# Need help deciding on a new Ariens Snowblower



## whereami (Sep 4, 2014)

TLDR: Should I get the Ariens Platinum 30, Professional 32, HydroPro 32 or HydroPro 36??

Hi - I'm pretty new to the forum... have been lurking for a few weeks to get as much of your wisdom as possible. I've narrowed down my search for a new snowblower to Ariens, but need guidance about which one to choose. So, I've decided to finally come out of the shadows and ask for your insight. 

I currently have a 5 year old Toro Power Max 826LE. It's been a good machine, but I'd like something a bit more robust... and I want Auto-Turn because I'm tired of wrestling with the Toro fixed axle every time I need to turn around. I'd also like to spend less time cleaning the driveway. I'll just sell this machine on CL.

My driveway is approximately 3000 square feet... about 200 feet in total length. Part of the driveway curves. Half the driveway is a moderate slope. 

I like the Ariens because they seem like a good value, I like the Auto-Turn and the heated grips. I started looking at the Platinum 30, but have decided to step up to the Pro. The more I've been looking, the HydroPro 32 seems like a neat machine that make cleaning the driveway less of a chore. My local dealer is selling the HydroPro 32 for $2999. However, I could step up to the HydroPro 36 for $3099.

So, here are my questions:
1) Is it worth it to get a HydroPro 36 instead of a 32 for $100 more? Is the 36 maneuverable or is it a beast to handle?

2) HydroPro transmission seems like a nice feature... to smoothly change speed and direction at whim. Is it worth it... or should I really just be looking at the Professional 32 without the fancy transmission? 

3) Am I going way overboard and have I been sucked in by the slick marketing? Should I just stick with the original plan and get a Platinum 30? 

Thanks for helping out!

Ryan


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## superedge88 (Nov 26, 2013)

whereami said:


> TLDR: Should I get the Ariens Platinum 30, Professional 32, HydroPro 32 or HydroPro 36??
> 
> Hi - I'm pretty new to the forum... have been lurking for a few weeks to get as much of your wisdom as possible. I've narrowed down my search for a new snowblower to Ariens, but need guidance about which one to choose. So, I've decided to finally come out of the shadows and ask for your insight.
> 
> ...


I don't own an ariens hydro, but I have a hydro Honda. I love the hydro, and would definitely recommend it to anybody. You'll cut down on time spent working because you don't have to stop every time you need to switch gears. Good luck in your decision!


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

ALOHA to the forms...


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## loneraider (Oct 26, 2013)

I don't own a hydro anything but I do own a deluxe 28 with the trigger-auto-turn, heated grips,meltbuddy,& led's. I bought this unit only slightly used and right now I have about a $ 1000.00 into it. Its a **** of a machine
and will tackle almost any major snowfall. With your driveway in mind you could get a deluxe 30 ,platinum 30,32. and be pretty happy & save yourself some coin.

ARIENS PLATINIUM ST30DLE

Ariens 921029 Platinum ST30DLE 30" 369cc Two-Stage Snow Blower


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## Kielbasa (Dec 21, 2013)

Well it doesn't sound like money is an object for you and I am going to bet that space and storing one of these machines isn't a problem either. Why not just consider a 28" machine? A little smaller and easier to handle.


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## whereami (Sep 4, 2014)

Thanks for the replies. My budget is around $3000. But if I spend only half that I'd be quite pleased. Yeah, I have the space for a 36 in machine. I currently have the 26 in Toro and want something bigger to clear the drive faster. Just seems to take too long now. This is why I was looking at the 30 - 36 in range. I like the idea of Honda but seems like the tracks are a real pain to maneuver in the 32 in. Plus no heated grips. 

@Kielbasa - You mention I should get a 28 in machine. I'm wondering if 2 inches will really make much difference over my current 26 in?


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## cabinfever (Sep 2, 2014)

superedge88 said:


> I don't own an ariens hydro, but I have a hydro Honda. I love the hydro, and would definitely recommend it to anybody. You'll cut down on time spent working because you don't have to stop every time you need to switch gears. Good luck in your decision!


If I was in the market for a hydro, I would've went Honda. I like the engine better than the China ones.


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## coobie (Aug 25, 2014)

cabinfever said:


> If I was in the market for a hydro, I would've went Honda. I like the engine better than the China ones.


