Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Any snowblower experts? Is this a good one?

I've been thinking about getting a snowblower to clean out some spots I can't get to with the plow truck. I found this add this morning:

For sale is my John Deere 826 snowblower. Electric and pull start. 26 inch cut. New belt and spark plug and ready to throw snow. Chains come with for the tires. Always stored inside. Starts good. Very good traction on ice and tough snow. These were very well made blowers and still can get parts if needed.

Near as I can tell it was made in the '80's. Is there anything to watch out for?

He's asking $350

They lose the ability to propel snow very far when older. If you deal with wet snow then look elsewhere.

I don't know if it is true of all makes, but my Toro has a quirk that is very annoying. It is VERY picky about not starting if I do not open the fuel line before attempting to do so.

You're from AZ. Are you sure you weren't blowing sand?



J/K

I'll have to look it over good and hopefully take it for a test run.

Well, it probably beats the other kind of "snow blower" - - - - -a gay Eskimo!
Jerry

I have a JD 10/28 and it’s a beast. Mine is 11 years old. The SOB will throw snow 50’

That’s a universal issue industry wide.

Looks pretty nice. Just do a test drive. Parts are available, cheap, and easy to replace. No worries.

How many Horse?

How wide?

Model is a 826....8 hp.....26" wide....

Should be a good blower and JD is pretty good at supporting older models in my experience.
I'd try to get him under $300 though.

I bought a used 524 20 yrs ago now without electric start. Worked great, only complaint is the older JD blowers like pictured have shorter handles and as heavy as they are are tougher to maneuver in tight places and don't balance well on wheels.. Worked without a flaw. 16yrs ago I bought a 5yr old 826 with electric start and auger controls at rear. Takes little effort to push down on handles to raise front so you aren't worn out from man handling them.Sold the old 5HP for $500 and paid $625 for the 8HP with electric start. At the time local JD dealership was asking $1850 for new 8HP. Love it, other than a couple of plugs and oil it has run flawless. When I managed LP plant in '96 there wasn't a new blower to be had in these parts. Found a JD 1032 of same vintage as pictured above, a snow eatin mutha!!!!! But an animal to maneuver. Compare the auger, gearbox and the sheetmetal of a JD blower to those sold at Walmarts etc. No pot metal gear box for auger on the JD. If they had a Honda motor instead of Techumseh (sp?) is the only way they might be better!!!!! Just my .02 cents worth.

I'll try but this is a FB add and there are people lined up behind me so I'm thinking there will not be a lot of wiggle room, unfortunately.

Thanks for the input gents. Going to look at it now.

Told my Dad to get a John Deere snowblower in 1990, which he did. It's about the same size as the one you're looking at. That machine ran flawlessly for over 30 years with minimal maintenance outside of oil changes and an occasional spark plug. If it starts and blows snow, I'd buy it. The only thing we had to keep on hand were the shear bolts for the front auger blades. Hit some heavy ice and the bolts would shear - as they should. About a 10 minute repair.

I can't contribute much to the question you asked, but I just had to replace my snow blower, and some of this might be helpful...

Our house has aluminum shingles. So when we have snow, and the temperature starts to warm a bit, we get an avalanche that covers our front and side sidewalks. When the snow hits, it turns into concrete. And often the snow bank is well above knee high. It's a big version of the ice/snow dam that the county snowplow leaves in front of your driveway.

Our old blower was 10 HP, and generally did a good job, but it struggled with the results of the avalanche. I gave up trying to plow the side sidewalks.

The replacement is a yellow 3X28 Cub Cadet. It has a little auger facing forward, ahead of the main auger, and that is for chewing through tough spots. The additional auger makes it a 3 stage. Engine is rated in cc rather than HP, and as nearly as I can tell is 12 HP. It has power steering, meaning that each handle has a little trigger you can pull and the machine will turn itself. That's a big deal. Oh.... and hand warmers! That's a very nice feature. The new machine is bigger than the old one, but much easier to handle. And it handles the avalanches quite well.

I'd buy it. Normal maintenance would be clean the carb, replace the fuel line and run some combustion chamber decarbonizer through it. Change the oil and spark plug.

