# Buying Advice - Honda, Yamaha or Ariens



## kin242 (Mar 11, 2019)

Driveway: 60*60 Parking area, 100-foot driveway sloping up to road - not steep but an incline at the end - all gravel. Pathway to gf's log cabin office. No neighbours nearby.
Location & snow type: Laurentians Quebec, about 10 feet per annum snowfall. More this year (13 so far I think). Rarely more than a foot per snowfall. Snowplough which comes down our road generally leaves a huge lip at the top of the driveway though
Me: mid-40s, reasonably fit, no health issues, occasionally my gf- similar but fitter than me. I'm a Euro immigrant so less experienced with the quantities of snow we get here.
Current machine: Poulan PP208E24 POS 24 inch plastic crap which breaks down 3 times per winter. I loathe this machine!
Concerns: Poulan POS breaks constantly, is very heavy to turn (my kingdom for something I am not constantly struggling with) and doesn't handle the top of the driveway well at all as it curves at the top onto the road (maybe need something with tracks). Also is having trouble throwing snow high and far enough at the end of winter. Hand warming would be nice but not essential. 
Local sources: There are a lot of snowblower sellers around here. 
Budget: Approx 3k Canadian plus tax. Could go to more if I had to.


I have been recommended Ariens and Yamaha by various people, but also warned off Ariens as some of their models are very cheap (?). As little maintenance as possible as I am not very mechanically minded. Oh yeah, and I would much rather pay more for something which will last and be stress-free than save a few dollars. Currently leaning towards the YT624EJ although if I can afford it come next winter I might try to stretch to the YS1028JA.

Any suggestions/advice much appreciated.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Ariens are fine machines..but, if you can afford a new Honda or Yamaha, get one! 
Personally, if the money is not an issue, I would only look at Honda or Yamaha, nothing else..
then choose which model (from either company's lineup) that is best for your needs..




kin242 said:


> but also warned off Ariens as some of their models are very cheap (?).



simply wrong.. if anyone says that, its just their opinion. (and their opinion is wrong) 




kin242 said:


> Budget: Approx 3k Canadian plus tax. Could go to more if I had to.



You dont have to.  3K will get you more than you need..


Scot


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## Miles (Sep 16, 2016)

I'd look at both the Honda and Yamaha track machines since you have gravel. The Honda track has a lever to easily adjust the bucket height. The Yamaha is not sold down here in the States, but has a very good reputation here on the forum. I like the fact that Yamaha has a chute lined with a heavy duty plastic so the snow will not stick. I have the Honda HSS928 with the modified chute and modified transmission and it is a good machine. The Honda engines have a reputation for longevity. Either the Yamaha or the Honda will give you 20-30 years of service if maintained. The Honda HSS1332 has an auger protection system that is wonderful. If you hit a stick or a newspaper, the auger will stop and you just need to reset the machine instead of breaking a shear bolt or eating a frozen paper. It's a wonderful evolutionary advantage. You may have that auger protection system on the HSS928's in Canada as well. In the US, it is just on the biggest machine, the 1332.


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## ColdinMontana (Nov 18, 2018)

No experience with Honda or Yamaha. I've been very happy with my Ariens Pro 32. It has started first pull of the rope every time and has tackled everything I've thrown at it. One thing to keep in mind, the Ariens Pro models are NOT the same as the big-box store models. They are superior in just about every way.


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## JRHAWK9 (Jan 6, 2013)

Performance-wise, I firmly believe the larger 14" impellers of the Ariens will move more volume of snow over both the Honda and Yamaha.


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

10+ feet of snow annually, at a cabin in the woods, with a gravel driveway...

