"Roger Sircar" wrote in message
news:Eqb8e.18059$nH4.10811@trndny05...
Ariens is a good quality brand and the price of the units reflect that. If
you are thinking about passing it on to your kids, by all means buy one.
However keep in mind that like most other brands it uses the same Tecumseh
engine. So in reality you are paying premium for the frame. If you have
engine problems (most likely problem in almost all brands as it ages), you
are in no better shape!

Since you do not have a long driveway, you could buy a unit from Sears
around $600 to $700 compared to about $1200 for Ariens. The engine most
likely will be the same.

There might be a few other differences besides the "frame". The bearings
for instance, on the auger, the pulleys, etc
Haven't looked closely recently but I'm guessing the auger is heavier on the
Ariens than a $700 Sears and is less likely to break if jammed. I'm also
thinking the power mechanism, shift, drive plate, spindles, etc are heavier.
Sears products tend to have more glitz but a machine by Ariens might be
designed to be more productive. By the way, Tecumseh makes several grades
of motors for various HP's. Sears doesn't have service mechanics - they
farm that duty out - and the couple guys I know who have had jobs in that
area are not that swift. If I was in the Great Lakes area I'd get a good
machine. In my area there is less snow but I clear several places - I but
2nd hand, off season and have several pieces including a couple 30 year old
Wards & a small Ariens same vintage and a Sears about 8 years old and a
couple snowblower attachments for tractors - the JD is the one I use the
most - but I have a couple 30 year old Sears tractors with snowblower
attachments that I will set-up as soon as I get a chance.

Other than that, if it was me, I think I would put off buying the new blower
and pave the driveway and put a walkway in first - otherwise your gravel is
going to be all over the place.


I have a Sears unit (10 years old) and with annual maintenance, the
performance has been good for a 40 x 20 driveway in the North East.
wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello Group,

As the subject states, I am in need a snowblower. I am hoping that now
is a good time to buy one. I have discovered that Ariens seems like a
very good buy for dependability and quality. ALL the reviews that I
read were positive which almost had me sold right then until I realized
that I was reading Ariens reviews posted at the Ariens website. I did
some searching for more independent, unbiased user reviews and found a
handful of others, 95% of which were positive. The one thing that is
keeping my interest is, many of the independent owner reviews mention
that these people have had their Ariens snowblowers for ten or fifteen
years. One even claimed he had his for 30+ years and only bought a new
one because he gave the old one away to his son. So it seems that
these snowblowers are quality machines. The prices reflect that but I
am willing to pay for quality that is this good.

My first question is: How many of you out there have an Ariens model?
Could you give my your thoughts, opinions or relate your experiences
with this make to me? Also any comparisons that you might have with
other makes that you have used.

I guess that I should also mention that I live in the Great Lakes area.
We get a lot of lake effect snow and quite a bit of drifting from time
to time. I don't have a lot of property (I live in city limits). My
[gravel] driveway is about two car-lengths long and about 3 1/2
car-widths wide. I have to make a path from the back of the house to
the garage, from the back of the house to the front of the house, (both
paths are grass not concrete sidewalks) and the front walkways and
sidewalks.

So please, tell me what you think.


Thanks,

-Lydokane-