# New Compact 22



## DuffyJr (Oct 15, 2015)

My MTD is getting old just doesn't have the power it use to. After reading all you guys putting new engines on these old blowers got me wanting to do it but I just don't have the skill set to do it my self since it involves going from a two shaft to a one shaft motor so I figured by the time I bought all the parts needed and had to pay someone to do it I'd be over half way to a new one. The other reason for wanting to keep mine is garage space is at a premium at my house and anything bigger would really be pushing it. l only have 2 to 5 inches between blower and car depending on how the wife pulls in and I would hate to scratch her caddy. But I need/want a new blower so I decided on the Ariens compact 24 or the deluxe. I have an implement here in town I've been buying my Toro mowers from for years and he sells Arines and of course Toros so I decide to go see him and look at them first hand. He pulled out a compact 24 and a deluxe 24 and I have to say I was impressed right away, these are awesome looking and look like their built like small tanks. As we were talking I mentioned my space concerns and he smiled and said he thought he had a compact 22 in the box yet that he kind of forgot about. After confirming he had a couple of them he shot me a price of $750 setup and delivered. Hes going to get one out and put it together this week and call me. He did mention it had the AX Ariens 208cc.

My main reason for posting here is after I came home to research them I see these 22's have been discontinued so what I'm worried about is in 10 years am I going to be able to get parts that are only meant for this model?

And is $750 a good price for this model, there really isn't much on line for pricing on these.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I can still get parts for my two Ariens, 1969 & 1976. Can't guarantee anything but Ariens has done a really good job of providing information and parts so far.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

I would make sure the compacts he has are not the ones with one forward speed and one reverse. one reverse might be ok but one forward speed is going to be awful slow going, just imagine your mtd stuck in first gear


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## DuffyJr (Oct 15, 2015)

Good to hear on the parts. I guess the shave plate is what I was worried about the most since I had to replace it every 4 or 5 years on the MTD.

I will defiantly check that out detdrbuzzard, my drive way is two cars wide and just over 110 feet from garage door to curb so a one speeder will not work.

I'm still a little concerned about the price since its a discontinued item. Any one have any thoughts on his $750 assembled and delivered offer?. Since I only live a little over 13 blocks from his shop its not a big deal. Before I had my pickup he came and got my mower when the carb started leaking because all I had was a bronco and I didn't want it leaking in the back.


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## jermar (Dec 10, 2014)

I was disappointed when I heard it was discontinued. I have not heard of any problems with this model, but I did see some concern about a plastic gear. Perhaps the Ariens gurus can shed some light.


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## craquer (Dec 14, 2014)

I still like mine, a 2014 model with the AX208 which is a generic LCT 208cc Winter Gen II. I bought it for the same reason as you, to ensure I can get the blower in/out of the garage without playing car Jenga. As _Kiss4AFrog_ said, Ariens seems to do a lot for parts availability I wouldn't be worried about buying it. Although one of those Ariens SHO 24" would be tempting if it would fit in the space.

Your results will vary, but I've got a small 2x2 driveway, the 6F/2R speeds are nice to have, although for blowing I'm pretty slow so I use the slowest forward and occasionally the slowest reverse if I'm too lazy to pull the unit backwards myself. If I had a longer/wider drive then using the other forward speeds would come into play.


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## DuffyJr (Oct 15, 2015)

jermar said:


> I was disappointed when I heard it was discontinued. I have not heard of any problems with this model, but I did see some concern about a plastic gear. Perhaps the Ariens gurus can shed some light.


I seen that mentioned on a site but have only seen a couple reviewers mention problems with it so it must be a pretty tough piece of plastic but welcome any comments. In fact of all the sites/forums I've been to and I've been researching this on and off all weekend, there are only a hand full of bad reviews. Most with starting issues but I would guess its user error either over pumping the bulb or not enough. The guy selling it already went over that with me, he said to choke first and pull a couple times and if it doesn't start push the primer a couple times and it should start on the next couple pulls, he said they flood easy because of how lean they run. The other issue was the friction disc coming apart but noticing the date on the posts was pre 2013 so I'm guessing they have that corrected. The one they have has the AX Ariens motor so it has to be 2014 or newer if I'm remember correctly. 

Craquer since you have one of these can you tell me if $750 setup and delivered is in the ball park. Not that it matters I guess I will buy it from him anyway just for the service he has provided me with on my Toro mowers. And I hear you about the 24 SHO, if I had the room I would have at least the compact 24. I would love to have control of the chute deflector on the dash and the size of my drive way would justify having the bigger one.


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