# Ariens Platinum EFI - worth Extra $$



## Rockhopper10! (Nov 9, 2017)

Hi All

New to the forum - getting ready to purchase a new Ariens Platinum 24 SHO from my local shop.

Of course I am debating if the EFI model is worth the extra $300.00.

I will own it for many years so not to worried about the extra $300, if there are reliability concerns / repair concerns that I am unaware of I would love to hear them.

The pro's look great - easy start / even power / less gas used - any cons I am missing??

Thanks


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## Paulie139 (Sep 25, 2017)

Welcome to SBF!


I wish I could give you the links to make it easier for you, but there are quite a few recent threads/posts regarding EFI.


The general bottom line seems to be is that it's still slightly too new to make any solid judgment on as of right now. 


Keep digging through the forum and you'll find them.


I like the idea of EFI myself but one downside I have seen mentioned is if the battery goes dead/weakens, it's not so fun.


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## sscotsman (Dec 8, 2010)

Are there any EFI machines with a plug-in 120 volt starter?
I would rather have that than a battery..

Scot


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## Rockhopper10! (Nov 9, 2017)

it does appear they both have electric start


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## russkat (Feb 25, 2015)

I would not be so worried about the initial costs, but the efi/throttle body parts are pricey and at this point no one knows if they will last 30 years or 8 years.
I say go for it, buy it's not my money and I like old machines anyway.


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## 10953 (Sep 4, 2017)

efi has been around for awhile on small engines, those were mostly big twins on lawn mowers .kohler has had twins for around 5 years ???, now they have singles https://power.kohler.com/na-en/engines/site-search?q=efi engines

it's now starting to show up on singles due to epa rules. next will be small cats on the exhaust, lots to learn for small engine techs , lots of costly testing tools to buy


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## Paulie139 (Sep 25, 2017)

I found what I was looking for from the http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...sion/121145-some-helpful-opinions-please.html thread:



Bulldogge said:


> Went to the Toro/Ariens dealer on Saturday. Dealer told me about the EFI. They are not sold on it yet as they had a couple of problems. you have a separate 7.2 volt battery that has to be charged every 90 days or kept charged. If that battery goes dead or stops working you will not be blowing any snow until it is charged back up. They also had to replace a fuel pump as that stopped working. I think I might pass on an EFI unit. He also went over the differences between the Ariens Deluxe/SHO, Platinum/SHO & Pro units. When push comes to shove the Pro def looks better than the other units. Then he went over the Toro Power Max HD 1028. He really likes the Toro units because of all the features. like the Ariens Pro The Toro has a heavy duty gear box & he likes the fact that they don't have shear pins & use the #5 grade bolts. He says he never sees anything break in there. H also states that Toro has the best chute control in the business with the Quickstick. He also loves the power steering system. I asked if the Toro seems under powered with only 302cc/10hp. He says Toro matches that motor to the machine for optimal perfomance & with the pataned anti clog system he assures it has plenty of power. He put it this way. Ariens Pro 28-All the power you will ever need & then some, the 420cc/15hp Briggs is no joke. He very very rarely sees any problems with that motor Heavy duty and a great beast of a machine. Toro- Great machine, Heavy duty & the easiest machine to operate. He told me to think about it and let him know this week on what machine I want to go with. Stay Tuned.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

sscotsman said:


> Are there any EFI machines with a plug-in 120 volt starter?
> I would rather have that than a battery..
> 
> Scot


I think the small battery in question is for the EFI system. The electric start does work of a 120V outlet.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

I would buy it with the EFI engine (but I'm an auto mechanic). If issues do arise Ariens will be there for support.


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## Paulie139 (Sep 25, 2017)

YSHSfan said:


> I would buy it with the EFI engine (but I'm an auto mechanic). If issues do arise Ariens will be there for support.


Agreed.


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## guilateen02 (Nov 23, 2014)

Buy it, change shear pins to grade 8 bolts or weld auger to shaft, then find a frozen newspaper or firewood, plow into it full blast. When augers stop spinning I will buy the blower from you. I want an efi on a 10000 or 924 series. All jokes aside I heard nothing but good about them.


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## GoBlowSnow (Sep 4, 2015)

My vote is to not go with the EFI and save the $300 for something else. The non-EFI model will work wonderfully and you'll have extra $$$ to boot.


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## 10953 (Sep 4, 2017)

been working on fi cars since 1964 on corvettes, FI has been around since 1902 for airplanes. we have seen many types, mechanical,indirect,direct, single,multi point/ multi port, continuous, efi in single to multi port , efi itself was first made in 1956 by bendix, first used in a car by AMC in 1957 in the rambler rebel v8 , direct first around 1955 in the benz, over the years it has gotten better and better, personally i would not be afraid of one with efi ever. 
want to read the history?? it's big and long, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_injection

then i'm looking at the upcoming epa rules, just like the coming 2020 rules on wood burning stoves, the remaining days of carbs are now short .some of us are old timers, we know or carbed units inside and out, won't give them up as long as we are breathing and can get parts, but we all most face the future efi and cats on everything, the end of 2 strokes as we now know them is coming at us faster than we would like. 

ok a disadvantage right now is the little battery needs to be kept charged, and dealers not wanting to take on training and buy the tools to repair it. ever look at a real mechanics tool box size? they are because of our investment needed to do our jobs,these are just whats at my house,


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## nastorino (Jan 28, 2016)

I have the EFI model of the Platinum SHO 24". Ran it through several storms last year and it started with complete ease. My wife can pull the starter handle maybe halfway and it comes right to life, let alone a full pull. It's an incredible machine and the ease of start makes it that much better.


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