# Honda HS1132TA vs Ariens ST1032



## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)

*Honda HS1132TA tracked vs. Ariens ST1032 wheeled*

These are the only snow blowers I have ever owned, so these are the ones I am going to compare. That may not be a "fair" comparison, but it is a real comparison of my experience of their differences in my application.

I have a sloped dirt driveway at 6,700 ft. elevation in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, off of US Hwy 50, just West of Echo Summit.

*"Winter Snow Depth

*"Sierra Nevada" is Spanish for "Snowy Range" and the Sierra Nevada lives up to it's name, recording some of the heaviest snow falls in the world. Some interesting records include:


1 day snowfall: 67 inches (5.6 ft.) at Echo Summit, Jan 4, 1982 (2nd in US)
Single storm snowfall: 186.6 inches (15.6 ft.) at Donner Summit, 1982 (2nd in US)
1 month snowfall: 390 inches (32.5 ft.) at Tamarack, Jan. 1991 (US record)
Total winter snowfall: 884 inches (73.7 ft.) Tamarack, 1906-07
Greatest snow depth: 451 inches (37.6 ft.) at Tamarack, Mar. 11, 1911 (US record)
Highest average March snow depth: 108 inches (9 ft.) at Echo Summit
As you would expect, snowfall in the Sierra increases with elevation. The lower foothills only rarely receive any measurable snow. Middle elevations receive a mix of snow and rain during the winter. Above about 6000 ft., the majority of precipitation falls as snow. It is not unusual, in some locations, to have ten feet of snow on the ground for extended periods." 

Winter Snow Depths in the Sierra Nevada 

I bought a great condition, great running Ariens ST1032 in April of last year to use this season. 

It worked great the first time I used it this season, in retrospect, primarily because it was new snow ~16" - 18" of the same powdery consistency.

Then it snowed again and rained followed by 2 feet of new snow. Last weekend I was unable to blow snow effectively because the wheeled ST1032 would pivot on the wheels and the auger housing would ride up over the snow and then the chained tires would bury themselves in ruts. Replacing the friction disc helped reverse immensely, but it was a struggle just to retrieve the machine when the tires would get buried.

This week I bought a used Honda HS1132TA tracked snow blower. Yes, it could ride up and the tracks could bury themselves in the snow, but nothing compared to the ST1032 wheeled unit. Rather, for most of the time the tracks would stay on top of the snow and the auger housing, if I let the machine do the work, would face forward eating the snow and throwing it much farther than the ST1032. 

Because a tracked machine presents less lbs./foot to the snow, it floats on top of the snow better than a wheeled unit. This "float" allows for blowing over the same area repeatedly (although unfortunately some packing/compression of the snow is added with each pass). For 6 hours today, I did laps with the Honda HS1132TA (I am now in love with that machine). I vertically cut 3 to 4 foot bank walls to the dirt with a square point shovel and then ate the snow away with the HS1132TA. 

I was afraid to get too close to the dirt with the HS1132TA because it is apparently known for having a thin impeller housing and while I tried to avoid it, when my passes got closer to the dirt, I did start throwing some rocks.

So, I tried to skim the dirt with the Ariens ST1032 with chains. It has thick heavy metal and although not made to throw rocks, can handle the punishment much better. But even when most of the snow was removed, it would more often than not run up and over the now set up snow but not truly ice, rather than through it. 

I have come to the conclusion that the Ariens ST1032 must be a great concrete driveway machine at someone's primary residence who can get out the day after the storm and blow, and the ST1032 will blow that stuff away. 

But for a remote recreational residence where it dumps 2 feet at a time, and then may rain or solidify with sun and then snow another foot before the homeowner, such as me has the opportunity to blow, a tracked machine is the way to go.

I am now looking for a "beater" tracked Craftsman or other tracked machine to handle the last few passes of blowing as I get closer to the dirt and for end of driveway where the plow has mixed rocks with ice and dirt.

A couple of notes on ergonomics. The handles on the HS1132TA are too low for me while the ST1032 are the right height. The HS1132TA chute rotator crank is below the handles and is, thus, way too low for me and the chute crank is counter to chute rotation. The ST103 chute rotator is on the dash board and easy to use and rotation right moves the chute to the right. The chute deflectors for both are on the dashboard and equally easy to use. The chute freezes in place easier on the HS1132TA than on the ST1032 and I thought I was going to strip the HS1132TA's worm gear. But it heats up and thaws quickly after a few minutes of idle or running and works fine thereafter.

My conclusion: Tracks are the way to go for a sloped dirt driveway which the homeowner will often not have the opportunity to get out and blow right after the storm.


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## bwdbrn1 (Nov 24, 2010)

Great to have an honest to goodness side by side of two similarly sized machines from two different manufactures, and to compare wheeled against tracked under the same conditions.

Only thing that could make this better is some pictures and videos of them at work.


