# good two stage snow blower



## BossPlowGuy04 (Oct 27, 2007)

whats a good 2 stage snow blower?
thanks
alex


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## pmorrissette (Sep 15, 2008)

I have a 27" Craftsman with hydrostatic transmission & power steering. It's perfect for my house, not too big so that my wife can use it when I am out of town. It has the same 305cc engine as most 30" models, so it throws really well.

My brother-in-law has a 30" Commercial grade Columbia, with power steering but a regular transmission, it has a really powerful 357cc engine and it throws really far. Very rugged, excellent build quality (better than my Craftsman), but more expensive. I find that 1st gear on his machine is a faster walk than what I do with the hydrostatic on mine.

I find that the auger & turbine speed on the Columbia are superior to my Craftsman, but the difference might just be the engine HP & Torque.

My Craftsman has 10HP and 13.5 ft/lbs of torque.
His Columbia has 11.5HP (I don't know how much Torque).


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## briggsguy17 (Nov 20, 2009)

Simplicity, Ariens and Honda. All the rest are just toys. I see you are in Michigan, if you get a lot of snow in your area I would recommend one of the three I previously mentioned even if only for home use. When looking for one compare the size and construction of the auger gearbox, the make of the engine, the thickness of the auger housing material, the thickness of the skid shoes, etc...... you will see a big difference between manufacturers. Also consider parts and service,do you have any dealers close by? There are basically two big players in the outdoor power equipment arena for snow blower, MTD and AYP/EHP. MTD makes the following brands, Cub Cadet, Troy-Bilt, Bolens, Yard Machine, Yard Man, Huskee, White, MTD Pro and of course MTD. These units are virtually identical to each other save for paint and stickers. AYP or EHP (Electrolux) makes these ones, Husqvarna, Sears, Poulan, Poulan Pro and a few others, again virtually identical but for stickers and paint. I have been in the outdoor power equipment business for many years and can tell you that the brands that stood for quality years ago now stand for profit and sub par performance. Do some research on line and you will see the difference. If you find a certain model that you are interested in let me know, if I am familiar with it I will tell you what I know.


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## Lugnut (Feb 25, 2006)

Toros are good as well, just make sure you purchase one from a dealer not home depot or lowes...even the john deeres, toros, husqvarnas from those stores are cheaper versions of the real ones


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## BossPlowGuy04 (Oct 27, 2007)

thanks guys this will be for my house and im thinking i may use it at a condo unit i plow "not sure yet"


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## rusty_keg_3 (Dec 6, 2008)

I just wanna say spend a little extra, and get one with more than one speed. If it has 1 gear, its super slow! My dad has one, and it has one speed, and it sucks having to go slow all the time...


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## OldCrow (Dec 14, 2009)

We have a Honda tracked 2 stage. With hydro drive. What a beauty of a machine. It took this 20" of snow we just had without blinking an eye. We've had it for a few years now and never had any problems with it.


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## larrylaverne (Nov 13, 2009)

don't discount the new john deere (dealer bought). i've got the 30inch cut;, cast iron gear box with added support bar; 4 blade steel impeller;1550 series snow max briggs;heated grip; tested it on 20 inch wet/salted snow berms left by the city and yes it took em out. sure glad i didn't buy a single stage.


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## briggsguy17 (Nov 20, 2009)

larrylaverne;929759 said:


> don't discount the new john deere (dealer bought). i've got the 30inch cut;, cast iron gear box with added support bar; 4 blade steel impeller;1550 series snow max briggs;heated grip; tested it on 20 inch wet/salted snow berms left by the city and yes it took em out. sure glad i didn't buy a single stage.


Don't let the green paint fool you. John Deere does not now, nor have they ever made their own snow blowers. Their current models are built by either Simplicity or Ariens. I believe that they are Simplicity's though. Ariens built blowers for Deere years ago and before that they were built by Frontier snow equipment. If you are going with a premium brand go with one that has a servicing dealer close by. Hope this helps.


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## sanitaire (Nov 12, 2006)

my honda hs724 has been good too me. hyrdrostatic track drive, 7hp OHV honda commerical engine and lots of sheer pins in the front end so if ya hit stuffm there is no harm done too the engine. spendy 2,000 bucks 7 years ago...


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## larrylaverne (Nov 13, 2009)

i accept the fact jd don't make their own snowblower. it still has to be made to jd specs. take your typical ford chev dodge truck, there is a lot of outside suppliers involved.example; glass, tires, paint etc.etc.etc.you are right though,a good servicing dealer is key, and for my 1500 bucks for above mentioned blower i wouldn't take it back. let it snow!!!! lol


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## kj330 (Feb 11, 2009)

the jd is the same as an ariens. down to every nut and bolt. i just bought 3 ariens today and compared side by side..


