[canadave1944]

ALOHA!!!!!!! 24" Power Max® 824 OE 37798 | Electric Start Gas Snow Blowers | Homeowner | Toro | Toro

I'm a 78 year old Canuck looking to buy my first snowblower. I'm about a month into the learning curve. I've been tempted to buy a used Ariens. There are two on Kijiji in Ontario Canada, one being a Deluxe 30 that's 10 years old for $800 and the seller claiming very low usage and another an 8-year-old Ariens Platinum 30 for $1,200, also claimed low usage. They both look next to new condition. I also have a handyman friend whose brother has a 4 year old very low usage Toro 826 OE in excellent condition for $500 which I'm tempted to get. My use may be minimal because my driveway is only about 100 feet long and I may well get a snow plow guy to do it although I may do it sometimes. It would almost be for backup. I also have a huge two-tiered deck that may need blowing. I should find out how much weight of snow a deck can handle. My next door os sneaking up I'd have to make a ramp to get it up 3 stairs. One major concern is that I have a storage shed that's about 100 feet or more down a slight incline which would be nice to do a pathway for in case I need to get anything out of it in the winter. Some people say to only get new for an extra $1,000 and save yourself some possible grief. My next door neighbour is sneaking on 90 and he blows his deck. What would you do? This is my first post .

 

[WrenchIt]

Going new does not necessarily mean you will not have problems with the snowblower. Certainly, there will be fewer, but if you buy new, the quality of the service personnel and shop itself will be paramount. I think that skill with tools is not the issue, its the willingness to learn. You will find all the info and help you need on this forum to make virtually any repairs on your snowblower, and preventative maintenance and servicing your machine ahead of winter will reduce the likelihood of problems.

 

[canadave1944]

Going new does not necessarily mean you will not have problems with the snowblower. Certainly, there will be fewer, but if you buy new, the quality of the service personnel and shop itself will be paramount. I think that skill with tools is not the issue, its the willingness to learn. You will find all the info and help you need on this forum to make virtually any repairs on your snowblower, and preventative maintenance and servicing your machine ahead of winter will reduce the likelihood of problems.

Holy crap! That was a fast reply to my first post. There are also a lot of YouTube videos on serving them. I retired from the corporate world in Toronto 24 years ago and knew nothing about lawn tractors but I found a good site that recommended the Simplicity Conquest. I bought one and it was fantastic and in time became pretty handy with it. I'm leaning towards getting that Toro since my handyman friend said he would buy it back if it didn't work out. That could be a problem if getting new snowblowers in the winter is as difficult as finding new lawn tractors.

 

[UNDERTAKER]

Buy The Used TORO For The Drive. And A Leaf Blower For The Deck.

 

[canadave1944]

I don't think a leaf blower would clear a foot or two of snow off the deck. It's two-tiered deck of approximately a total of 500 square feet. If the snow was one foot deep that would be around 1,500 cubic feet of snow. So much for a leaf blower. You must be talking about blowing snow off of a Florida deck. I wonder how much 1,500 cubic feet of snow weighs? This will be our first winter here so I hope the deck would support it. I guess building codes would require it to be able to support it. Our neighbour who is almost 90 has a ramp he puts up, up to his deck in the winter so he gets his blower up there to do it. I suspect I'll end up getting the Toro as you suggest.

 

[Tony-chicago]

3 feet deep x 500 equal 1,500 cubic feet. 4,500 to 30,000 pound. Average 9,000 pounds. At the most. Here it is rare that snow falls that much and is homegenous etc etc.

I think you will do well with the advice here. Maybe we should move this part to a new thread

 

[canadave1944]

3 feet deep x 500 equal 1,500 cubic feet. 4,500 to 30,000 pound. Average 9,000 pounds. At the most. Here it is rare that snow falls thay much and is homegenous etc etc.

I think you will do well with the advice here. Maybe we should move tgis part to a new thread

Hi Tony from Chicago (the windy city) Does that mean you recommend moving 4 1/2 tons of snow with a leaf blower? Does it make sense to move to a different thread when I merely asked for advice on buying one? My input on the amount of snow I will have to deal with, with my 78-year-old back, on my deck is only additional information for recommending what blower I should buy, assuming I don't die of old age before the first snow flies in November

 

[tabora]

My next door neighbour is sneaking on 90 and he blows his deck. What would you do?

