Was and I still have my Simplicity 860. Living in the suburbs I think my neighbors thought I was crazy for buying such a monster, but with the huge dip in the driveway and the shape of the road made it near impossible to clear it with a shovel.

 

Bought this from my Dad when he upgraded to a bigger machine. I had just purchased my first house and needed “something”. We both take care of our machines as you can tell from the picture.

It had a great Tecumseh engine that never failed me but man did those tiny wheels suck. I basically had to push it everywhere when the snow got deep but I was in my early twenties so what did I care.

I thought it was special because it was a John Deere, now I know better.


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My brother in law has this same Deere snowblower. He went all out and bought a Deere lawn tractor as well. I also went through the Deere phase looking to buy anything Deere. I also knew better. Some Deere stuff are good, some aren't so good. SB14 mowers were good.

For the wheels, I think the newer threads Xtrac have been well reviewed. They really have tall lugs that bite well into the snow. You may want to check them out.

 

My first snowblower was what my parents bought in the early 60s when I was an adolescent. It was a used 50s Toro Power Handle with points. It worked, sometimes. We had the snowblower and rototiller attachments. My father as a very good knowledgeable backyard mechanic worked on it but still it only ran sometimes.

My first that I bought was in 1979 I bought a used 70s Gravely Convertible 12hp cast iron Kohler, 2 ground speeds low & high, 2 front attachment speeds low & high. As mentioned in previous posts, nothing stops it. This is the best snowblower other a crazy Japanese monster machine or one designed for ski resorts.

 

I've bought a few parts for a snowblower in my life but never bought a complete machine.Too many people giving away ' junk ' blowers keeps me supplied just fine

 

My first is my '66 Sears/Murray, they were built like tanks, it will outlast me. The only machine I would add to my collection would be the 3 stage version of that machine.
Sid

 

Most people with 3 stage machines feel it is a gimic. Save your money.

 

The so called 3 stage snowblowers are actually 2 stage. There are 2 side augers and 1 front auger which spins at a slow speed that makes up the first stage. And then there's the impeller blower section that makes the 2nd stage. That's what my engineering side would say it is.

Then, there's the marketing side that 3 must be better than 2.

 

Then, there's the marketing side that 3 must be better than 2.

Although some "3-stage" owners have reported that that center auger both interferes with driving into hardened snow pack and can easily get deformed when dealing with ice chunks.

 

My first was a Moto Mower Snow Shark that I still have but the 6hp motor seized many yrs ago but the blower is in excellent shape with all new chains and 2 spare clutch pulleys, thinking of putting a late model Honda on it just to play around with, Got a new hss928ctd last January.

 

A new 1989 Single Stage Cub Cadet 321 (3hp, 21"), for $300 out the door. You know, your basic MTD single stage at the time. I owned it for roughly 15 years. I don't remember what I did with it. I still use the older MTD single stages.

Although I just fixed up a 8hp 26" MTD 2-stage that was given to me and is in great condition so I will give it a try this year.

 

My first snowblower came with the house we bought 20 years ago. It was a White, I guess around 9 HP. It was a decent machine, had an incredible ability to chew and spit out everything in its way. Wet snow, heavy snow, packed snow, drifts etc.Nothing could stop it. The problem was it did not have any power or energy left to throw the snow more than 3-4 meters. So after two winters I bought my first Honda HS970 (928). And I buy a new one every 10 years, so yesterday I got my third, a brand new HSS970A ETD.
Hondas are popular here in the Arctic, so a well kept 10 year old can be sold for 60% or more for price as new.

 

MY first snowblower was shortly after I got married and bought a house. It was a 1982 Toro 724. It worked pretty good for the technology of the day. Nowadays I have a 824 Simplicity Signature pro, and a CCR2450 toro for the light work. Is there a perfect snowblower? I doubt it.

 

My first snowblower was a 1975 Lawn-Boy 8/26 which my dad bought brand new and gave it to me a few yeares later when I bought my first house. I just sold it September of this year . My second snowblower which I now have is a 2004 Murray Brute which I bought used two years ago. It was in nice shape, and was working great so I decided to completely restore it last year. I plan on keeping that one for the rest of my life... (unless I find a deal on a Yamaha).
Claude.

 

My first snow blower I bought was an old Craftsman single stage 7hp model for $15, was stuck in gear. Fixed it used the blower for several years and gave it away. Bought a Toro CCR 2000E in 1990 and it was the best snow blower I have ever owned for reliability and most snow falls. It's now almost 30 years now and my Son uses it every winter, it's a little older than he is. Both have been great to live with, gave the Toro to him so he does not have to shovel.

 

I bought a 1981 Toro 3521 on 3 October 1994, the day my youngest was born. Had been considering one for a while, but we were living in the city and the driveway was small. However, with 2 under 2 years old, I couldn't afford the time to shovel. I got it from a guy who picked up trades, freebies etc. It worked well until we moved to the burbs in 2000 and had a driveway about 4x the size and a serious amount of snow. Pretty well worn out by spring of 2001. Traded it and some cash for a similar vintage Toro 826.

