# Deluxe 28 SHO



## bozack (Dec 5, 2017)

Anyone have this model, am between this or the Platinum 24 but am concerned that might be a bit small for my 3 to 1 width driveway. Overall it seems right from a feature standpoint (would have to add the hand warmers) but not sure I like the drill style chute control.

Any thoughts appreciated.

this is like my driveway only way longer


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

What is your time worth? 

A bigger walk behind snowcaster will cut wider and have more power 
to move quicker in thinner snow pack and you will never lack power in deep 
snowpack when it comes. 

The other thing is a wider more powerful walk behind will also let you clear faster when 
taking half cuts. 

If you have a long drive a snow cab would be worth investing in to let you work in high winds.

_________________________________________________________________________

_ Still hoping my JD junk gets stolen tonight. _


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## GoBlowSnow (Sep 4, 2015)

For the price of a 28SHO you might even be able to get a Deluxe-30 which will be better suited for that long and wide of a driveway, otherwise the 28SHO is awesome. And the Drill style chute control is tried and true, there is nothing wrong with it and it works GREAT.


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## bozack (Dec 5, 2017)

GoBlowSnow said:


> For the price of a 28SHO you might even be able to get a Deluxe-30 which will be better suited for that long and wide of a driveway, otherwise the 28SHO is awesome. And the Drill style chute control is tried and true, there is nothing wrong with it and it works GREAT.


I like the 30 but this thing keeps getting bigger and more expensive the more I look, really trying to not dedicate a complete garage space to whatever I go with


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## Cardo111 (Feb 16, 2015)

Both excellent machines that will get the job done. How often do you have to deal with snow, do you live in a snowbelt town? Things you should consider, if using it more often go wider to save time which will add up more if you're using it constantly. I am not that tall just under 5'9" and shrinking as we get older..:smile2:

That being said I was not a fan of reaching over the dash to turn the ice drill chute control. As another member said it is tried and true and will prove more dependable long-term, doesn't need adjustment. It will slow you down a bit where the Quick-Turn chute Works quickly when working saving you time. Unless you get a lot of snow let's say at least 80-100+ inches per year the time savings of a larger machine may be insignificant if you're not out there clearing too often. If you live in an area that gets a lot of snow I would suggest an Ariens Pro 28 a high capacity very heavy duty machine with a large gas tank that you won't have to refill to get the job done. Hope this makes sense. Good luck on your search and keep us posted.


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## JnC (Feb 21, 2014)

24" would be too small of a machine for that driveway, chief. Look for something wider than 28", my driveway is only 2 cars wide and 3 car lengths long and even I thought 24" wasnt wide enough or didnt realize till I got rid of the 24" wide honda and replaced it with a 32".


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## 351beno (Oct 12, 2017)

If your dead set on a 28sho or platinum 24 my vote goes to the 24. With the bigger motor to smaller bucket size you can use the full 24" at a faster speed and not bog down. So you may find you get done quicker than with the 28 sho. Less space to store also. The new quick stick is a lot better than the old one was.


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## rosco61 (Dec 8, 2014)

That drive needs a 32 inch blower. It's pretty big.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

My driveway is bigger than that, and im totally fine with a 24".

yes, a 28" will clear faster than a 24", and a 32" faster still..
but very people literally "need" a 28" or 32" bucket.

The difference between 24" and 28" is four inches per pass..
For a single-lane 10-foot wide driveway, the 24" will require 5 passes.
the 28" will require..5 passes!  
you only get to 4 passes with the 30" bucket.

But..how long does that one extra pass take? 2 minutes?
yes, its _technically_ faster, but my point is: for most people, the added speed is irrelevant and makes no real difference..

Unless the difference between taking 30 minutes to clear your driveway versus 35 or 40 minutes is *really* genuinely important, then the bucket widths are pretty meaningless..

It matters to commercial snow clearing companys, where time is literally money,
and it matters to people with *really* large driveways, (and IMO, Bozaks driveway isnt very large at all), but for 95% of homeowners, it doesnt really matter that much..
if you can afford to take the extra 5, 10, 15 minutes, the 24" is totally fine..

IMO, garage space is more important than driveway size, in this case, when making the snowblower size decision.

Scot


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## bozack (Dec 5, 2017)

rosco61 said:


> That drive needs a 32 inch blower. It's pretty big.


I will try to post a photo of my driveway, mine is way smaller than that, about 60 ft long and then goes into a 3 car.


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

I have a similar driveway to the photo posted. Same length but 2 car garage. A 28” machine is the right amount of big for me. 

I appreciate the 28” width primarily for doing my back yard. 28” is a nice width for walking through. I do a path to my shed, wood pile, and a maze for my dog to run around. 

I don’t like to think about snow blowing as time wasted. A smaller machine with more guts, and a better user interface pays dividends.

369cc platinum 24 > 306cc deluxe 28sho...

If your budget allows for it, the 414cc platinum 30” is a lot of machine for the value. I think $1800 vs the $1500 non efi platinum 24.

A $300 premium for the efi 369cc seems rather steep. Just saying.


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

I have a 28 in blower and used to have a 24 in, Garage space is a huge difference. 4 in does not sound like much but it is.... the couple minutes longer to get the drive done is not a big deal but storage and easy in and out of garage is as I have to park my 4 runner closer to the wall now so I still have 6 in of comfort room for the blower to come in and out.


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## Scrounger (Nov 27, 2016)

Having just spend an hour at the local Ariens dealer, looking at the Deluxe 28 SHO, Deluxe 30 and the Platinum 24 SHO side by side. I can see where the extra size of the 28 or the 30 would make a difference in storage over the 24. That being said, the dealer pointed out that for the cost the Deluxe 28 SHO is his sweet spot machine and sells more of it than another other model for homeowners. The Deluxe 30 was the second most sold unit. 

I was surprised that hear that after those two, the third most popular was the single stage Toro's. 

Matthew


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## k7mxe (Dec 8, 2017)

*28 sho*

I just bought one yesterday. First machine ever for me. It seems to be built very heavy. I got it from the local Ariens dealer in Missoula MT.
Now have to wait for snow. I will do ebay heated grips later on. Bob H Elbe Wa


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## scttq (Sep 19, 2017)

sscotsman said:


> My driveway is bigger than that, and im totally fine with a 24".
> 
> yes, a 28" will clear faster than a 24", and a 32" faster still..
> but very people literally "need" a 28" or 32" bucket.
> ...


Very much agree Scot!

Our driveway is ~125' long with 2 separate pull offs for parking. I went with a Ariens 28" SHO because that is what fits easily between the cars in the garage. I previously had a tractor with a 42" snowblower and sold it to downsize. The 42" was bulky and it really didn't same me much time, maybe 5-10 minutes at the most.


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## Top98Percent (Dec 9, 2017)

I have the 28 SHO.

2 car wide, 100' driveway with extra 2 car parking area at the top.

28 SHO is perfect for me. Makes short work of the driveway and can throw the snow over the parking area when needed.


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## pfunctional (Dec 14, 2017)

Hello,

I recently noticed an issue with my Deluxe 28 SHO where when I am going down my driveway and try to slow down, and let off the drive lever, the weight of the unit causes it to just start rolling away quickly, it does not hold itself like it were in gear at all, and I cannot down shift with the drive engaged, so there is no good way to slow down. I'm guessing this is not normal ??? I had the drive plate replaced last year under warranty.. the unit is still under warranty for another month or so..

Thanks


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