor items like hand warmers, etc.  Ariens are widely available at Home Depot and John Deere units are available at certain Lowes stores.  Simplicity could be found at local power equipment dealers.

At first you might think buying from Home Depot or Lowes would give you better access to future repairs and service related issues but that is not necessarily true.  Most, if not all stores farm out their snow blower services to local dealers.

In the end, I purchased my John Deere 1330SE from a local dealer because of their expert knowledge and comfort in knowing their service department crew (from my previous encounter with John Deere lawnmower).  Matter of fact, I was so comfortable with my decision that I did not mind paying $150 above what I could have paid at Lowes.  It also didn’t hurt that I was helping a local business.

I will post some pictures of my new John Deere in 2 feet of snow

Reference links: it c

• Husqvarna Snowthrower buying guide
• John Deere Product brochure
• Honda Snowthrower buying guide
• Gilson Snowblower shop
• Trout’s Snowblower Guide
• DavidNJ’s comparison article

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