Snowing!

[KNEEBITER]

Duane, Take it from me. If you decide to buy a Honda stay away from the tracks. They are a BIT$$ to move around. I have owned several and I think the track is all hype. My wheel Hondas go through everything with no problem and are easy to maneuver. Also the HS724wa will do everything the larger hs928 can do. So my vote is 724 if you ever make the move. Snowblowers are my hobby and I have owned and used hundreds. If you want to improve your Troy-Bilt I suggest this. smllengns.tripod.com/

It will make your machine a different animal .

[dwainw]

Did you catch the fact that there is another storm coming in behind this one. I've heard an ETA of Tuesday or Wednesday for yet another big one. Winchester has had 37" so far this year, and two-stage snowblowers are no where to be found here.

If you want a real snow blower, remember that Toro is headquartered and designed in Minneapolis, built in Minnesota. The Hondas are the only thing that can come close, with Ariens a distant third.

Most importantly, don't buy a track model until you have tried one. When they aren't running there are terrible to move around. And if they don't have a steering clutch system, they are terrible even if there are running. The traction advantage over a unit with a nice aggressive tire tread is very small. This is one of those gimmick features that look impressive, but are usually used to distract from other inferiorities.

[Briant73]

Where I live this winter it looked like in late December and early January it was going to be one heck of a winter but for the past few weeks it's been rather quiet on the snow front. We still have to get through February, March and early April though but so far for an area that usually gets 110-140" inches it's not been horrible. A buddy of mine just bought his first snowblower (Ariens 24") for his new house so hopefully that keeps the snow away.

Currently I run a Toro 2450gts single stage that does quite well with the snow but in the future will probably upgrade to a larger two stage snowblower. Brands I would consider are Ariens, Toro, Honda and Simplicity with wheels. I bought the single stage because at my old residence storage was small and I needed maximum manuverability, my new place I got the space to store and turn a bigger snowblower.

Duane - is your TroyBilt a single stage or two stage, I know TB are not the best performing units out there but if it's a two stage it sounds like something is wrong with your unit. Or maybe you need an impeller kit upgrade http://smllengns.tripod.com/ for the heavy wet snow.

[dwainw]

Hey, Kneebiter, I was typing while you were posting. Hundreds of snowblowers come through my shop every year, and noone here would own a track model.

[juliepooch]

I lived in Northern VA for 20 years (1980-1999). Your upcoming storms remind me of the double whammy 1987 Superbowl weekend storms (Thurs-Mon). We had 30" of measurable snow in our yard near Fairfax Hospital! We had to shovel out potty space for our dog. She was also so shy about being seen doing her business, it had to have a meandering walk so she was not visible from the window. Glad those days are over. Miss the 16+ years with the dog pound mutt, but not the snow.

[drcollie]

Good to know that the tracks are a gimmick or a headache - take your pick I guess. I tend to like my machines a bit 'over the top' so the tracks were looking pretty good to me. We had a well-pump failure at the house last week (10 years on the original pump) so that was $ 2,100 to have that replaced - my wife informed me that my new and improved proposed snow blower upgrade was at the bottom of a 450' deep well and I can just to out there and make more passed with my ole Tory-Bilt. Drat! Foiled again by my wife's good sense.....now if everyone would call in an order for a new leather recliner tomorrow, I could go get that Honda <G>

Those impeller add-ons look interesting! No downside to them? My Troy Bilt is one I got at Lowes. 2-Stage, 8.5 HP Tecumseh Engine with 26" clearing width. It does OK, but when I built the house I made the driveway pad extra wide so I could work on the store diesel trucks - so I can't get any part of the center snow thrown to the edges - just too far (about 20' from the center).

Dwain, what brands of snowblowers do you sell at your shop? When the day comes I can trade up, I'll come see you as long as you have something that I can throw the snow into the next county.

[drcollie]

Oh, I forgot to add....store will be shutting down on Friday as soon as the flakes start to fall (lunchtime?) and will be closed on Saturday from the snow. Monday may be iffy as well. I'll forward calls to my cell phone ....

[KNEEBITER]

Duane

The impeller kits works unreal. No problems at all. It mounts to the impeller fan pretty easy with a drill and wrench. If you are handy aprox 30 min to 1 hour to install. It will make your machine throw like a Honda. Including slush.

[drcollie]

OK, I'll try one! For $ 30, why not? That's really my only gripe with the Troy-Bilt, I just need more throwing distance (I'm still jealous of your two Hondas).

[KNEEBITER]

Dont be jealous If you put the kit on you will love your machine. The Hondas are a great machine but like H&M they cost. I love my Ariens. It is a 2003 model DLE PRO. Last year of the tried and true style before Ariens started making crazy changes that backfired. From what I hear they are starting to make them a little better this year. The Honda HS724wa costs aprox $2k and you can get them less if you shop. Try the kit I guarantee you will like your machine 100%more once you try it.