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.