My solution is to use a Greenworks 80V Pro single stage on the deck, a Honda HSS1332AATD for the big stuff, and a Greenworks 80V Pro Shovel for the in between stuff...

 

[canadave1944]

My solution is to use a Greenworks 80V Pro single stage on the deck, a Honda HSS1332AATD for the big stuff, and a Greenworks 80V Pro Shovel for the in between stuff...

My solution is to use a Greenworks 80V Pro single stage on the deck, a Honda HSS1332AATD for the big stuff, and a Greenworks 80V Pro Shovel for the in between stuff...

Hi Tabora I'd love to have that Honda but the prices in Canada are plus or minus $5,000 Canadian plus 13% tax for a total of $5,650. My guess is that it may well be the best blower out there but my wife would string me up by the you-know-whats if I bought it. I've owned three Honda motorcycles back in the 70s so I don't have to be sold on Honda. My favourite was a Honda 400 CC four cylinder which from what I hear turns out to be one of the best bikes Honda ever made. I should never have sold it but the saddle was too hard on the butt when I drove from Toronto to Kingston and back to visit my sister and brother-in-law so I traded it for a 500 CC Twin shaft drive. I only sold it because I had a Great Dane at the time who I took everywhere and it turned out you couldn't get a side car for it. My first was a 1967 175 CC scrambler.

 

[canadave1944]

Hi Tabora I'd love to have that Honda but the prices in Canada are plus or minus $5,000 Canadian plus 13% tax for a total of $5,650. My guess is that it may well be the best blower out there but my wife would string me up by the you-know-whats if I bought it. I've owned three Honda motorcycles back in the 70s so I don't have to be sold on Honda. My favourite was a Honda 400 CC four cylinder which from what I hear turns out to be one of the best bikes Honda ever made. I should never have sold it but the saddle was too hard on the butt when I drove from Toronto to Kingston and back to visit my sister and brother-in-law so I traded it for a 500 CC Twin shaft drive. I only sold it because I had a Great Dane at the time who I took everywhere and it turned out you couldn't get a side car for it. My first was a 1967 175 CC scrambler.

I just checked and those GreenWorks blowers are a tad pricey too.

 

[Tony-chicago]

Hi Tony from Chicago (the windy city) Does that mean you recommend moving 4 1/2 tons of snow with a leaf blower? Does it make sense to move to a different thread when I merely asked for advice on buying one? My input on the amount of snow I will have to deal with, with my 78-year-old back, on my deck is only additional information for recommending what blower I should buy, assuming I don't die of old age before the first snow flies in November

No. Not what I was thinking at all.
I understand bad back, age and other stuff. Blower would work, but would take a lot of diligence. No dice.
For big storms you need a reliable and easily used machine. The advice here will help.

 

[canadave1944]

No. Not what I was thinking at all.
I understand bad back, age and other stuff. Blower would work, but would take a lot of diligence. No dice.
For big storms you need a reliable and easily used machine. The advice here will help.

For the big storms I'll probably end up dealing with them with a plow guy supplemented with the Toro 826 I mentioned. My handyman friend is going to have a small engine expert he knows check it out first.

 

[Chils]

I'm a 78 year old Canuck looking to buy my first snowblower. I'm about a month into the learning curve. I've been tempted to buy a used Ariens. There are two on Kijiji in Ontario Canada, one being a Deluxe 30 that's 10 years old for $800 and the seller claiming very low usage and another an 8-year-old Ariens Platinum 30 for $1,200, also claimed low usage. They both look next to new condition. I also have a handyman friend whose brother has a 4 year old very low usage Toro 826 OE in excellent condition for $500 which I'm tempted to get. My use may be minimal because my driveway is only about 100 feet long and I may well get a snow plow guy to do it although I may do it sometimes. It would almost be for backup. I also have a huge two-tiered deck that may need blowing. I should find out how much weight of snow a deck can handle. My next door os sneaking up I'd have to make a ramp to get it up 3 stairs. One major concern is that I have a storage shed that's about 100 feet or more down a slight incline which would be nice to do a pathway for in case I need to get anything out of it in the winter. Some people say to only get new for an extra $1,000 and save yourself some possible grief. My next door neighbour is sneaking on 90 and he blows his deck. What would you do? This is my first post .

Welcome to SBF @canadave1944

I moved this to its own thread due to the volume of discussion. It is customary to start a new thread unless you are responding to or asking the member who started the thread a question about his post.