My only previous snowblower experience had been running my dad's ESKA "Sno-Flyr" back in the early 70s

 

The first snow blower that I ever used was my Dad's 1978 Craftsman Single Stage 3HP 18". I think it cost Dad about $200 back in the day. I remember it was red and white and had the safety on the handlebar that was a pain. I remember "borrowing" this from Dad when we would have snow days and my best friend and I would go house to house and blow out peoples driveways. I remember one clown who stiffed us, and there was a guy across the street who was plowing out the drive. He saw what the guy did and decided to help us teach this guy a lesson. He offered to clear the neighbors snow out of their driveways and into his driveway. When he got home with his "fancy" Olds 98 Diesel, he was none to happy.

The first snow blower I had was a Toro single stage paddle drive snow blower. I forget the model, but it was good enough when I first got married. We live in the snow belt of NE Ohio so many times this was no match for the snow we got, but 80% of the time it worked just fine... just had to work a little harder with it.

Next blower I got was a Gold Series Yard Machine by MTD E660G . It is 28" and has a 10HP Tecumseh SnowKing engine that works like a champ! It has the electric start, but I never use it as it is just too easy to just prime and pull. I got this in the mid 2000's when we moved to our new house and it has tackled everything we have been able to throw at it. Only problem (if this is a problem) is it is 28" so it makes it hard to park my car in the garage in the winter when it is along side it. I have to kick the one end of my car out on an angle so I can easily get the blower out. I'm looking to sell this and if anyone has any idea what it might be worth, shoot me a personal message. It runs great but has some rust. I hope to get some pictures later today.

Today, I just had my Ariens Platinum 24 SHO. I hope this will be the last blower I buy and hopefully someday will be able to hand it down to one of my grandkids. Now I can't wait for it to snow so I can try it out.

 

Mine was a "Toro Power Handle" in the mid 1960's, with a snowblower and two mower attachments. The engine and all the controls were assembled on a handle that you swapped with the different decks depending on season. It was a few horsepower and maybe 20" wide at most. Did the job at the time, teenager in north Jersey. Moved to SoCal at 16 to get the free state education deal, no need for snowblower there. Bought a home at Mammoth Lakes and shared a big Ariens with the neighbor. He had it already when I purchased the home, but it no longer worked. Got it fixed plus added some storage that wasn't out in his yard, and we got at least a dozen more years out of it before I sold the place and moved north out of California for good. The Husqvarna is doing well for us so far in the shadow of Mt Bachelor. No more than a dusting so far this season, everything is ready.

 

The first snow thrower I used was a Toro Power Handle that my father owned when I was growing up in the 60s. I remember he replaced the mower attachment one time and the power handle once. The first power handle had a B&S engine and the second a Tecumseh.
The first snow thrower I bought was a 1996 Snapper 8265. I used that for 22 years and it was a great unit. I now own a 2 year old Ariens Deluxe 28 SHO that I inherited. I used it last year and the auto steer make it much easier to maneuver than the snapper.

 

My first Snowblower was a Yamaha YS524 purchased in 1982 replaced by my YT624 in 2015.

 

My first blower is what my father bought, a Yard-Man 7101, circa 1970, which I still have and it runs great. ... Since then I have completely restored a 10M4 Ariens with a new B&S, and also refurbished a 10M6D with a Predator 212. I have also repaired and refurbished many others through out the years, and sold many of them.

 

My first snowblower was also what my father bought; an Ariens. His was a ~1969 Ariens 10,000 series equipped with a wheel differential lock-out and 7 HP Tecumseh Snow King. It's now at my house.

Mine was a 1989 Ariens ST-824 with a wheel differential lock-out and 8 HP Tecumseh Snow King. Both Sno-Thro machines are still running strong.

 

First I bought was a Toro S-620. Or rather took from my grandfather's basement where it had been sitting for who knows how many years.
New carb kit, plug, fuel lines, and carb adjustment, and it was my go to power-shovel for years. Also because my parents wouldn't let me use the 2 stage...
Ran until someone ran it over. Need to get another one of those. Faster than shovling for light dustings and lighter than the CCR series.

 

Still using the first one I bought, a Honda HS 1132, which I bought used in the spring of 2007. Growing up, we had a 10 HP MTD that was purchased in 1984 and lasted into the 2000s. My dad replaced it with a 10 HP Yardworks from Canadian Tire about 2007ish.

The old MTD replaced a 1970s vintage Plymouth 5HP snowblower that gave out in a spring storm in 1984.

 

The first snow blower I bought was in 1977. It was a small 18" (?) Lawn Boy built by Gilson and had a 4HP engine on it I believe . I am not sure it really was a 1977 model since I bought it in a small independent hardware store and they often sold warehouse stock or liquidated stock from shops that went out of business.
It actually was a good performing machine just not very wide, but for 4HP it cleared well.
I owned that little blower for 10 years and passed it on to a family member. They kept it outside and I think it only lasted them 5 years or so. I would have looked at it to repair, but wasn't going to drive150 miles to do it. It was badly rusted and had some other damage from the gravel/rock driveway they used it on.

 

My first snowblower was a 1978 Ariens 932006 24" with 5hp. I inherited it from my grandfather and he got it new as a gift in 78. I did not pay for it but spent quite a bit of $ doing upkeep like bearings/bushings over the years. Bucket split on it this year so I have a brand new Lawn Boy 24" to use now. I will likely try to fix the Ariens somehow but since it is not primary there is no hurry to get it done quickly.

 

Late in 2003 I bought a Toro 726TE- 2stroke, 2 stage . R-Tek motor still going strong .