# Husqvarna ST330T review



## WeldyWeldyFace

Review of the new ST330T bought from my local husky dealer

I have got to use the machine 3 times so far, 2 fluffy snows (20 cm each) and 1 wet heavy snow that I just finished clearing a few minutes ago(25 cm). Driveway is about 220' long with a small driveway by the house and the longer portion goes to the garage. Also have to clear a large area in front of the garage (40'x40') and an area for the dogs to run and play (30'x30')

Can't say anything bad about this machine yet. Chews through the snow like butter and having the track drive with the multiple bucket options has been excellent on my long uneven gravel driveway. Hydro transmission has been super smooth and it's nice to just hit the knob with my thumb as I'm walking along to adjust the speed accordingly. The trigger assisted steering has been excellent so far; the machine turns on a dime and you don't need to throw the machine around to turn it. Heated grips are very nice; I have yet to wear gloves while using the machine. All controls have moved effortlessly and no problems yet.


My previous experience is on a 25 year old Honda hs828 track model that still works like a top...but no comparison between the 2 in terms of operator comfort and cutting through the snow. That being said who knows if the Husqvarna will be in my garage 25 years from now? But with proper maintancnce hopefully it is!

Only complaint so far would be id like to have a faster reverse speed; but again that's me used to the Honda and just throwing it around to move it faster. Oh, the drift cutters seemed to loosen up a bit with all the vibrations so I just took the off and if needed I'll put them back on for a huge snowfall.


All in all very pleased so far with the machine, last year I had to wait hours or sometimes a day to get the plow guy to come buy and he could barely make it up the driveway and of course he left a lot for me to shovel, no more of that nonsense!!


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## Fishstick487

Nice review. I'm thinking about an ST327p wheel drive. I'm curious why you chose Husqvarna vs getting another Honda? There seems to be a lot of plastic on the control unit of the Husky which I'm not too happy with. Any comments?


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## Zavie

Fishstick, don't let that plastic shroud throw you. Situated directly below that shroud is a sturdy metal plate that all the controls are fastened to. I had my shroud off recently to play around with different springs for the controls. Believe me, it's one beefy metal panel.


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## mobiledynamics

Weldy. What's the bottle underneath the control panel, right next to the ignition key.
Is that Hydro Fluid Bottle ?

------

Disregard. Downloaded the manual. It is Hydro.
Must be different tranny. 

I think when I looked at the trans. on the 324, the gearcase used ~grease~ and not oil


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## WeldyWeldyFace

Fishstick487 said:


> Nice review. I'm thinking about an ST327p wheel drive. I'm curious why you chose Husqvarna vs getting another Honda? There seems to be a lot of plastic on the control unit of the Husky which I'm not too happy with. Any comments?


The Honda is my fathers, I would loved to have gone with a Honda but they had no financing offers here and husqvarna had 0% for 36 months. Also with the Honda you had to buy sight unseen and the dealer has not been great to deal with in the past.

I was happy with the redesign of the ST330T this year and I liked it specs on paper and how I felt standing behind it. The old Honda was a few inches shorter and hard on the back (I'm 6'4"), I assume the new ones are taller but again dealers didn't have any in when I was looking. As of right now I don't mind the plastic, all the components underneath are heavy duty.


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## Fishstick487

Thanks! I have the opposite problem. Dealers will get the hss928 Honda on the showroom floor but no one will stock a higher model Husky, like the ST327p, because they claim they don't sell enough of them. It's irritating I can't see it before I would buy. I like both models, just want to be sure the HUsky would be worth the $1k savings over the Honda. I'd rather have a manual chute adjuster like on the Husky. One thing the Husky has on the lower models that I found at Lowes is the chute adjuster is little plastic notches the chute goes into when moving left or right. I worry about this plastic breaking over time. It seems the higher model Huskys like yours or the ST327p doesn't have those notches, are they metal? Can you take a close up pic of this area? Thanks


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## mobiledynamics

Fishstick, FWIW, I hemmed and hawed at this a couple months ago. Considered the HSS, SHO and the Husq. was the last on the radar. Blind brand aside, I wanted 2 things, POWER in a 24 bucket width, and Hydro. Between the 3, all of them seemed liked a compromise. SHO had power but no Hydro. Honda and Husq seemed par for the course on Hydro and Power.

Currently own a SS Honda 621.
Prior to this current home, I had both the 621 and 928.

FWIW, I went with the Husq. Bought is sight unseen....It had the Hydro, the Power Steering and I was only planning to use this for my EOD and 1 area where I have some stonework. The rest would be the 621. The price as well, well, I got a steal of a price and could have bought TWO 324P or a single 724AWD

If there was a Honda dealer I found within a 70 mile radius that I liked, that might have been a different story. In my area, most of the Honda dealers are motorsports dealers who just happen to sell snowblowers during the season. The OPE oriented dealer sold honda, mainly generators. He would order me one, but they preferred to have Orange on their floor.