IMHO,China/Japan what is the real difference


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## cabinfever (Sep 2, 2014)

coobie said:


> IMHO,China/Japan what is the real difference


My positive experiences with two Honda mowers and a Honda generator vs lack of experience with engines from LCT. That's the difference.


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## coobie (Aug 25, 2014)

cabinfever said:


> My positive experiences with two Honda mowers and a Honda generator vs lack of experience with engines from LCT. That's the difference.


I have 1 Honda push mower,Honda gen 2000i,2 Honda hs520 snow blowers,honda mantis tiller,and Honda weed whip.Had good luck with all.That said I have also had the same good luck with my briggs engines on my other equipment.


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## Kielbasa (Dec 21, 2013)

My Ariens is a (24"). My driveways longest stretch is 100' from the street up to the left garage with a width of 10'6". If I took full swipes, I would have to make 6 passes no matter what with that extra 6". But since I have been using this machine, I have always done the first 24" swipe and then the 1/2 to 3/4 swipes. All this does is add more more swipe for me. 

If you use a 30" machine, it'd take 5 passes and a 36" machine would take 4. I think a 28" machine would basically work out the same as the 30".

I guess my thinking is............ do those 2-3 less passes make up for the price difference, the handling, the storage of the machine and the toll on your body as you get older? Now I know a lot of guys have longer driveways then I do, but they probably have a lot more area for easier clearing. To me, that would be a pleasure then to deal with obstructions with a 100' driveway. 

Now someone correct me if I am wrong, but all of these impellers are 14" now, correct? I just like the idea of the amount of snow going through the impeller area from a 28" grab then a 30", 32" or a 36". 

I side with a 28" machine. 







whereami said:


> Thanks for the replies. My budget is around $3000. But if I spend only half that I'd be quite pleased. Yeah, I have the space for a 36 in machine. I currently have the 26 in Toro and want something bigger to clear the drive faster. Just seems to take too long now. This is why I was looking at the 30 - 36 in range. I like the idea of Honda but seems like the tracks are a real pain to maneuver in the 32 in. Plus no heated grips.
> 
> @Kielbasa - You mention I should get a 28 in machine. I'm wondering if 2 inches will really make much difference over my current 26 in?


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## cabinfever (Sep 2, 2014)

Kielbasa said:


> My Ariens is a (24"). My driveways longest stretch is 100' from the street up to the left garage with a width of 10'6". If I took full swipes, I would have to make 6 passes no matter what with that extra 6". But since I have been using this machine, I have always done the first 24" swipe and then the 1/2 to 3/4 swipes. All this does is add more more swipe for me.


A wider machine means you can often do sidewalks in one pass vs two as well. But I also went 28", because it felt more "bucket heavy" than the 24".


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

coobie said:


> IMHO,China/Japan what is the real difference


Face it China is the new Japan. *At one time (1950's and 1960's) all Japanese products were considered junk too and then the 1973 Arab Oil embargo crisis happened and all of a sudden America started buying Japenese cars for better fuel efficiency. The public bought them and found out that they were of good quaility and were reliable such as the Honda Civic for example. *

Also American automobile manufacturers answer to Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla was the poorly designed and engineered Chevy Vega and the Ford Pinto.

*I have 3 HF Predator 212cc engines and all 3 of them are so much better running and easier to start and soo much quieter and more powerful engines than the POS flat head Tecumseh that came on my old 1996 model year MTD snow blower. *The Predator engines are a modern OHV engine that is based upon the Honda Small OHV engine design. (Honda Clones) They have Cast iron cylinder sleeves and dual ball bearing supported crank shafts and they start and run just like the Honda engines. *Honda took it's expertise learned from manufacturing motorcycle engines and built a high quality well engineered small compact OHV engine that totally changed how small engines are built.* 
Do you see any Flat head engines being built anymore! 

I for one am no fan of the old flat head tempermental issues with tuning the carburetor Tecumseh engines that were renown for blowing connecting rods at RPMs at slightly over stock 3600rpms or if they run low on oil. Both Tecumseh and to a lesser extent Briggs and Stratton made their fortunes by making engines as cheaply as they could and enjoyed a virtual monopoly until Honda started making their Fine OHV engines back in the late 1980's. *Tecumseh failed because they were complacent and their products were not up to the quality standards of their competition.* They kept making the same old stuff (flat head engines) and failed to innovate and improve the quaility of their product. Tecumseh's first OHV engines were also plagued with an innefective compression release mechanism and were renowned for kicking back and in some cases even injuring people when the pull start handle was ripped out of their hands. They were slow to improve their products and the fix to the compression release problem was an expensive new camshaft that would fix it for awhile if you were lucky.

