If it has an engine, Honda is almost always the first and last answer.
I only have one Honda product (a car) but I've beaten the crap out of it like a rented mule and it just comes back for more. Zero repairs, and I do mean ZERO, until 195,000 miles and the few that I've needed to do since then have been not so nasty. It has right about 209,000 miles now and I don't see it quitting any time soon.
I have been rocking a Toro 21" single stage for about a decade now. I keep up on paddle and belt replacement and make sure it's totally empty of gas for summer storage and it is still going strong, still starting easy.
Last edited by EMC; 02-13-2019 at 12:08 PM.
I have been very happy with my Sears Craftsman with a Briggs engine. Two stage, 42 inch. $700ish.
Going strong even if it is a china motor. I just run it dry and change the oil at the end of every season.
5 years at 9,000 feet , out west, many feet of dry snow, 8 months a year. Plus some solid, wet heavy spring snow.
And 3 winters Vermont's wimpy east coast winters.
Lots of wet snow, ice, slush. Even some powder.
What ever brand you choose, if you find yourself blowing snow in the cold wind, the clear plastic "cab" that looks like the pope mobile actually makes it less miserable. I noticed that at the end of the season, Home Depot and Lowes often have them and other snowblower accessories on clearance.
Last edited by NEPAKevin; 02-13-2019 at 04:05 PM.
"You can't win a war with choirboys. " Mad Mike Hoare
Honda! I have two Honda snowthrowers. A 2-stage nine horse track drive machine that is an absolute beast. I’ve never seen anything that can throw snow as far and as high as my machine. The second machine is a five horse single stage that is not self propelled. I got the smaller machine with points through a company incentive program. I really didn’t need it but it was the only decent thing in the catalog and I had just the right amount of points.
In my mind there is Honda and then there is everything else.
My $40 one that always starts. Best carbureted engine I’ve seen.
#RESIST
One of the factors you need to consider is the type of snow you need to move, if living in an area that receives "lake effect snow", you will probably want a 2-stage blower with more horsepower and smaller cutting width.
I just took a look at Hondas. Man, they're expensive. Anything almost as good for a more reasonable price to deal with Wisconsin (including lake effect) snow?
Last edited by Guerrero; 02-14-2019 at 12:33 PM.
Never had one as good as the 12HP 2-stage Ariens I had when I lived in WI (for 20 years).
Don't remember the model, but it would clear just about anything.
Since then, living in the American West, I've had less powerful Toro and Honda models, which were smaller and cost less but were also significantly less capable, though adequate.
(And now that I'm old I just have our "lawn guys" take care of it.)
"Therefore, since the world has still... Much good, but much less good than ill,
And while the sun and moon endure, Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure,
I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good." -- A.E. Housman
With the admission that I have not tried this myself, the comments make this seem promising:Originally Posted by Guerrero
"You can't win a war with choirboys. " Mad Mike Hoare
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