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Had an Ariens and will NEVER buy another one. They do not honor their warranty on a new machine and yes the factory was called on the issue. Sold the POS and never looked back.

Bought a Husqvarna ST330P in 2017 and have been happy with it. It comes with a 369cc engine, electric start, LED headlight, cast iron gearbox and impeller, power steering, heated handle grips, drift cutters, remote chute controls and, most importantly, hydrostatic drive. No rubber drive wheel to wear out and infinitely variable speed control.

FWIW, the February snowfall here this year totaled over 87" of snow. The Husqvarna performed perfectly. Husqvarna does make smaller snowthrowers in the 300 series with 24" and 27" cuts.



https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/snow-blowers/st330p/961930094/

Probably liabilaty issue. I know when I pick up a piece of ice, it flies out like a .22.

I'm telling you, you can buy any yard sale blower, and turn it into a snow throwing son of a gun with that mod.

On Consumer Reports, Cub Cadet ranks very high, filling three of the top four spots for 3 stage. Ariens grabs the top two spots for 2 stage blowers. Cub Cadet, Troy Bilt, Craftsman, and Toro rank well too. Husquavarna and Honda don’t do too well of the models tested.

If I were buying new, I would look at the impeller diameter between models, and go with the larger one. That is one variable that makes them throw farther.

Me too

My snow blower is an MTD 10hp 28" 2 stage that is tracked. I got it at Costco around 1993 and I think it was around $700. It has always started and worked well. I had to wait for snow to build up a little so it didn't throw gravel. I had to replace a couple of the break off bolts and manually reconfigure the impellers after it tried to eat a rock 10 or so years ago. Still works great but not as good as a local snowplow business. I don't get nearly as wet or cold with them.

My snow blower is an MTD 10hp 28" 2 stage that is tracked. I got it at Costco around 1993 and I think it was around $700. It has always started and worked well. I had to wait for snow to build up a little so it didn't throw gravel. I had to replace a couple of the break off bolts and manually reconfigure the impellers after it tried to eat a rock 10 or so years ago. Still works great but not as good as a local snowplow business. I don't get nearly as wet or cold with them.

If you live in "warmer" winter climates you will want a 3 stage for the heavy wet snow. Otherwise a two stage will do the job. Older snow blowers cut hard snow better than new models. My old MTD 10 horse 28 inch was far better than my new(2018) Brigs and Stratton 30 inch that just rides over the packed stuff. the old one was much easier to maneuver(lighter) I work the [bleep] out of my snow blower. Its a tool that I punish. I did the impeller mod on the old one and it did make a huge difference--not so much on the new one as the clearances were closer. Briggs and Stratton, which I have made John Deer snow blowers before they were discontinued. I live in snow country and generally do 2-3 other yards plus mine almost every snow. 3 to 4 hours depending. If the snow is fairly light I can just use the backpack leaf blower for stuff up to about 6 inches deep and depending on what way the freaking wind is blowing. If I shovel I usually push to one side and then use the snow blower to finish up. We get our streets plowed several times a day if needed--every street in town. I plow pavement and bricks in my yard and do almost as much gravel beside my yard. One of the other neighbors (unoccupied house) has a large gravel driveway so I have to make sure the shoes are adjusted well down till a good base forms. Cant go wrong with Cub Cadet--Honda(so they say) Husky, Ariens. The old Canadian (Bolens now) were very well made blowers. Rebuild the old ones---my opinion. Shoes on new blowers are way too wide so you are pushing 2 1/2 inches of snow all the time. Electric steering is a useless option in my opinion. Would be nice if the shute rotation was a much lower gear ratio on mine. Its way to fast for delicate adjustments but is a great feature to have. Hope this helps. If you are an older person go a bit smaller in width--wish I had done this instead of going just two inches bigger. I think the problem of not digging harder snow as well as the older ones is that the wheels are farther forward-kinda like a short wheel base-more compact-. as opposed to an older longer "wheelbase" ??????

I bought a 3 stage Cub Cadet track model heavy duty with steel chute, heated grips, electric start, etc. 4 years ago and it is the best I've used. Before retiring I used Toro, Ariens, MTD several models. My Cub Cadet 3 stage had all the bells and whistles with it and cost $1500. I don't even use the electric start because 3 pumps of the primer and choke on- 2 pulls at most (stored cold under porch!!) I have a 100 yd. driveway on a steep hill with a 40' x 30' pad at the top. I also have COPD. This machine gets it done right and quick. The 3 stage auger cuts deep snow like butter and it will roll far faster than I can walk to keep up to it.

Honda's are the Cadillac of snowblowers. The only problem with them is you end up replacing sheer pins often if you get into any gravel.
When I lived in Upper MI I used a 11hp Honda for 15 years with no issues besides sheer pins.

Appreciate all the input folks. The Ariens 24 Deluxe is looking pretty good right at $1000. No flies on many others mentioned. Thanks, I've learned a lot.

Sam, the Honda HSS series are still hydrostatic and have individual (right/left) levers that will let the machine turn to that side. They are not brakes but rather gradually take either side partially or all of the way out of gear. They turn easily. A much better system than previous models.

Oh okay, gotcha.

My green machine has a 'differential lock' and it is a pain to wheel around when engaged.

Ariens for me. A couple of relative have Hondas, and they are great for precision blowing of tiny amounts of snow, but my 8 hp Ariens is more like the AK47 of snow blowers. Not many options or fancy, but always works.

My biggest gripe with snow blowers in general is that as the models get bigger they get wider instead of taller. I don't need wider, but I do need taller.

For the house in SE Michigan I have a 1971 Craftsmen 24" with the original 5 HP B&S 4 stroke engine...one speed forward and one reverse ....replace the sheer pin for the auger usually 2-3 times a year....replaced shaft bearings and bushing 2 times in its life....it may not throw snow as far as new ones but its engine still strong.....bought it at a summer garage sale for $50 40 years ago.....

For the house in the UP have a 1978 Craftsmen 28" with a 8 HP B&S 4 stroke with cast iron sleeve that replaced the Tecumseh 8 HP 15 years ago.....it has 5 forward and 1 reverse....the driveway is all gravel so I welded 1 1/2" angle iron for skis to leave about 1" of snow and not be throwing stones.....it works great on the grass to clear it for the dogs.....bought it at a summer garage sale for $100 30 years ago....

My Craftsman has a hinged box to hold extra sheer pins. Matter of fact I think need to buy a couple for it.

I like that craftsman. I just change the oil in the fall and use stabil in the spring. So far nothing has gone wrong.

I'd say it's a good design to have shear pins that actually shear

My Husqvarna has been flawless. Not that we get a tremendous amount of snow here, but I do have to clear quite a long and steep driveway.

This one? https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ariens-...with-Auto-Turn-Steering-921045/207094915

It's the model I plan on buying, so this thread was interesting, informative, and timely.

I grew up with an 8hp Ariens and it ate snow for breakfast for 15 years til' it got sold in a garage sale. It's probably still moving snow somewhere.