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## snowman4 (Nov 25, 2007)

Look into Larue, Pronovost, Normand, Vohl.... all pretty good blowers!


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## JohnMeyer (Dec 3, 2009)

briggsguy17;929779 said:


> Don't let the green paint fool you. John Deere does not now, nor have they ever made their own snow blowers. Their current models are built by either Simplicity or Ariens. I believe that they are Simplicity's though. Ariens built blowers for Deere years ago and before that they were built by Frontier snow equipment. If you are going with a premium brand go with one that has a servicing dealer close by. Hope this helps.


One more time! John Deere 1130 is a great machine when purchased from a dealer. After 26 years on a Deere 826 clearing multiple driveways with very few problems, why buy anything else?


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## AiRhed (Dec 27, 2007)

> Don't let the green paint fool you. John Deere does not now, nor have they ever made their own snow blowers. Their current models are built by either Simplicity or Ariens. I believe that they are Simplicity's though. Ariens built blowers for Deere years ago and before that they were built by Frontier snow equipment. If you are going with a premium brand go with one that has a servicing dealer close by. Hope this helps


My JD 1128 may be an Ariens with green paint. That doesn't bother me one bit. Because there is absolutely nothing wrong with either company. They provide great products and have an awesome track record with customer service. A plowsite member recently broke his shift rod on his Ariens. They're sending him a new one free of charge no questions asked. JD is just as good if not better with their customer service and warranty.

I'm very happy with my JD/Ariens 1128. I cut through a 3 foot tall, 3 foot thick frozen berm left by the city crew on a walk I clear on Sunday. The JD went through it without a fuss. I was jockeying it around, up and down, hogging it out. I was treating it more like a tiller than a blower. It was hardcore work that would have killed a non-commercial blower. Didn't even loose a shear pin and it was shooting ice chunks. It has 6 forward gears, lock/unlockable 2WD, 2 reverse speeds, heated hand grips, cable controlled deflector, and cast iron gear box. Lots of grease zerks too, which is nice to keep it up and running.


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## AiRhed (Dec 27, 2007)

Doesn't it say a lot of t Ariens and JD for teaming up. JD wanted to provide the best blower to their customers at the best price. Instead of spending the money on designing their own, they selected the best manufacturer to produce a product for them to their high expectations.


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## larrylaverne (Nov 13, 2009)

kj330;932035 said:


> the jd is the same as an ariens. down to every nut and bolt. i just bought 3 ariens today and compared side by side..


fiist, i am not against ariens i almost bought one but the dealer is 25 miles away.i said i got the john deere 30 inch cut. ariens dont make a 30 inch cut. the john deere has a steel support rod from the cast iron gearbox to the top of housing. the ariens does not. the john deere runs a 4 blade impeller unlike the 3 blade on the ariens the john deere runs the briggs snow series max engine where the ariens (i think) just runs the snow series engine. sorry i fail to see that every nut and bolt is the same on the two units. again i have nothing against ariens or simplicity, for that matter, which by the way i went to the simplicity dealer and he dont sell their own snowblower.!!! he would sell me a toro though.


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## ALC-GregH (Nov 26, 2008)

larrylaverne;932744 said:


> fiist, i am not against ariens i almost bought one but the dealer is 25 miles away.i said i got the john deere 30 inch cut. ariens dont make a 30 inch cut. the john deere has a steel support rod from the cast iron gearbox to the top of housing. the ariens does not. the john deere runs a 4 blade impeller unlike the 3 blade on the ariens the john deere runs the briggs snow series max engine where the ariens (i think) just runs the snow series engine. sorry i fail to see that every nut and bolt is the same on the two units. again i have nothing against ariens or simplicity, for that matter, which by the way i went to the simplicity dealer and he dont sell their own snowblower.!!! he would sell me a toro though.


Are you sure about that?


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## AiRhed (Dec 27, 2007)

Slightly different than my 1128 JD. But in less ways than they are similar.


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## cpsnowremoval (Oct 28, 2009)

i use an older 8hp ariens works great. the older one are made way better than the new ones. i like how the older snowblowers shoots are much wider than the new ones
hears a pic of a gilson i worked on and brought back to life. bought for $30 sold it for $100


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## Ramairfreak98ss (Aug 17, 2005)

spend the money, Simplicity commercial "signature series now" are one of the best... full frame, not the cheapy handles, no freking rods popping out and over the engine with chinzy gears etc.

They keep going up in price though. My first one was about $2100 in 04, and now similar models can hit $2600 i think.

The 28-38" models chew up mountains of snow though thats for sure.









their 38" model


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## unit28 (Jan 1, 2007)

I bought my Husqvarna at Lowes...:
It kicks butt on anything I put it through.

It nearly nocked down the trees
with all the snow flying out of it.


