# Zerk grease fittings, Ariens vs. Toro



## simplesimon (Oct 1, 2016)

Hi everybody,

I've pretty much narrowed my new purchase choice down to an Ariens Deluxe 28 SHO, or a Toro Power Max HD 826 OXE.

Even though there are some apples and oranges differences between the two machines, it's almost down to a coin toss for me which one I select.

A surprising difference to me is the absence of Zerk grease fittings on the Toro. I want to minimize maintenance effort, and I would think grease fittings facilitate this.

I feel that this issue probably tips the balance in favor of the Ariens for me.

Feedback would be appreciated. Am I wrong for thinking this could be a problem?

Much thanks in advance!


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## GoBlowSnow (Sep 4, 2015)

Interesting, i did not know that. I remember when auto manufacturers started to do away with greased fittings and instead said "They are all maintenance free" Never did go over well with me.


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## Eafoxjr (Feb 24, 2016)

*Plenty of grease.*

This is the transmission of a new Toro HD 826 OXE. There is plenty of grease from the factory.


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## Cardo111 (Feb 16, 2015)

I would go with the Deluxe 28 SHO, it's a larger & more substantial machine (though that previous post of the Toro transmission does seem very beefy). The HD928 would be a closer match to the Ariens 28" SHO.

Best of luck with whichever machine you choose.


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## toroused (Mar 1, 2015)

Those plastic axle bushings on the Toro, even though probably Delrin, look real scary to me. My neighbor has 
a 6-7 year old 6HP Ariens with a plastic compression nut by the engagement pulleys that cracked at the end of
last season. I believe if it were a metal nut it would not have cracked and the machine would seem be operating fine.

The machine was bought at a dealer and it just blows my mind the cost-to-market choices that are currently being made
out there in the industry. And I'm a big Ariens fan...........


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## Smolenski7 (Nov 24, 2010)

Personally I would go with the Ariens. 

I know I might be a little biased (I own a 24" Deluxe), and I admit that I have never owned a Toro before, but I wouldn't base the decision on the fact that it has grease fittings and the Toro doesn't. Personally, I love auto turn and is probably the reason why I will be upgrading my Ariens in the next year or two. I was going to mention the larger impeller and cast iron gearbox in the Ariens too, but then I came about this review at Movingsnow.com. It really made me think about why people really like Toro. I kinda want to go out and try one now.

Either way, it sounds like you can't go wrong. Good luck.


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## GoBlowSnow (Sep 4, 2015)

I think I've come to realize that plastic is going to be present in every machine out there. Some use a lot of it both inside and outside, some use just a bit of it. But regardless plastic has been engineered to be better than previous years so take that for what its worth.


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## jtclays (Sep 24, 2010)

simplesimon said:


> Hi everybody,
> 
> I've pretty much narrowed my new purchase choice down to an Ariens Deluxe 28 SHO, or a Toro Power Max HD 826 OXE.
> 
> ...



:spam1: If you "feel" an issue............


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## simplesimon (Oct 1, 2016)

jtclays said:


> :spam1: If you "feel" an issue............


I see that jtclays is a senior member, so I assume he's not a troll. Not sure what this is about though.

Thanks for the helpful feedback from the others.

Cheers!


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## jtclays (Sep 24, 2010)

Simple, If you are in fact for real I apologize. However it seems this site is taking a hit with new "people" that have figured out how to roll around the login. I think Toro not having grease fittings is beyond stupid. It makes no sense to have a steel tube that collects water around a steel shaft and not have any way to lubricate it other than removing it.

What are the apples to oranges differences?


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## simplesimon (Oct 1, 2016)

jtclays said:


> Simple, If you are in fact for real I apologize. However it seems this site is taking a hit with new "people" that have figured out how to roll around the login. I think Toro not having grease fittings is beyond stupid. It makes no sense to have a steel tube that collects water around a steel shaft and not have any way to lubricate it other than removing it.
> 
> What are the apples to oranges differences?


I am for real, and apology accepted!

I live in Northern Ontario, have a fairly large driveway, and need a heavy duty snowblower that can blow snow a long way into the bush. My ancient Craftsman can't do this anymore.

Based on all the research I've done, it looks like the most popular heavy duty makes are Ariens, Toro and Honda, but I refuse to pay what they want for a Honda.

For some reason, in Canada, these two Ariens and Toro models are almost the same price which makes them for all intents and purposes equivalent, even though they are apples and oranges as far as bucket width and engine size.

The Ariens seems like the obvious choice because of width and power, except that I can find all kinds of stellar reviews for Toro. The Toro also has features that I like, for example plastic bodywork components, (I think this is a good idea for ease of maintenance, i.e. no rust), and the anti-clogging system. The Ariens anti-clogging system appears to consists of overdriving the second stage and having more belts, which in my opinion would seem to be less fail safe.

I value reliability and simple design.

Also, I think the Toro steering system is simpler and again, less prone to fail.

But jtclay, you hit the nail on the head about the lack of Zerks. It makes no sense to me whatsoever. How does Toro have such a good reputation? It is normal for owners to disassemble their machines to grease them? Do Toro's not require re-greasing?

I'm not willing to take the thing apart to maintain it.

Anyway, I think Ariens it the choice, and thanks jtclay, your comment about grease fittings is much appreciated.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

simplesimon said:


> I am for real, and apology accepted!
> 
> I live in Northern Ontario, have a fairly large driveway, and need a heavy duty snowblower that can blow snow a long way into the bush. My ancient Craftsman can't do this anymore.
> 
> ...


Wow! Expect some blowback about your "plastic" comment. Some of the guys in here are strictly metal and ANY plastic is verboten. I personally do not have a problem with it but I believe I am a minority.


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## Eafoxjr (Feb 24, 2016)

The toro two stage snowblowers still only have two belts. One for traction and one for moving snow. I'm not sure about Toro's Snowmaster series. 

I believe that all brands of snowblowers that use the popular friction disc transmissions require an annual oiling of the hex shaft. That is the only reason to gain access to the guts of the transmission on the Toro. Greasing is never required according to the owners manual.

I like many others on this forum get great insight from Paul's reviews on his Moving Snow website. 

When I received my new Toro last week I could not resist taking the transmission covers off and see rest of the guts that Paul did not show on his picture review. I will have to agree with Paul that after a close look inside that everything about the Toro PowerMax HD series is heavy duty.


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## jtclays (Sep 24, 2010)

Eafoxjr, I have no clue why you are talking about the drivetrain of Toro? Makes no sense and I'm sure the OP is less interested in your post about shoveling snow. I like the Toro lineup, but agree they need to add zerks. I've done it on a neighbors' machine. I've said it before, I think the 724 Toro offered at HD (at least in the USA) is the best bargain available. If you compare price apples to apples, I'd go with the Ariens. However, I like the Toro and all it's plastic, it throws snow like crazy. They do need to admit they need grease zerks and even steel gears fail if shocked with a stall out situation. Ariens just makes a better product at the same price point, IMO.


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