honda vs ariens

lovemytoys · Feb 10, 2011

is a honda snowblower worth 1000.00 more then arien pro ???

crbr · Feb 10, 2011

lovemytoys said:
is a honda snowblower worth 1000.00 more then arien pro ???

Yes.......

Ductape · Feb 10, 2011

Yes.......................

lovemytoys · Feb 10, 2011

i was looking at the 928 or the 1132.what is your input??

Ductape · Feb 10, 2011

I have a neighbor who has a 928 and loves it. Dunno anyone with the 1132...... but seen the videos on YouTube, and that is one snow eatin' mutha !

oldnslo · Feb 10, 2011

Not to me but then we have a great Ariens dealer and no good Honda dealer.

I have an Old Ariens 824 and it has been very dependable. Biggest issue with new products is the zero adjustability on the carb. They may run decent for awhile and they may burn a hole in the piston because they are to lean.

Guess it depends on which dealer you think will provide the best service.

Roy

stevess · Feb 10, 2011

my brother sold the 28" after one week of ownership. i think the only way to go is the 32. his take was that he needed more cc's and a larger width. he seeemed very impressed with the way it threw the snow but i think he's gonna get the larger ariens next time, which kinda surprised me. i had not had a chance to use it .
steve
bx25

tsteahr · Feb 10, 2011

We have a fleet of Honda HS928TAS where I work (at least a dozen). The facilities guys that use them don't speak highly of them. The Ariens commercial units are quite a bit heavier which helps keep the machine from riding up on top of the snow. A good friend has a simplicity P1728E that he uses to keep about 150' of sidewalk clear from what the town snowplow deposits. That unit has the powerboost feature which is very helpful in the extremely dense, packed snow he has to clear. It has a high hp per inch ratio as well.

I'm not convinced the Honda is worth $1k more. I don't think I would choose it over a Simplicity or Ariens if it was the same price. But that's just me.

gdh · Feb 10, 2011

I can only comment on my Airen's Pro. It is awesome. Trouble free going on 5 years. Does its intended purpose dutifully with no problems. I don't know what could make it better for $1k.

stevess · Feb 11, 2011

where online? how good of a deal? been thinking for my walkways
steve
bx25

lovemytoys · Feb 11, 2011

stevess said:
where online? how good of a deal? been thinking for my walkways
steve
bx25

honda can not be shipped or sold online you need to find a dealer.the best i found is 200 off retail on the honda

9973720wb19 · Feb 11, 2011

I purchased a 32' Pro Ariens at SnowblowersDirect.com. I've had it two seasons and it's work fine. The only problem i had was that the cable to engage the blades is under engineered and the hardward (not the actual cable) broke. I fixed it easly and better than orginial with $4.00 worth of parts from the hardward store. The engine seems great and starts on the first pull every time. I have a hill drive, tractor is very good, turns fine. I purchased the weight bar for the top to keep it on the ground more (not that this was an issue). One more peice of advice, I purchased replacement shoes for it from SnowblowersDirect for $44 buck, and later that day saw them at Lowes for $28!!

Scooby074 · Feb 11, 2011

YES.

I have a 928. About the only thing id trade for is a 1132. Not because the 938 is underpowered, Its not, but the extra 4" might shave a bit of time. Honestly though, i doubt those extra inches would be a benefit in practice.

I do my drive in 4 passes (2 down-up). I then follow up later with a 3rd pass along the perimeter to widen it out. A 32" wont really shave much off.

Its kinda hard to compare the Honda's to the other brands as you do get some extras for your money, like electric chute angle and deflector adjust (which hasn't let me down in 8 years), Hydrostatic (invaluable) , Track drive, and self contained electric start (no need for cords).

peterc38 · Feb 11, 2011

First off, I love Honda's and am a big fan of their commercial GX engines. I had a Honda 1132 track drive. Bought it with cash in the middle of a July heat wave and got a good deal. I used it for two years and sold it for the same I paid for it. It was very powerful and blew snow to beat the band, but I didn't end up liking the track drive. I found it difficult to manuever and it tended to ride up on packed snow. Also, it broke a lot of shear pins in comparison to other blowers I have run. Just my own personal experience.

I never ran an Ariens so I can't comment. Right now I am looking for a 3 PT blower for my Kubota and I have a 30 year old Toro 826 for backup.

ccsial · Feb 11, 2011

The thing I like best about my Honda blower is the hydrostatic (HST) drive.

lovemytoys · Feb 11, 2011

i found a 1132 but it 3000.00

IslandTractor · Feb 11, 2011

I don't know either of these snowblowers personally but I've owned Honda power equipment for years. IMO, Honda is now over rated and still charges a premium. The Honda premium might have been justified in the past. I'm not knocking the quality of Honda at all but the other manufacturers have developed engines that are just about as reliable as Hondas so why pay the premium? In the past B+S or other common small engines were far less reliable than the Honda equivalents but that isn't the case anymore.

crazyal · Feb 11, 2011

The Honda's are just built better. At a dealer they had some parts cut apart to see how they are made. One of them was the worm gear assy (the part that transfers the power from the impeller shaft to the augers. I've had mine apart because a hidden block of wood got caught between one of the augers and the impeller split the worm gear housing.

When I saw the display I immediately reconized the the Aries part. The Honda one had real bearings, not bushings like the Aries, in it. It was thicker and just beefier than the Aries. I probably only run my snow blower an hour each season to clear a path to bring wood into the cellar to burn and since it was given to me I really can't complain. After seeing that display I did buy a Honda 4 stroke weed wacker.

tsteahr · Feb 11, 2011

crazyal said:
The Honda's are just built better. At a dealer they had some parts cut apart to see how they are made. One of them was the worm gear assy (the part that transfers the power from the impeller shaft to the augers. I've had mine apart because a hidden block of wood got caught between one of the augers and the impeller split the worm gear housing.

When I saw the display I immediately reconized the the Aries part. The Honda one had real bearings, not bushings like the Aries, in it. It was thicker and just beefier than the Aries. I probably only run my snow blower an hour each season to clear a path to bring wood into the cellar to burn and since it was given to me I really can't complain. After seeing that display I did buy a Honda 4 stroke weed wacker.

I don't understand why a bearing is better than a bushing in this application?