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For clarity: U.S. company, manufacturing in China in factories LCT owns. Considered to be the modern day Tecumseh. Just look at the badge on the 90th anniversary machine.
Craftsman 26" 243cc vs Ariens Deluxe 24"
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1993 NOMA D278-4010 S/N S001529330118 27" 8hp Tecumseh HMSK80
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34 Posts
The Craftsman is made by MTD. Parts are very easy to get but the idea is not to buy them in the first place. I'm sure it would give you many years of service with proper care. The Ariens on the other hand is a stellar machine. Did you look at Toro's? My father-in-law has a real gem. I would love to get one myself but my 
box Noma won't die
box Noma won't die I haven't been able to go get the snow blower yet because of issues at my work that have kept me past the time that Rona closes the last couple nights, but I plan on going when I'm off tomorrow. I noticed about a week ago that Rona/Lowes Canada had removed the Ariens from their website which I thought was odd, but many of the stores have lots of them in stock still on clearance. My local Midland Rona had 5 when I called on Sunday, so I am hoping they still have some.
2KJX you bring up some good points about the craftsman and how for the price the Ariens is not twice the machine, that is why I was interested in the Craftsman to begin with. I had actually ordered the craftsman on Sunday then cancelled it later because I wasn't sold on a lot of the negative reviews. From doing my research it seems like the Ariens should last a lot longer and will be more reliable, and has more power because it uses a smaller auger and has a slightly larger engine, also the turn assist is a nice perk. My main thing is having a machine that won't let me down when I need it most. My current snow blower is getting very old is under sized for the area I live now (5hp Tecumseh). So I want something that could last around 20 years. I was hoping to hear more positive feed back about the craftsman and I wouldn't feel bad about ordering it, but I'm worried about getting the craftsman and it breaking 5-10 years down the road making me wish I would have spent more in the first place.
I really appreciate the information from everyone, everyone has brought up some good points and useful tips.
Someone also mentioned the Toro. Right now the Ariens and a similar Toro are about the same price, from looking at the 2 the Ariens looks to have more steel construction and seems more heavy duty, that was just my opinion from looking at the 2 not sure if it's in anyway accurate or not.
2KJX you bring up some good points about the craftsman and how for the price the Ariens is not twice the machine, that is why I was interested in the Craftsman to begin with. I had actually ordered the craftsman on Sunday then cancelled it later because I wasn't sold on a lot of the negative reviews. From doing my research it seems like the Ariens should last a lot longer and will be more reliable, and has more power because it uses a smaller auger and has a slightly larger engine, also the turn assist is a nice perk. My main thing is having a machine that won't let me down when I need it most. My current snow blower is getting very old is under sized for the area I live now (5hp Tecumseh). So I want something that could last around 20 years. I was hoping to hear more positive feed back about the craftsman and I wouldn't feel bad about ordering it, but I'm worried about getting the craftsman and it breaking 5-10 years down the road making me wish I would have spent more in the first place.
I really appreciate the information from everyone, everyone has brought up some good points and useful tips.
Someone also mentioned the Toro. Right now the Ariens and a similar Toro are about the same price, from looking at the 2 the Ariens looks to have more steel construction and seems more heavy duty, that was just my opinion from looking at the 2 not sure if it's in anyway accurate or not.
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its still just an american company importing honda clones and slapping their stickers all over them
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Why leave this part out? "This coupled" means in addition to. I'm sure they import specific components just like any other manufacturer. You can't deny they make their engine in their factories. Just so happens, the factories are in China and we all know the reason for that. Price point to be competitive with everyone else.
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because its technical nonsense that being a company allows them to say. LCT does not own anything in china. privately held just means they have contracted a factory, or part of one, to build things for them and slap their stickers on. I'm sure they have a small part in the design process and can make changes, but these are still honda clones. The factory will be called the Zongshen Quan engine factory or something and be in shanghai with the rest of them
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heres the company that makes the LCT and ariens engines
enjoy!
enjoy!
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I'd enjoy it better if I could read Chinese lol. Looks like this shows we have met in the middle. So they're buying space in this factory to produce their final design of the Honda clone. (Because who doesn't use Honda clones at this point?) I'd say we look at this from 2 different angles, 🍻heres the company that makes the LCT and ariens engines
enjoy!
