# Ariens Compact 24 920006 vs Ariens 724



## dennyd001 (Nov 23, 2020)

Hey all. I'm in the market for my first slowblower and have narrowed it down to wanting an Ariens and a 2-stage snowblower. I came across 2 used Ariens that are both asking $400. I did as much research as I could but I have come up empty a bit when trying to narrow down any more info on the 724.

To me (a snowblower novice) they both seem almost identical aside from the Compact 24 having a Briggs Stratton engine while the 724 has a Tecumseh. They are both nearly the same in HP and they are the same width of 24".

Which would you choose? Or maybe neither for the price! Let me know your thoughts.

Happy to be here!


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

To me, they both look in excellent shape. Push back on the price, and see who is more interested in selling. BTW, how much snow do you get annually, and how much area do you plan to clear ? These are a light, heavy-duty machine, so just want to make sure they will have enough power. Either engine brand is fine.


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

They both seem to have the aluminum gearbox, and later model Compact 24s moved to the cast iron gearbox. I don't know about your region, but there's a Compact 24 (model 920021) with the cast iron gearbox listed for sale on my local craigslist for $400 and the ad has been listed for a while.


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## dennyd001 (Nov 23, 2020)

RIT333 said:


> To me, they both look in excellent shape. Push back on the price, and see who is more interested in selling. BTW, how much snow do you get annually, and how much area do you plan to clear ? These are a light, heavy-duty machine, so just want to make sure they will have enough power. Either engine brand is fine.


Thanks for the response! I'm in northern Ohio and have about a 150 foot long driveway.


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## dennyd001 (Nov 23, 2020)

db130 said:


> They both seem to have the aluminum gearbox, and later model Compact 24s moved to the cast iron gearbox. I don't know about your region, but there's a Compact 24 (model 920021) with the cast iron gearbox listed for sale on my local craigslist for $400 and the ad has been listed for a while.


That's good info to know. I'm in northern Ohio. Thank you!


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

I would probably try to spend anout $450, and get either a toro or ariens 8 or more hp. Although thosr were both in excellent condition. Maybe try $325 case in front of their nose. But have another $25 in your pocket just in case. Myself, i haven't felt that the aluminum gearbox was a weak point, but you can use that in your bargaining. Also, tell owner that you read on the internet that Briggs/Tecumseh parts were hard to come by. Probably not true, but that should be worth $25. 

Good luck !


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## dman2 (Sep 22, 2019)

Aluminum gear box is okay, but those have brass/bronze gears inside. Mine is Deluxe with aluminum gearbox, but steel gears inside.
The newer Compact has iron gear box with steel gears inside, so they are more heavy duty.


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## classiccat (Mar 1, 2014)

Engine wise, I'd rather have the newer Briggs than that OHV Tecumseh.


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## Freezn (Mar 1, 2014)

From a budget standpoint you can typically pick-up a 24" Sno-Tek in excellent condition for roughly $250 - $300 which is also built by Ariens and shares some of the same specs as the Ariens Compact 24. Many of the newerSno-Tek models also have the cast iron gear box shared by the Compact 24








24” Ariens Sno-tek snow blower $350 - tools - by owner - sale


24” Ariens Sno-tek snow blower two stage 208cc electric start READY TO GO !! $350...



cleveland.craigslist.org


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## dennyd001 (Nov 23, 2020)

Freezn said:


> From a budget standpoint you can typically pick-up a 24" Sno-Tek in excellent condition for roughly $250 - $300 which is also built by Ariens and shares some of the same specs as the Ariens Compact 24. Many of the newerSno-Tek models also have the cast iron gear box shared by the Compact 24
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Good to know! I'll take a look at that one as well. Thanks!


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## Ziggy65 (Jan 18, 2020)

I'm not sure how much or type of snow you get in your region annually, but it seems you have a pretty big driveway to look after.
If you are set on Ariens, maybe try looking for a 924 series or Deluxe series and going with a 28 or 30 inch bucket (although 24" will get the job done just an extra pass or 2). 
If you have to increase your budget by $100 or so to get the right machine in good condition, it really isn't much spread over 10 or 20 years.


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## dennyd001 (Nov 23, 2020)

Ziggy65 said:


> I'm not sure how much or type of snow you get in your region annually, but it seems you have a pretty big driveway to look after.
> If you are set on Ariens, maybe try looking for a 924 series or Deluxe series and going with a 28 or 30 inch bucket (although 24" will get the job done just an extra pass or 2).
> If you have to increase your budget by $100 or so to get the right machine in good condition, it really isn't much spread over 10 or 20 years.


Thanks for the advice! I'll look around and see what I can find that has a bit higher HP and best case one with a larger bucket. From what I've seen so far around me 26, 28, and 30" buckets are hard to come by used. And as far as brand, it seemed Ariens was the best for the price in the used market although I'm sure I could be persuaded towards others brands.


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## Jesse11B (Jan 27, 2020)

I might be a little leery of the Briggs, just because some of them have a plastic cam lobe and gear that slip and move or come apart. Maybe this one doesn’t have internal plastic parts. I’m not sure, maybe other members here would know if this one does. I just really do not like the idea of plastic parts in an engine. Too fragile in my opinion for that environment.


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## rod330 (Oct 9, 2015)

dennyd001, I'll send you a private message- I may have something


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## GoBlowSnow (Sep 4, 2015)

I am much happier with the performance of the B&S vs the old school Techumseh 5 and 7 HP engines. But the Tecumseh's are much easier to work on.


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