*I say if your Tecumseh runs fine enjoy it while it lasts becuase as Jackmels and I say they are unfortunately known to be tempermental with their carburation and I am a busy man and I do not have time to waste putzing around with poor running engines. *

*I have 2 Briggs and Stratton engines on my 2 lawn mowers and both of them run great and start easily so I will keep them.*

*The Tecumseh had to go because it never stayed in tune and was hard to start and ended up running like crap no matter how well I maintained it and I bought it new and maintained it very well throughout the years.*

*I also run full synthetic Amsoil in all my engines and I change the oil yearly on my snowblower and 2 times a season on my lawn mowers. I also clean the carburetors and put in a fresh new spark plug yearly in all my equipment. By the way I also own 2 older Polaris snowmobiles and an old Tigershark Personal watercraft and an old outboard 50hp boat engine on my boat. I do all my own maintanece on these too so I sure the **** know what I am talking about plus I even did maitanence for a Lawn service and Landscaping company back in my College days and we had no Tecumseh's engines on any of our equipment since the co-owner of the company Randy was a mechanic by trade and the Kawasaki engines were far better runners on the commercial ZTR hydrostatic tansmission lawn mowers and were far more mechanically reliable than the Briggs commericial engines by far. Tecumseh didn't even have presence here in this busy company. We also had 2 Honda engines one was on the Seed spreader machine and the other was on the Yard aerator machine and they always ran great and started easily too. *


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Call me old fashioned. Call me too patriotic. Call me foolish... Call me what you choose but *I refuse to buy from a country that uses forced child labor.* Not being political.I just happen to care about children. I'll keep taking time to repair my old flat head engines and pray the Tecumsehs' hold together. Not limited to blowers. I try my best to buy american when I possibly can and there is a choice. But, I'm just a dumb old hick from Wv. What do I know?


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

Joe Yes I likewise do try and buy American made when I can. Unfortunately that is becoming more and more difficult. Cheap labor from Central America and South east Asia has lead to companies that used to manufacture goods here in the USA to relocate to other countries such as China. On paper China claims that they forbid child labor in children under 16 years of age but it is seldom enforced especially in the low cost consumer goods market. They ranked #20 on the list of countries as compile by Maplecroft as the worst countries for Child labor. 

My main beef with Tecumseh is that they simply took the American consumer for granted and they became complacent and failed to innovate and improve their engines design. Unfortunately not all American made products are the best in the world and many of those companies that had made poor products have either failed like Tecumseh or been forced to improve their products and become competitive again such as the remaining American Automobile manufacturers. We live in a Global economy now and the only way American Companies can compete is by developing good brand loyalty much like what Honda and Toyota have done and stand behind their products. American Manufacturing companies should strive to make the best Products in the world. I agree that the average consumer goes in to China-Mart and buys the cheapest of the cheap stuff does not help our remaining Manufacturers survive. Despite that pressure their are still American Manufacturing sucess stories and hopefully they will continue to thrive. So kudos for buying American products when there is a choice. I own many American made tools and I am willing to pay a premium for the Made in the USA. Too bad there are no more small engine manufacturing based in America anymore.


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## KpaxFAQ (Aug 30, 2014)

coobie said:


> IMHO,China/Japan what is the real difference


What is the difference between a GX commercial grade Honda engine or a aluminum Chinese engine? If you have to ask, you'll never understand. IMO for most people it's about quality more then "American made". Chinese made usually = lesser quality. 

Beside quality I like that Honda doesn't sell out to cheapen a product and makes their own high quality product in-house. They've actually started making more and more products at their USA plant because wages here are competitive with wages in Japan so it saves on logistics. I'm a working guy so yeah I'll pay more for quality and knowing it wasn't made with slave labor. 

I kinda felt greasey when I was looking for blowers and discovered Arien's house-brand engine was actually a Chinese motor. The fact that LCT is American-owned and their headquarters is here and they decide to manufacture overseas sours it even more for me. 

Although in my homework the 420CC Briggs motor on the pro series Ariens is in fact USA made still. Other briggs motors are not. Shame on them, but hey if we keep buying cheap goods made abroad with borderline slave labor, they'll keep making them.