That’s track machine territory. The best track machines hands down are Honda and Yamaha.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

yamaha

speak to owners in your neighborhood


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## contender (Jan 18, 2018)

Scot, I will add, your 3k down south works out to a little under 5k in Canada after exchange and sales tax..... Alex


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## kin242 (Mar 11, 2019)

contender said:


> Scot, I will add, your 3k down south works out to a little under 5k in Canada after exchange and sales tax..... Alex


Yes, 5k Canadian is at the top of my range... Which is why the YS1028JA is the furthest I would stretch to (is it that much better?). The main thing that attracted me to the Ariens was that I could get a wider machine... but the consensus definitely seems that Yamaha/Honda are better machines- but Honda are way up there price-wise as I definitely want a track machine it seems.


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## russ01915 (Dec 18, 2013)

Gravel driveway will need a track machine or Ariens RapidTrak Pro model. You must remember, that no snow blower runs forever without proper maintenance and repairs. I don't care which one you choose, they will all break down at one time or another.


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

I would settle on either the Yamaha 1028 or 1332 if I had the opportunity.

You need adhesion to obtain tractive effort. The more weight you have the more mass you have to create tractive effort/adhesion to cut into the snow pack. 
The more weight you have pushing down on the tracks the more effort your going to get from the track drive and the cross auger feeding the impeller to clear the snowpack. 

Just to give you an idea about tractive effort; when you see the CP locomotives pulling a unit train you will see 2 or 3 locomotives pulling a consist and the wheels may be 36 or 39 inches in diameter and the surface area of each wheel contacting the ribbon rail is the area of a dime. SO with that in mind you have 2 locomotives with 6 axles and 12 wheels each and the amount of traction that can obtain at any time is equal to 12 dimes in square per locomotive(24 dimes) area pulling 10K tons or more with and additional pusher locomotive of the same size with six more axles(12 dimes in square area) when needed for a total of 36 dimes in square surface area in contact with good rail.

So keeping that in mind the you may have 3 locomotives weighing 1,200 tons pulling and pushing a 1O,OOO foot long consist that may weigh over 12,000 tons with the locomotives weight.

So if you look at the Yamaha 1028 your square area of the track is greater than the 18 wheels on the three 400 ton locomotives loaded with fuel pulling and pushing the entire train.


Once you make the first cut you can take half cuts and reduce the load on the cross augers and they will tear up the snow pack even more and as result your discharge distance can be greater as well.

The Yamaha 1332 has the steering brakes, I am unsure if this years 1028's have the steering brakes yet.

The nice thing about investing in a unit with greater power is that you have that reserve power AKA "money in the bank" for very deep snow pack and the resulting END OF DRIVEWAY MONSTER that need to be disposed of to feed the moat monsters in the drainage ditch.
The extra power is also handy for the freak storm coming off and down from the bay on occasion.
The Yamaha 1028 has the electric clutch and the Yamaha 1332 is belt driven like its younger brother the 624.

I am not sure if they use rock salt on your part of the shield but the best thing to do when clearing is make one pass to the end of the driveway and then clear off the END OF DRIVEWAY MONSTER and feed the remains to the moat monsters and then you can make your succeeding passes in clean snow that has not been melted into a snow cone mess that will move salt into the cross auger housing on each pass if you do not clear the end of the drive way first.

It is always best to clear the crap to the side where the plow passes the house away from you when you are clearing as this limits the amount of salted crap that is on the up hill side so to speak and reduces the chance for an ice dam to form.

Having the cast teflon inserts in the base of the chute on both the 1028 and the 1332 help by preventing plugging and all the nasty mess that comes with it. The impeller housing on both of these units has a Teflon sheet that lines the impeller housing to let the impeller discharge the snow that much faster.

I am not sure if the new Yamaha 624 has a Teflon sheet lined impeller housing but the chute is lined with a Teflon sheet to aid in keeping the snow moving up and out of the impeller. 

The entire Yamaha 624 is built in China and I am unsure if the engine in the 624 is a Chinese made Loncin engine. 

I am a big believer in aerosol fluid film spray as you can double your discharge distance when using it when you coat the cross augers and the impeller housing.
The snow spray that is sold by others is just plain nasty and not good for the lungs where Fluid Film is made from Lanolin from sheep's wool. 

