# 24" Craftsman with easy steer on clearance



## snyper (Mar 5, 2013)

Was is Sears and saw they had a few 24" with easy steer, heated grips, joystick control, light on sale for $869.95, regular $1099.

Is this a good price for all these features?

Anyone have one of these that could give some feedback?

Do all these "bells & whistles" just end up causing headaches because they stop working or are finicky?

I just picked up a Canadiana 24" without these options for $572 and wondering if I should upgrade now while I still have the option to return it.

Thanks!


----------



## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

Welcome to the forum. I can't speak to the newer blowers, most of mine are 30+ years old. I'm of the school where 'if it can break it will'. Personally I think that a blower is to blow snow and anything else is unnecessary. 

My 2 cents, others can speak better to the newer machines. Sorry.


----------



## snyper (Mar 5, 2013)

Thanks HCBPH, any input/experience is appreciated.

I had an electric thrower previously so this would be my first two stage gas blower.


----------



## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

hello snyper, welcome to SBF. other than the heated grips, joy stick, and light whats the difference between the canadiana and the craftsman? if the engines are the same and the bucket is the same i would rather keep the extra cash in my pocket and get a good pair of gloves


----------



## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Blowers*

Snyper

IMO if you want the best 'bang for the buck'in a Craftsman, watch for a used Craftsman 536.918xxx or 536.882xxx blower on the used market. They are from the 70's through the late 80's. Very heavy materials, well built and can be gotten for a good price most times. The 4 & 5 HP use one style chassis and have a twin shaft motor, the 7 HP and up have a larger style chassis and a single shaft motor.

There are a couple of things to watch for: plastic bushings on the auger and axel is the first one. The large frame ones can be modified for roller bearings on both items. The smaller frame one can be modified to bearings on the axel, but the auger has been an issue finding the right bearing to fit correctly. Earlier ones had a bronze bushing held by 2 clamshell discs, those are the preferred ones. I have a thread here on how I did it to a 7 HP, unbelievable improvement to the machine.

The large frame ones have a non-available control cable for the auger/drive. There is a cable that can be adapted though so it's still a viable option.

Both use the Tecumseh Peerless transmission for the drive, vs a friction disc. If maintained, almost nothing can go wrong. On the large frame model, if the step bolts come loose there's the chance of breaking a tranny mount but even that's repairable. I've come up with a fix that both works and is stronger than the original mounts.

If you get the impression I like these, you're right. I've bought around 12-16 of them, refurbished and either kept or sold them. You're talking machines that have been around for 30+ years and have at least that much more life in them. I've brought back a couple of really sad sack machines, in fact I'm doing one right now that is in poor condition due to neglect on the Previous Owners part. I expect it will hold it's own against any current model once I'm done with it. I also have 2 of them that are my keeper machines, very strong and dependable IMO.

Most of the ones I've bought have been $25-$75 to purchase and another $50-$100 to put them in tip-top working condition.

My 2 cents.


----------



## td5771 (Feb 21, 2011)

I go with the old stuff, older the better.

However if you go new, the more complex the machine, the more potential problems.

Whats your mechanical ability like. I have bought a few machines from original owners with the original manuals and sometimes receipts. the machines hcbph talks about as well as snowbirds and toros were 4 to 6 hundred in the 1970s. heavy duty meant for you to buy a snowblower once, only once.


----------



## snyper (Mar 5, 2013)

detdrbuzzard said:


> hello snyper, welcome to SBF. other than the heated grips, joy stick, and light whats the difference between the canadiana and the craftsman? if the engines are the same and the bucket is the same i would rather keep the extra cash in my pocket and get a good pair of gloves


detdrbuzzard, here is the link to the blower I bought last weekend at Lowes Canadiana 800 Series 205cc 24" Two-Stage Gas Snow Thrower - Lowe's Canada

and here is the link to the Sears model I saw yesterday CRAFTSMAN®/MD 24'' Dual-Stage Snowblower With EZ Steer - Sears | Sears Canada


----------