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## uberT (Dec 29, 2013)

KpaxFAQ said:


> Although in my homework the 420CC Briggs motor on the pro series Ariens is in fact USA made still. Other briggs motors are not. Shame on them, but hey if we keep buying cheap goods made abroad with borderline slave labor, they'll keep making them.


One of the senior guys here made a statement earlier this year saying all engines for snow blowers come from China now.

Personally, from a mfg viewpoint, I'd never agree that China = Japan.

Japan is known for hi-quality in terms of electronics, optics, cars, motorcycles and more. Possibly the finest available anywhere.


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## cabinfever (Sep 2, 2014)

uberT said:


> One of the senior guys here made a statement earlier this year saying all engines for snow blowers come from China now.
> 
> Personally, from a mfg viewpoint, I'd never agree that China = Japan.
> 
> Japan is known for hi-quality in terms of electronics, optics, cars, motorcycles and more. Possibly the finest available anywhere.


For electronics this isn't true anymore, I don't think Sony even makes their own TV panels anymore. Could Japan make an iPhone? I don't know.


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

uberT said:


> One of the senior guys here made a statement earlier this year saying all engines for snow blowers come from China now.
> 
> Personally, from a mfg viewpoint, I'd never agree that China = Japan.
> 
> Japan is known for hi-quality in terms of electronics, optics, cars, motorcycles and more. Possibly the finest available anywhere.


Yes that is true. However at one time Japanese goods were considered to be of inferior quality. China is becoming the manufacturing giant of the world. It makes many goods that are sold in retailers throughout the world. Most of the products are of marginal quality but not all are necessary junk. Even a few of the products are of very good to excellent quality. I am saying that China is changing too and not everything that is made over their is junk.


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## vmaxed (Feb 23, 2014)

uberT said:


> One of the senior guys here made a statement earlier this year saying all engines for snow blowers come from China now.
> 
> Personally, from a mfg viewpoint, I'd never agree that China = Japan.
> 
> Japan is known for hi-quality in terms of electronics, optics, cars, motorcycles and more. Possibly the finest available anywhere.


I agree


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

KpaxFAQ said:


> What is the difference between a GX commercial grade Honda engine or a aluminum Chinese engine? If you have to ask, you'll never understand. IMO for most people it's about quality more then "American made". Chinese made usually = lesser quality.
> 
> Beside quality I like that Honda doesn't sell out to cheapen a product and makes their own high quality product in-house. They've actually started making more and more products at their USA plant because wages here are competitive with wages in Japan so it saves on logistics. I'm a working guy so yeah I'll pay more for quality and knowing it wasn't made with slave labor.
> 
> ...


If Warren Buffet has his way we could soon be seeing Chinese automobiles for sale here in the USA. He is partnering with a company in China that makes automobiles. Trying to compete with China is nearly impossible because the Chinese Government manipulates their currency so their goods are cheaper than anybody elses. Also they do not have nearly any anti-pollution regulations and the people their are drowing in their own air/water born toxic pollution. *Also CEO's of American Multinational companies outsource all their high priced American labor and with the money saved from paying the Chinese pennies on the dollar for what they pay our workers here in the USA they pay themselves a big fat bonu$ at the end of the year.* Sucks but it has been done that way for years. Even at one time back in the 1950's and 1960"s Japan was used for it's at the time it's low price labor. I am only 50 but even I know that. Japan wasn't always a high tech modern industrial wonder. I have a Friend from highschool who married a Japanese woman and he lives near Nagasaki. I went to visit them for a 10 day vacation 10 years ago. I even went to the peace park in Nagasaki and stood at the ruins that remained in the park at the epicenter of were the bomb detonated 1000 feet overhead.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Japapn also developed their own technology. China *stole* virtually all of theirs. You can buy de walt tools and stihl chain saws that look absolutely identical and weigh the same as the real machines but they are cheap copycats. China steals. I don't believe Japan did that. And again, china pollutes *tons*. Their air quality is about non existent. Child labor...
These are some of the reasons I try not to buy chinese. If anyone chooses to that's your business. And, as I said earlier, I am forced to buy some chinese items but even then I'll probably buy used before buying new. Just my humble 2¢.


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## GustoGuy (Nov 19, 2012)

micah68kj said:


> Japapn also developed their own technology. China *stole* virtually all of theirs. You can buy de walt tools and stihl chain saws that look absolutely identical and weigh the same as the real machines but they are cheap copycats. China steals. I don't believe Japan did that. And again, china pollutes *tons*. Their air quality is about non existent. Child labor...
> These are some of the reasons I try not to buy chinese. If anyone chooses to that's your business. And, as I said earlier, I am forced to buy some chinese items but even then I'll probably buy used before buying new. Just my humble 2¢.