I would rather see you invest in the Yamaha 1028 or the Yamaha 1332 as you need to look 10 or more years down the road and the 1332 having steering brakes will allow your significant other to easily woman handle the beast with no issues. 


My thoughts anyway as I sit here still recovering from daylight savings time in the lower 48.


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## nwcove (Mar 2, 2015)

go to the showrooms......put your hands on the top picks and see how they feel. all three are good choices.


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## kin242 (Mar 11, 2019)

leonz said:


> END OF DRIVEWAY MONSTER


Nail... on... the... head!

We have 2 malamutes so salt is a no-no around here- I don't think our town allows it anyway it's eco AF around here. SOunds like, as I suspected, 1028 is the way to go. I have heard there might be new models coming out this year, and I'm not looking to buy until the fall (unless they come up with an amazing end of season deal with financing)...

I'll find our local showroom and go have a look, but it definitely looks like it is striking a sweet spot of just more than I can afford and price/quality ratio. I need to start saving


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

leonz said:


> So keeping that in mind the you may have 3 locomotives weighing 1,200 tons pulling and pushing a 1O,OOO foot long consist that may weigh over 12,000 tons with the locomotives weight.
> 
> .



I did some consulting for GE's Transportation Business (Locomotives) in Erie PA, and one trick that I learned is that when a train "parks", then always have slack between each and every car. So, when the train starts up, it "picks" up the first car (clunk) and then the next car (another clunk) and so on. And then they have finally taken all of the slack out of the couplers. A train of substantial length, like a unit coal train (100 cars) would never be able to get going if there was no slack between the cars. - Just a little tidbit that I picked up over the years. In fact, if you hear a train stop at a railroad crossing to let off cars, you car hear the successive clunks !


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

YUP; 

slack action can be heavily in the engineers favor and then the coupler casting breaks at the worst times and the alarm for the FRED (flashing Rear End Device) goes off or the air brakes dump and we know the consist is split and there are a lots of reasons to fill a swear jar for 5 minutes.

Dumping the air and going into emergency makes for a fun couple of minutes and the unit train will stretch almost 200 feet+-when the slack is run out.
The conductor has to close the ball valve on the last car that is still attached to the locomotives and string of cars to allow the air brakes to work correctly. 
The conductor has to call the dispatcher first and tell him or her the bad news and the main line is now occupied by a train that has broken in two and they have to check the car with the broken coupler to make sure the running gear is not damaged when they check car to replace the coupler. All the trains that are behind it or traveling in the opposite direction have to stop on the main line and wait. 

Insert more fun here; then the conductor has to put on his insulated coveralls, pull out the tool bag, make sure he has pliers, cotter pins and a couple of new pins in the tool bag, grab the good flash light, make sure he has his sidearm from his grip, his cell phone, two way radio then he climbs out of the lead locomotive, sets down the tool bag, pulls out the new coupler, backs away from the lead locomotive, calls the engineer on the radio to tell him he is clear of the locomotive.
Then the engineer acknowledges the conductor releases the air breaks and puts it in notch one and the locomotive pulls forward and when the last car is in sight the conductor says that will do to the engineer. The engineer slows to a stop and the conductor loads the tool bag on the last car in the open area of the hopper car behind the brake wheel or the ladder and the floor behind it, lifts the new coupler into the floor with the tool bag, climbs inside the end of the hopper behind the ladder and then he radios to the engineer to reverse and the engineer acknowledges the conductor and then he releases the brakes again and puts the direction lever in reverse and notch one and the train begins to travel back to the point where the train split. 
(If the consist is a set of box cars the job is much a harder to do as the conductor has to drag the coupler or carry it to the box car with the broken coupler) 
When the last hopper car is close to the split the conductor radios the engineer and says that will do. The engineer slows to a stop and sets the air brakes and calls the conductor on the radio and tells him the train brakes are set and the conductor acknowledges the engineer. 
He climbs down from the hopper car and then pulls out the coupler and the tool bag and carries them to the car that has the broken coupler and hopefully the only thing that is broken is the coupler. if there is more damage than a broken coupler they have to call the dispatcher and relay the bad news and wait. The conductor has to tie down the string of cars that have the car with the damage so they cannot roll away from the train or roll towards the forward portion of the consist and cause more damage to the preceding cars and possibly cause a derailment. 