I think JD is made by MTD, they make many blowers with difference brands. Sort of middle of the road blowers used for normal type snowfalls.
I have an Ariens, because I live in an area of heavy snow and lots of it.
If the JD runs well, it should work for what you're looking for, clean up after plowing, if it's going to be your prime source of snow removal then you need something better.

I'd say that is a ok buy. Isn't that a rebadged Ariens? Either way a solid machine. Tecumseh engine, these are pretty reliable, keep the oil changed (and full) Should be able to be repaired for a long time. I would buy it if I needed a snowblower.

Funny, the Deer in the OP's picture looks exactly like my MTD except for the paint. Been a good machine for, um, 24 years now. Just do the book maintenance and touch up the paint at the end of the season. For skid shoes I weld on a chunk of 1/4 inch bar stock every couple years. And adjust the skids every so often (say once or twice a season up here) to save grinding down your shave plate.

Don't drive it too hard with chains. Remember tire slippage was considered in not overstressing the drive line.

Hint: If you're going to plow and then blow, think about doing it backwards-- blow and then plow.

My reason for saying it is blow-snowers work best on untouched snow. If you plow and then blow, you'll compact the snow in the problem areas and then you'll have a harder time blowing it out. You can also blow out into the path of the snowplow and then use the plow to push it away.

F no they're not.

Tecumseh Snow King engines were by far the best engines ever put in snowblowers! Do a large amount of commercial and multi residential snow removal and still have several 8/26 MTD blowers in the fleet that are at least 15 years old and have been used hard by my crews as our mid size blowers. As others have said, perform basic yearly maintenance on it and it should last a long time. Keep oil topped off, keep fresh or stabilized fuel in it. Also consider non ethanol fuel or using an ethanol treatment. If it doesnt have a fuel shutoff, consider installing one and remember to shut it off at least at end of season and run machine until it shuts off.

Even with the JD name, I personally would be hard pressed to pay $350 for an older model snow blower. There are just too many of them (various models) for sale around here at any time.

But if its what you want, its not getting ripped off.

I've worked on a couple dozen through the years, and yes they are pretty good machines.. Kinda have to know what wear to look for. The transmissions can be kinda complicated and expensive to work on unless you have done a few.. I'm guessing around $1000.00 will buy a couple of good choices brand new in most areas. I have some suggestions, but I am careful about bringing them up. Been in business for 27 years or so.

I didn't buy it.

It started and ran fine but when I took it for a test drive, it wouldn't throw snow more than 10 feet and that just won't work for me.

Thanks for the input again, guys

You were right in this case sgt217.

Yes.

I'm talking about places that I can't reach with the plow and also do the garage slab before plowing.

Maybe I've just been lucky.

That could have just been a belt that was old and glazed, or not adjusted properly.

I live in Wisconsin now...

He claims in the ad and in person that he just put a new belt on.

This. ^^^^^
The 3 stage snowthrowers are game changing.

My dad bought a JD snowblower in 1975. It was still running fine the winter of 2018 when he passed away. We sold it to a neighbor and he is still using it.

I have the exact machine and it works fine. Been around quite a few different brands and I think the old JD machines are pretty good. If it starts and moves easy, offer $300 and take it home. They through snow as good as the new ones.

Yah, she’s on er last legs then.

Or I’m not. Lol

I had to order parts off some old place they sent me to and order online. The folks at the parts place were very helpful. JD, not so much.

Believe it or not, the flapper style single stage snow blowers move more cf of snow than 2 stages. Unless you’re throwing 8+ inches at a time they’re by far the way to go. My company uses toros and have had good luck besides my guys beating the crap out of them throwing them in trucks. The JD is a decent blower but I think you’ll run into parts issues shall the need arise.

True, but a simple fix. They get rough inside and grab snow. A shot of Fluid Film on the second impeller and up the chute solves that.

Could be a restricted main jet, engine not getting enough fuel to make power. Common problem.

Or the engine could be worn out. Much less common.

A plus for me would be the lack of 50 different safety mechanisms on an older machine. Hell, one can't use a modern gas can without reading instructions now days. I have to bind down a handle on my mower so I can pause and move a hose without having the mower shut down. For the price, I would have given it a run.

Have a Husky here and a TroyBilt as a spare, and I'm out $2K. Don't move near as much snow in this country though.