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## larrylaverne (Nov 13, 2009)

ALC-GregH;932787 said:


> Are you sure about that?


yes im sure about that. it is an aluminum gear box and that is a picture of a deluxe model and not the pro series just got off the phone with the ariens dealer and he reassured me that ariens does not use the briggs snow series max engine like the john deere 30 just the snow series.every thing else still stands. oh yea, john deere uses electric chute control not manual and it does work well.


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## blueline38 (Dec 22, 2007)

*snow blower*

I have a '99 cub cadet with like a 36" cut, dual stage, trac drive, power steering, electric start, two reverse gears, six forward gears and a tecumseh 10.5h motor. I bought it used in '02 and it has been great ever since. I just recently busted the drive cable so it's out of commision. I believe, however, that Cub Cadet actually made that blower!!


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## Kaptain_Kurt (Sep 21, 2004)

*JD 726/826 are incredible!*

I don't know who made the JD's 30+ years ago but I'll tell you that it's the best blower I've ever used. That old cast iron engine is amazing. When my tranny went out in my 1-ton dually, my $6k Western became useless, but my JD 726 got me through 26" of snow with no problem! 
Matter of fact, it's even scary. I put a new belt on which is a little tight, so the impeller and auger spin even when in the freewheeling position. That thing will eat you alive. I ran over a logging chain while loading it back into my truck and that thing jammed in there good. I could not begin to flex the steel on the auger to release the chain, I had to remove the shear pin and hammer the chain out. It was a great safety reminder never to get in front of that thing...


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## Kaptain_Kurt (Sep 21, 2004)

PS. I paid $90 for that blower on Craigslist and all I had to do was clean the carb. I've used many other blowers, but these are so tough they'll eat anything, long before the big 'ol shear pins would snap.

I used to prefer single stage, just for ease of getting it in and out of the truck. But this years 26" in December proved to be way too much for them. I have 2 of them, a Honda and a big Toro, and they were both completly useless in that much snow.


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## vt properties (Jan 28, 2010)

Bought a ariens pro 28 and it has a b & s snow series engine 3 blad impeller and a cast iron gear case. Works great, nice product. However I believe that honda does make the best blower, even the dealer agreed but they are pricey .


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## JayD2 (Sep 3, 2009)

Lugnut;928928 said:


> Toros are good as well, just make sure you purchase one from a dealer not home depot or lowes...even the john deeres, toros, husqvarnas from those stores are cheaper versions of the real ones


Hey Lugnut,

What do you know about the Toro snow blowers?

Do you or any one else on here have any pro's or con's about the Power max 1128 OXE?

I was thinking of getting one, but still not for sure. If any of you have one, what did it cost?

Is there a best time to buy one?


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## redskinsfan34 (Jan 14, 2010)

JayD2;996216 said:


> Hey Lugnut,
> 
> What do you know about the Toro snow blowers?
> 
> ...


my dad has one similar to that that I've used alot. 2 stage toro's used to all come with Tecumseh engines on them. It's a scientific fact: Tecumseh engines are crap! Recently, toro pulled their head out and switched to briggs and stratton engines. Briggs is the best small engine product you can buy right after honda. If you want the best and don't mind spending a little more, get a honda.


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## bellcon (Dec 2, 2006)

I do alot of snow blowing, both at my snow removal accounts and at the job site of the houses we build. I have a Simplicity 1332 commercial, my partner has a Honda 1132 hydro track drive. Both are unbelievable!! I actually find the Simplicity easier to manuver, you have to man handle the track drive a little to turn it and it's much more difficult to move it if it's not running, it does however climb stairs well for clearing decks. The Simplicity throws the snow a long way but the Honda puts it into orbit. I've never seen anything blow snow that far. Not that there's really a reason to blow the snow into the next door neighbors yard from across the street but what the hell. I'm sure there are other good ones out there but I haven't seen any other than these that I would own. I live in central New Hampshire and we probably use these more in one season than most people will in a long time. I probably prefer the Simplicity a little but would buy either depending on what was available when I needed one. They are both expensive but they are worth it. You will need ramps to get it in and out of your truck.
Scott


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## integrityman (Feb 23, 2008)

Just bought and have been heavily using a dealer purchased two stage TORO... really like it. Maneuverable and really chews through the heavy stuff.


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## JayD2 (Sep 3, 2009)

integrityman;997098 said:


> Just bought and have been heavily using a dealer purchased two stage TORO... really like it. Maneuverable and really chews through the heavy stuff.


Which one did you get?


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## EastCoast (Oct 7, 2004)

*Honda HS928TA*

•Self-propelled, infinitely variable hydrostatic drive 
•Track drive - best traction available 
•Easy starting Honda OHV commercial grade engine 
•28" clearing width, 20" clearing height 
•Clears up to 55.1 tons/hr 
•Pedal-adjustable auger height


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