My Brother in-law is into Shaolin Kung Fu (2nd degree black belt) and he went to China back in 1994 with his Martial arts teacher who is Chinese and He seen Fake Gucci Bags and Fake Rolex's watches and Fake Pilot pens and other assorted so called fake high class stuff. He said they also had fake VHS movies dirt cheap too. He said that they do tend to copy just about everything but they do have some of thier own high quaility stuff such as martial arts tools that they made and other stuff like high quality painted glassware and ceramics and assorted stuff. Even some very nice musical interments are even made in China. At least China makes stuff unlike Russia. Unfortunately they tend to steal stuff and copy stuff exactly trade marks and all and try to sell them as the real thing in conterfiting. China's ecomomy and our economy are woven together in a strange way. They unfortunately have become the manufacturing center for the retail establishments of the world since nobody can make it for less money than they can. At least not legaly or with out polluting the enviroment badly


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## whereami (Sep 4, 2014)

I'm the OP and my original question about which Ariens to buy has turned into an interesting discussion about China vs. Japan. I know Honda (Japan) makes a good product, so I went to check out the Honda blowers yesterday. They are nice machines, but I don't like that they do not have heated grips and do not help with steering (disengaging a wheel). Those are two features I don't have now on my Toro that I would like in my next blower. And how the heck do you turn the Honda track drive without steering help? It seems like it would be a more intense workout than a triathlon. Haha.

I think someone mentioned the Ariens Pro has the B&S engine made in America. I like that. So, I'll probably stick with the Ariens Pro line, but need to decide if I want hydrostatic transmission versus the traditional friction plate. *On the hydro, do you need to disengage the clutch to move from forward to reverse and back to forward? *


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## 94EG8 (Feb 13, 2014)

GustoGuy said:


> Face it China is the new Japan.


To a large extent, they just haven't started developing a lot of their own brands and technologies. The Chinese _can_ build great stuff, but you don't see a lot of it. Most or all of Hitachi's current consumer grade power tools are made in China and they're made very well.



GustoGuy said:


> I for one am no fan of the old flat head tempermental issues with tuning the carburetor Tecumseh engines that were renown for blowing connecting rods at RPMs at slightly over stock 3600rpms or if they run low on oil. Both Tecumseh and to a lesser extent Briggs and Stratton made their fortunes by making engines as cheaply as they could and enjoyed a virtual monopoly until Honda started making their Fine OHV engines back in the late 1980's. *Tecumseh failed because they were complacent and their products were not up to the quality standards of their competition.* They kept making the same old stuff (flat head engines) and failed to innovate and improve the quaility of their product.


I have worked on quite literally hundreds of Tecumseh engines on snowblowers and lawn tractors. What really did Tecumseh in were new emissions standards that they're ancient designs couldn't pass and their lawn tractor engines were flat out junk. But yes, Tecumseh's will as a rule vibrate, rattle, and pop from the exhaust. They frequently throw rods, the carburetors either wont stay adjusted on an older machine with mixture screws, or on a fixed jet setup they're jetted so lean you have to run with the choke on the first notch far longer than you should need to. Some are a lot smoother than others though. The only thing really nice about them is they're easy to work on and there's a great degree of parts interchangeability. 

For what it's worth you can make a very reliable, smooth, quiet flathead. The old 14, 16, and 18hp Briggs & Stratton twin cylinder opposed engines are a great example, or even the larger syncro-balanced single cylinder engines.



GustoGuy said:


> Tecumseh's first OHV engines were also plagued with an innefective compression release mechanism and were renowned for kicking back and in some cases even injuring people when the pull start handle was ripped out of their hands. They were slow to improve their products and the fix to the compression release problem was an expensive new camshaft that would fix it for awhile if you were lucky.


The problem was the timing was too far advanced. The fix was to retard the timing one tooth on the camshaft, which is absolutely ridiculous when you think about it. It does work though, I've done a couple of them, It totally fixes the issue and there isn't any power loss like you would expect.



micah68kj said:


> Japapn also developed their own technology. China *stole* virtually all of theirs.