There is a ton of collective knowledge on this forum. These guys know their stuff and won't lead you wrong. Once again welcome and enjoy the free knowledge base.

 

[UNDERTAKER]

Welcome to SBF @canadave1944

I moved this to its on thread due to the volume of discussion. It is customary to start a new thread unless you are responding to or asking the member who started the thread a question about his post.

There is a ton of collective knowledge on this forum. These guys know their stuff and won't lead you wrong. Once again welcome and enjoy the free knowledge base.

Must not get much snow where you live huh??????

 

[UNDERTAKER]

I don't think a leaf blower would clear a foot or two of snow off the deck. It's two-tiered deck of approximately a total of 500 square feet. If the snow was one foot deep that would be around 1,500 cubic feet of snow. So much for a leaf blower. You must be talking about blowing snow off of a Florida deck. I wonder how much 1,500 cubic feet of snow weighs? This will be our first winter here so I hope the deck would support it. I guess building codes would require it to be able to support it. Our neighbour who is almost 90 has a ramp he puts up, up to his deck in the winter so he gets his blower up there to do it. I suspect I'll end up getting the Toro as you suggest.

500 Sq Ft Deck???? Pay a neighbor kid to shovel It off. If it is that Freaking big!!!!!!!!

 

[Honda1132]

3 feet deep x 500 equal 1,500 cubic feet. 4,500 to 30,000 pound. Average 9,000 pounds. At the most. Here it is rare that snow falls that much and is homegenous etc etc.

I think you will do well with the advice here. Maybe we should move this part to a new thread

The weight depends on temperature and water content. I'd buy a used blower for the driveway, both Toro and Arians are good brands, and something different for the deck, maybe one of those smaller electric ones that run off an extension cord or a single stage blower for the deck. If the snow is wet, I don't think a leaf blower would work well.

 

[Tony-chicago]

Agree.

Usually snow is 10 or 12 to one compared to water. Cold and light can be 20 to one. Heavy can be 3 to 1.

Either way your advice is spot on. Just make sure the big blower takes the punishment and not the body.

 

[WrenchIt]

This will be our first winter here so I hope the deck would support it. I guess building codes would require it to be able to support it.

I believe building codes require interior floors to be able to support a 40 lb/sq ft live load. I'm not sure about that - its been a while since I needed to know the number. Regardless, a deck, if built properly, will support far more than you would guess, and the codes would take into account snow and wind loading.

I use our Stihl leaf blower (BR600) to blow dry light snow - up to about 4" - off our driveway (75' x 9' + 45 x 20'). It will not touch heavy snow or drifts and if it is wet stuff, I can expect blowback into my face. I absolutely love the Toro Powerlite E snowblowers - they will blow surprisingly deep snow, but if you are not going to maintain it yourself, I'd think it becomes an uneconomical snowblower.

 

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I'm a 78 year old Canuck looking to buy my first snowblower. I'm about a month into the learning curve. I've been tempted to buy a used Ariens. There are two on Kijiji in Ontario Canada, one being a Deluxe 30 that's 10 years old for $800 and the seller claiming very low usage and another an 8-year-old Ariens Platinum 30 for $1,200, also claimed low usage. They both look next to new condition. I also have a handyman friend whose brother has a 4 year old very low usage Toro 826 OE in excellent condition for $500 which I'm tempted to get. My use may be minimal because my driveway is only about 100 feet long and I may well get a snow plow guy to do it although I may do it sometimes. It would almost be for backup. I also have a huge two-tiered deck that may need blowing. I should find out how much weight of snow a deck can handle. My next door os sneaking up I'd have to make a ramp to get it up 3 stairs. One major concern is that I have a storage shed that's about 100 feet or more down a slight incline which would be nice to do a pathway for in case I need to get anything out of it in the winter. Some people say to only get new for an extra $1,000 and save yourself some possible grief. My next door neighbour is sneaking on 90 and he blows his deck. What would you do? This is my first post .

I had theToro 826OE power max and couldn’t get rid of it fast enough. I bought it new. It has to be really man handled to make it turn. There are no triggers on the handles to disengage either wheel to ease turning. In comparison to my Toro 828 xle which has the triggers to assist turning, there is no comparison. I’m not familiar with the two Ariens you mentioned and how they add re to handle.