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## SnowG (Dec 5, 2014)

Good review and comparison. I agree about the Honda HS controls. They addressed that in the new HSS version and that's the main reason to upgrade to the newer model IMHO.


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## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)

One more observation of the Ariens ST1032. The auger housing is very close to the wheels as compared to some other wheeled snow blowers, for instance the Toro Power Shift. 

This closeness has the effect of shaving off the powder snow which would otherwise have clumped up on the tire chains.

But I think that the design may also exacerbate the "pivoting up" of the auger housing. 

Possibly this pivoting action could be countered by adding weight to the auger housing. But for a homeowner who can't blow the snow regularly and may have to make multiple passes over the same area to get down to grade level, weight reduces float, and increases the likelihood that wheels will dig in and the machine will get stuck.

But for a homeowner with a concrete driveway who can blow relatively soon after the storm, adding weight to the auger housing would likely make the ST1032 even a more awesome machine.


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## S_trangeBrew (Jan 12, 2016)

Nice detailed comparison of wheeled vs. tracked, thank you.

The new Honda's eliminate all the issues you have with the 1132. The electric chute controls are fast and smooth and the handlebars are higher (I think they lengthened those when they change from 1132 to 1332)


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## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)

http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...ute-crank-tall-handlebar-kits-truckee-ca.html


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## ELaw (Feb 4, 2015)

E350 said:


> One more observation of the Ariens ST1032. The auger housing is very close to the wheels as compared to some other wheeled snow blowers, for instance the Toro Power Shift.


Yeah one thing I can't get over with mine is it seems proportionally very "stubby". It reminds me a bit of these:









I wonder if the shortness also hurts directional stability. As I think I've discussed elsewhere, while I haven't had the chance to use this machine in serious snow yet, I previously had a 10,000-series 32-incher that was a real bear to keep going in a straight line, even with the diff locked.

Of course the benefit of this is reduced storage space. If it were 8" longer, I'd have to find a different (and worse) place to keep it in the garage.


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## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)

*ELaw*: I know someone (maybe *dbert*?) suggested that it had poor directional stability. First, yes it does turn/hook into the next bank of snow when you are initiating your next lateral pass, but once you get it augered in you can straighten it and keep it cutting straight without any effort. In fact, I think a longer machine would have more leverage working against you to keep it going straight, but I have no experience with a machine that wide with more room between the wheels and the auger housing. And I really think that adding weight to the auger housing would improve directional stability as well, but again just speculation based on my limited experience with the machine.

Again, relatively new snow of the same relative consistency, especially with a concrete driveway under it, the ST1032 will, IMHO, kick ass. I look forward to your report.


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## E350 (Apr 21, 2015)

Comparing the transmissions:

The Ariens ST1032 wheeled snow blower has a disc transmission. And the Honda HS1132TA tracked snow blower has a hydrostatic transmission.

Initially, I hated the Ariens' disc transimssion because I didn't like how it moved or wouldn't move under its own power. Especially in reverse. (I called it "pull assist" instead of "reverse").

I then bought the Honda hydrostatic because it is tracked and, as stated, tracked is much better than wheels for my particular sloped dirt driveway, recreational residence when I can't get on it the next day after snowfall, application. 

The Honda hydrostatic works flawlessly, it is infinitely variable in forward speed. But realisticly I only use two forward speeds - either full speed (where I am doing laps - an electric chute rotator would be great then) or crawl (when I am obsessively compulsively scraping set up slush). (California only rarely has what Easterners call "ice.") Theoretically, the Honda is also likely infinitely variable speed in reverse, but realistically I only use full speed reverse - which is slow enough.

I then replaced the friction disc in the Ariens with one of those ~$13/free shipping Ariens OEM discs on ebay and adjusted the disc engagement/tension bolt. A very, very, very, easy task to do. (If you watch a couple of youtube videos with coffee first.) 
WOW !!! What a difference that made on the Ariens! True reverse and however many forward speeds, all working flawlessly. 

Conclusion: The only practical thing that the Honda hydrostatic transmission has that is missing from the Ariens disc transmission is possibly the barely moving forward "crawl" speed. And that the Honda can be moved into a faster forward speed without stopping. The Ariens disc transmission needs the snow blower not to be moving before "shifting" into a higher forward gear. Bottom line, is that I would have no problem with either type of transmission. And replacing a disc and adjusting its drive tension is easy peasy.

It is my understanding that, at least the older, Yamaha tracked snow blowers are disc driven. Compared to the Honda tracked snow blowers which are hydrostatic.

On garden tractors I have a definite preference for hydrostatic drive and am in the process of becoming a "hydrostatic fanatic." Hopefully, I will never need to repair the Honda HS1132TA snow blower's hydrostatic transmission, but if I do I should have some knowledge about how to repair it by virtue of my now accumulating hydrostatic transmission experience with the garden tractors.


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