Japan borrowed or licensed some US technology and then improved it, or rather Toyota did. I think Honda more or less designed everything from scratch. Toyota had some sort of deal with GM where they licensed the stovebolt 6 design and them modified it slightly. Their rear ends also borrow somewhat from the basic Ford 9" design, although I don't know if they borrowed that or came up with it on their own, there's only so many ways to make a rear end.


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## Kielbasa (Dec 21, 2013)

Not where I live, it takes 3 passes to clear our walks with my 24". 



cabinfever said:


> A wider machine means you can often do sidewalks in one pass vs two as well. But I also went 28", because it felt more "bucket heavy" than the 24".


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## Normex (Feb 21, 2014)

whereami said:


> I'm the OP and my original question about which Ariens to buy has turned into an interesting discussion about China vs. Japan. I know Honda (Japan) makes a good product, so I went to check out the Honda blowers yesterday. They are nice machines, but I don't like that they do not have heated grips and do not help with steering (disengaging a wheel). Those are two features I don't have now on my Toro that I would like in my next blower. And how the heck do you turn the Honda track drive without steering help? It seems like it would be a more intense workout than a triathlon. Haha.
> 
> I think someone mentioned the Ariens Pro has the B&S engine made in America. I like that. So, I'll probably stick with the Ariens Pro line, but need to decide if I want hydrostatic transmission versus the traditional friction plate. *On the hydro, do you need to disengage the clutch to move from forward to reverse and back to forward? *


 Can anyone please address this poster's question.


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## cabinfever (Sep 2, 2014)

whereami said:


> I think someone mentioned the Ariens Pro has the B&S engine made in America. I like that.


There are no two-stage machines with engines made in the US anymore as of 2014. You can still get the 2013 model, Ariens 921036, from McHenry Power Equipment in Illinois. This is a Deluxe 28 with a 342cc Briggs & Stratton Pro Series engine that is made in the US. Less than a thousand of these we're made, and they are almost gone.


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## peisnowguy (Jan 19, 2014)

I bought a Platinum 30" in the middle of last Winter and was so glad I did. I had a 30" Craftman before that and had it for 16 years and the Ariens is just so powerful and blew wet snow so easily, I don't regret one day buying it. As far as the size, 30" is great for me and I have a very long driveway. It cut my time clearing the driveway and I can blow the snow so much farther. My driveway is L shaped and the top part is almost like a parking lot, so I like to be able blow a long distance to save having to blow it again and again. I know the neighbor across the road has a 40 inch walk behind blower and I helped him some last Winter and could blow snow alot faster. He was having to take half the width of his blower and I was taking my whole width and still going faster than him.


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

whereami said:


> I'm the OP and my original question about which Ariens to buy has turned into an interesting discussion about China vs. Japan. I know Honda (Japan) makes a good product, so I went to check out the Honda blowers yesterday. They are nice machines, but I don't like that they do not have heated grips and do not help with steering (disengaging a wheel). Those are two features I don't have now on my Toro that I would like in my next blower. And how the heck do you turn the Honda track drive without steering help? It seems like it would be a more intense workout than a triathlon. Haha.
> 
> I think someone mentioned the Ariens Pro has the B&S engine made in America. I like that. So, I'll probably stick with the Ariens Pro line, but need to decide if I want hydrostatic transmission versus the traditional friction plate. *On the hydro, do you need to disengage the clutch to move from forward to reverse and back to forward? *


Well, since I do not own a hydro track-specfic, but rather one of the rare mechanical tracks. For me, it is really a technic of allowing one track to slide and the other to power around. With the minimal amount of ground pressure that the tracks apply, it is amazing how it tends to slide versus grip, when directed. But my machine is probably a lot smaller and lighter than what you are considering. 

And, yes if there was any area that Honda could continue to improve, it is in the areas that that you have specific questions in. Specifically in the areas of steering, considering the weight of the hydro machines. They are not light, by any measure, steering via a braked differential would handy.


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## whereami (Sep 4, 2014)

@Normex - Thanks for helping us get back on track. No pun intended. 

@peisnowguy - Interesting comment you made about the Platinum 30. Even though it was the same size as your Craftsman, the more powerful Ariens made the clearing a lot faster. It's helpful to know.

@db9938 - Thanks for the comments about the track. Its good to know that the heavier machine will probably require more "manhandling." I have areas of my driveway that require a number of quick 180 degree turns and the steering is important. I wish Honda would step up their game and offer some of the new features. 

I'm still sorting out my decision, but hope to pull the trigger in the next week. Snow's coming... I can feel it in my bones. LOL


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