If there is more damage the dispatcher has to have a second set of engines travel light from the last location the train came from and then these locomotives have to pull the part of the train that separated from the consist back to a siding and set the car off and tie the car down in the siding if the brakes for the damaged car are not damaged and leave it for the car shop to repair if it can be "repaired in place" "RIP" if the car has time sensitive freight that makes the job that much harder to do and to take car of the car if at all possible while the consist is still on the main line and if not it has to be moved to a railyard where there is a car repair shop. 

Before the train continues on they have to get the FRED form the rear of the train as it has to be installed on the last car of the consist and then they have to do an air brake test and after that call the dispatcher and request permission to travel to the next block in the main line. By then the train closest to it on the main line will have pulled in to a siding and reset the siding switches to allow the train occupying the block to pass them. The conductor on the train in the siding has to call the dispatcher to ask permission to enter the main and when permission is given to the conductor he will open the switch and call the engineer to tell him to advance out of the siding. The conductor waits for the last car to clear the switch and then calls the engineer on the radio and says that will do and the engineer slows the train to a stop. 
The conductor then locks the switch closed after resetting the switch handle and either walks to the head end of the consist or he calls the engineer and asks him to reverse and pick him up as the train can be 10,000 feet long and the rail bed may not be conducive to walking as the rails may be 4-5+ feet above the ground along the whole length and backing the consist up to pick up the conductor is faster as the train is traveling in reverse with no slack in the train and when the train stops the conductor climbs back up in the cab and the engineer places the train in notch one in forward and slowly begins pulling forward and the train begins to stretch out as the cars begin to separate and hopefully they will not break a coupler!!!

I have probably forgotten a few things so I hope you will forgive me.


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

My sincerest apologies for bringing up the train stuff. Let's get back to the task at hand snowblowers.


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## Badger9402 (Mar 3, 2019)

I thought it was one heck of a story. You learn something new everyday. Okay, back to snowblowers.


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

Hello RIT333,

There is no need to apologize, I need to start screaming about why these builders are not using indirect injection diesel engines, water exhaust gas scrubbers, catalyst pellets and oil bath air cleaners for the tier four engines as the engines would run so much better and pollute so much less.

============================================================================


Now we return to our regular programming already in progress: SnowBlowerForum.


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

leonz said:


> I would settle on either the Yamaha 1028 or 1332 if I had the opportunity.
> 
> You need adhesion to obtain tractive effort. The more weight you have the more mass you have to create tractive effort/adhesion to cut into the snow pack.
> The more weight you have pushing down on the tracks the more effort your going to get from the track drive and the cross auger feeding the impeller to clear the snowpack.
> ...


If Its a Honda 624, they were all made in North Carolina, and all of the GX series engines were made in North Carolina, some were made in Japan. The USA and Japanese engines were the good engines, Honda had nothing but trouble with the China made GC series engines years ago and cancelled the contract with the China manufacturer. The Auger housings were made in Canada, as are almost all snowblower housings by almost all different manufacturers.
Your Husqvarna and a lot of Areins are made in China, and all of the LCT and new Briggs engines are made in China as of now. Briggs is in the process of bringing back engine manufacture the the USA at this time. All of their Intek motors are produced in China right now. LCT is an American company but they are not made here.


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

Actually I was talking about the Yamaha units but we are all here to enjoy snow blowers and snow throwers.

I hope to see Briggs & Stratton building 52,000 engines a day in Milwaukee again someday.