I'm not sure how dealer service is important to you. If you're mechanical, it may not of consideration.

If you are not wrench prolifieric, maybe it's something to weigh in on.


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## Zavie

Here is a picture of the chute control. I played around with different springs for the detent and posted them on another thread. You can see it's all metal where you were concerned. If the manufacturer date is where I think it is on this part, it's been around for a while with virtually no wear.


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## Fishstick487

Zavie said:


> Here is a picture of the chute control. I played around with different springs for the detent and posted them on another thread. You can see it's all metal where you were concerned. If the manufacturer date is where I think it is on this part, it's been around for a while with virtually no wear.


Thanks for the picture. I'm assuming these are the metal notches below the chute adjuster handle? 

Take a look at the attached photo of a lower model Husky. Notice the plastic notices the chute adjuster handle goes into, they are all plastic. It doesn't appear the higher model Huskys, like the ST327P or 324P have these, and that the notices are metal like in the picture you showed.

Mobiledynamics - are the steering release handles metal or plastic? 

Thanks for all your input guys. Very helpful.


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## mobiledynamics

The steering levers are metal.

FWIW, and I have not seen the 200 (belly) of it but I have played with it @ Lowes. It is a night/day difference in terms of smoothness on the chute controls though. The 200 series I would say is ~silky smooth~ engaging in between the notches. The 300, it does require a bit of ~hand force~ to engage the chute. 

In the ideal world, I would want how it feels on the 200 series.

Zavie hasn posted his testing/findings as well in that big ongoing thread


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## Zavie

Here is a link to that thread started by Sparky78. Probably the longest Huskvarna thread in the history of SBF. http://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/husqvarna-snowblowers/64098-thinking-i-may-own-st324p-soon.html
As a post script, I finally got to use my HVX with the new spring and mylar washers under snowy conditions. I'm now thrilled at the results. The lever pushes down easier and the chute rotates smoother and easier than before.


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## WeldyWeldyFace

Got to use the husky again this morning but this time the EOD mess was about 36" high and hard icy snow. The machine chewed through it no problem at all, never bogged once just kept it nice and slow and let the machine do all the work. Let the wife do the majority of the driveway and she found the machine pretty easy to get use to and loved the trigger assisted steering


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## Hanky

Good to hear it is working well I was wondering about the bigger Husky machines.


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## S_trangeBrew

Always thought that was a great looking machine for the price. Tracks, trigger steering, hydro transmission, nice big 30 inch bucket. Big engine. Looks well made. 

For anyone looking for a big blower who has a Husky and a Honda dealer nearby, I think the choice between this and a 1332ATD is going to be close. The question will be, is the joystick chute control, auger protection, extra 2 inches of width and Honda GX390 engine worth 1000 dollars more?


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## SAVAGE420

S_trangeBrew said:


> Always thought that was a great looking machine for the price. Tracks, trigger steering, hydro transmission, nice big 30 inch bucket. Big engine. Looks well made.
> 
> For anyone looking for a big blower who has a Husky and a Honda dealer nearby, I think the choice between this and a 1332ATD is going to be close. The question will be, is the joystick chute control, auger protection, extra 2 inches of width and Honda GX390 engine worth 1000 dollars more?


 Nope i'll pocket the $1000 on that one. Thats a LOT of extra beers :icon-cheers:


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## BlueCollarDood

So I bought a 2015 Husky ST330T last fall. I feel it’s time to write a no bull review on it for those who are shopping around and reading reviews.

This is a great machine. It has a lot of power and cuts through really deep powder like a hot knife through butter.

Cons: REVERSE. The reverse is a bit slow if you have a long driveway… and you are in a rush for work. If you are not in a rush, its really not a big deal. The other cool part is power steering; if you can’t wait for the long back ups. The unit turns on a dime so you can just adjust your chute and keep making forward passes.

STICKY STEERING: The power steering controls are a bit sticky. You sometimes have to squeeze them 2-3 times to engage or disengage. I watched a video where a techie takes the lags clean off and sprays a dry graphite lubricant in the mechanisms pre-season and says it will stop this. I haven’t tried this trick yet.

Chute up/down cable: this sometimes freezes up right on the side of the chute. Its far away from the heat of the engine… i imagine deicer would be a quick fix… but again, such a mild inconvenience, I don’t bother.

pros:

hand warming grips!

crazy bright LED working light!

LAGS that drive through and over anything, watch out for neighbors pets!!!

sturdy heavy machine,(front end does not raise)!

adjustable scoop angle (foot control)! (Side note reverse is a bit faster if you take a second to lift the scoop up off the skid shoes).

‘heavy duty’ OEM skid shoes, i hot rodded my rig with the 400 line skid shoes that are available. Makes for an even better experience, mind you they are metal, so it makes it a bit more hands on intensive when operating.

Overall 4 out of 5 from me.


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