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i dont understand what your angle could possibly be. LCT is just a shell of a company, they dont build or manufacture anything. They will have a large warehouse where they receive engines, take them out of the box, and put their literature on it, and with it. thats all. That chinese company will also sell their engines to any other company or person that wants to buy them, just not with LCT stickers or air filter covers. That engine was likely in production and on other pieces of equipment before LCT even existed
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481 Posts
@tfox12 get it while you can. And don't forget spare parts that you won't need now but may down the road (especially shear bolts)
www.snowblowerforum.com
Ariens @ Home Depot - No longer selling them?
When did Home Depot stop selling Ariens snowblowers...there are none listed on the Home Depot website. Was this just recently...or for many years now? Thanks, -mike-
www.snowblowerforum.com
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839 Posts
My angle is it's not a 100% through and through China operation. Ariens themselves have stated they have a hand in the design of their AX branded engines.
Source:
Are LCT Engines Made in China? (Solved & Explained!) - [2023]
LCT engines are manufactured in Shanghai, China. However, they are produced under the watchful eye of LCT.
totalgardener.com
Picked it up today, worked out great too, because they dropped the price even further to $1599 all the way down from $2199 (which even $2199 is still cheaper than what the dealers sell it for in my area).
Only thing I didn't like was all they had was the 2 on display left, which were located outside (apparently they were moved outside just yesterday). Not a big deal but I usually like to assemble my equipment myself, and provide a rust protection spray before I bring them outside.
Machine looks great though and way more durable than some of the other ones they had there. I went to Canadian Tire before and some of the yard works machines they had there already had broken cables and controls, and the plastic just felt cheap.
We're getting some snow here today so should be able to test it out soon!
I picked up some extra sheer pins and snow-jet spray. I thought the blower came with 3 extra pins already but they told me that it doesn't. Rona doesn't have much in terms of parts, so I'll have to get the parts that were suggested from a dealer a later time.
Thanks for the help!
Only thing I didn't like was all they had was the 2 on display left, which were located outside (apparently they were moved outside just yesterday). Not a big deal but I usually like to assemble my equipment myself, and provide a rust protection spray before I bring them outside.
Machine looks great though and way more durable than some of the other ones they had there. I went to Canadian Tire before and some of the yard works machines they had there already had broken cables and controls, and the plastic just felt cheap.
We're getting some snow here today so should be able to test it out soon!
I picked up some extra sheer pins and snow-jet spray. I thought the blower came with 3 extra pins already but they told me that it doesn't. Rona doesn't have much in terms of parts, so I'll have to get the parts that were suggested from a dealer a later time.
Thanks for the help!
Attachments
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Correct me if I'm wrong but LCT seem to be on higher end equipment like Husqvarna and as we know Ariens. I know they are made in China, but if they are made to the standards of those companies mentioned you'd think that they are pretty good engines. I was under the impression that LCT was an American company just with factories in China, that they then import back to North America. So they have pretty much full control of the manufacturing process and quality of the engines?
Thanks! Just checked the area you pointed out to see if the pins were there and there definitely is a spot for them there. Someone must have removed them with it being a floor unit. Oh well, for the price I can't complain to much about missing a couple spare bolts.
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481 Posts
When I went looking for spares (before I found them hidden in a forgotten space in the store), the slsman joke-ing-ly (?)suggested I "just take these" off a floor model.
Mebbee???
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I would suggest thoroughly reading the owners manual and go through the machine set up to ensure the machine was assembled and set up correctly and that all hardware is tight, set up from big box stores can be hit and miss.
Make sure you perform the annual maintenance as per the manual this spring or before next winter, as the lubrication on some parts from the factory (especially wheel axles) can be sparse.
Hopefully you will be able to put it through it's paces with the snow tonight.
Service manual may be of use in the future:
Make sure you perform the annual maintenance as per the manual this spring or before next winter, as the lubrication on some parts from the factory (especially wheel axles) can be sparse.
Hopefully you will be able to put it through it's paces with the snow tonight.
Service manual may be of use in the future:
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