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## Lottstodo (Feb 16, 2018)

I just do not get where everyone thinks that tracks are the cats A** for gravel. Either you dont snow blow a gravel driveway or you havent ran both side by side in gravel. 
We do 16000 + sq. ft. every snowfall all gravel/ sand/ grass with absolutely no problems, annual snowfall is is around 10'+. The track models pack down anything it runs over and it does not clean up as quick as a wheeled machines. As well side by side they leave more material on surfaces that are not level like concrete or blacktop.
Our drive at the last 45' climbs 8' so the incline is pretty steep and it was night and day track vs wheels. (no chains)

Just say'in.


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## ST1100A (Feb 7, 2015)

leonz said:


> Actually I was talking about the Yamaha units but we ar eall here to enjoy snow blowers and snow throwers.
> 
> I hope to see Briggs & Stratton building 52,000 engines a day in Milwaukee again someday.


Very good info about the railroad and trains. I love to watch those big snowblowers the railroad uses in action. Now that is a "Real" snowblower.


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## rfw1953 (Oct 11, 2017)

orangputeh said:


> yamaha
> 
> speak to owners in your neighborhood


I agree that you should ask your neighbors in your area for several reasons...I for one have a 32' Honda with tracks. I love this SB though I live In the Central Rocky Mountains. We get a large volume of snow. This winter has been pretty epic. The type of snow we get can be wet and heavy or dry and fluffy powder. If I lived in an area where the snow turns to a wet slushy mess after the temps rise and the sun comes out, well, I may have a different opinion. As you have probably already read about in your research, chute clogging in the Honda can be a real downer, but I have not had an issue with this, though I have experienced a few chute clogs. Otherwise, the Honda is a feature-rich machine that is a beast of a SB. I give mine 5 stars after three seasons, two of which have been during epic winters.

I use my SB to clear our paved driveway, but the two most important functions I need is the ability to clear the ice hard snow packed berm at the end of my drive that is created by the snowplow. It can be waist deep and roughly 5' think at times. My Honda chews through it in minutes. Likewise, when clearing the driveway, the side berms get as high at 8'-10' high. I need a SB that can shoot the snow well up and over those side berms, which the Honda does a great job at shooting the snow 56'. 

I also have a fairly large dog run off our ground level deck. I use the Honda to keep this clear as well as creating a pathway from the driveway to the deck along the front of our home. Both the dog run and the pathway are grassy and rock covered. I just use the trigger to easily raise the auger up a bit to clear the rocks and grass and away I go without issues. sometimes the snow is snow deep it's over the auger housing, but I still manage to get the snow cleared. The tracks make this much easier than a wheeled machine would be. 

After doing a good bit of research, I decided to use my Honda on our ground level deck. I can adjust the speed down to a crawl to get in close without doing damage to the deck post and side railings. The trigger steering controls allow me to turn the Honda on a dime in tight quarters, which is very helpful to me. I never have to horse the machine to get the job done. Once again, I use the pneumatic trigger controlled auger adjustment to raise the SB just enough to get down close to the trek planking without damaging it. I get a tremendous amount of roof snow shed onto the deck which is packed and hardens quickly. Just like the snowplow created berm at the end of our drive, the Honda chews right through it... 

All that said, you need to pay close attention to the type of snow conditions you're going to be typically dealing with. This would weigh heavily If I were going to be in the market anytime soon for another SB. Good luck. Hope this was helpful.


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## drmerdp (Feb 9, 2014)

Solid break down. I have a paved driveway, and the tracks are a luxury for my driveway. My back yard on the other hand I could not do with a wheel blower. 

My back yard has a significant slop and I need paths from my driveway to the shed, the shed to the deck, and deck to the firewood racks. All in all, I blow a significant area in my yard. 

The multi position auger adjustment is just the best for doing the yard. I can keep a nice layer of snow to protect the grass from muddying up during quick melts, and I never struggle for traction. 

It’s also pretty cool to track up the deck stairs to clear it off for the big dumpings.


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