Snow blower power ratings

Posted by on October 11, 2009, 10:32 pm

On Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:16:52 -0400, salty@dog.com wrote:

>wrote:

>>clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Worn Out Retread wrote:
>>>>>> Worn Out Retread wrote:
>>>>>>> I am looking for a new snow blower and have discovered that the power
>>>>>>> rating of the engines are no longer in "Horse Power" but in "Foot
>>>>>>> Pounds" if given at all. Sometimes all that is given is the CC's of
>>>>>>> the engine.
>>>>>>> Even the people selling these machines don't know what the "Horse
>>>>>>> Power" ratings are so that old geezers like myself can understand
>>>>>>> what is going on. Does anyone have any general rules regarding the
>>>>>>> conversion of Foot Pounds or CC's to Horse Power?
>>>>>> the HP is really irrelevant. Don't worry about it.
>>>>> I guess that you are only going to look at your machine and not actually
>>>>> do some work with it. Work requires power and knowing what you have IS
>>>>> important.
>>>> Lordy. Unless you are buying pro-grade gear, odds are it is gonna be an
>>>> MTD anyway, no matter what brand name is stuck on it. The same size
>>>> blower will have the same engine across all the house brands. Buy the
>>>> size you need, and move on. Almost always, it will be adequate. The
>>>> manufacturer has no percentage in giving themselves a bad reputation, so
>>>> they match them up pretty well. Don't lose sleep over it- life is too
>>>> short.
>>> If a particular frame size is available with 3 engine options (which
>>> is normal) buy the middle one for normal use, the big one for heavy
>>> snow conditions, and the small one as an ornament. (or for light snow
>>> conditions)
>>>
>>> My old 26 incher was available as a 5, 8, and 10 hp.
>>>
>>> Mine was a 5 HP Tec Sno-King and was adequate for normal blowing, but
>>> stressed handling deep packed snow plough ridges. When I blew the 5 I
>>> put on an 8, which was the same block as the 5, so fit with absolutely
>>> no modifications.

>>You must be talking pro-grade from an equipment dealer. None of the
>>stores around here that are open evenings and weekends, offer any
>>choices in engine sizes. I'd wager the price at an equipment dealer is a
>>lot higher than at the big-box, as well. Of course, you are up in
>>Canada- I suspect there may be more of a market for heavy-duty stuff up
>>there. Around here in Baja Ontario (aka lower Michigan), anything over
>>15" shuts down the city for a day or two.

>Bought my Ariens from a local mom & pop commercial tractor store for
>the same price as the big box stores.

And I wouldn't buy major power equipment from the "despot" anyway. For
virtually the same price you can buy DECENT equipment from someone who
KNOWS the product and will be there to supply you with service and
repair parts when needed.

The Ariens line is pretty top notch stuff (or at least it was when I
was in the business) Worked for an Ariens dealer for several years
back when I was a young feller. Back then Ariens, Hahn, and Jacobsen
were the big players in the quality lawn mower and snow blower
business up here.

Today Honda has a good hold on the business, with Toro and Ariens
still definitely holding their fair share.
Briggs and Stratton, having absorbed Murray pretty well own the lower
middle end of the spectrum, with MTD/YardWorks taking up the slack
below.

You generally can't go too far wrong buying Ariens, particularly from
a reputable dealer with good service facilities.

Posted by aemeijers on October 11, 2009, 11:16 pm

clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

>(long and educational explanation snipped)

Wow- you folks up north sure do have a lot more choices than we do down
here, leastways if we don't want to take a weekday off to shop. I am
curious, what price does a typical 24" 2-stage run up there?

BTW, I didn't buy mine at the Borg. I bought it off Craig'sList,
essentially brand new, from a small-framed fellow who was pretty clearly
scared of it. 100 bucks cheaper than new, which was around 600 at the
time. I did do a lot of shopping around though, at least at the places
that were open on Saturday around here. Only difference between brands
seemed to be color and decals. The 'Fisher-Price' rubber-auger singles,
the 24", and the 26", all had a single model available. I'm sure that if
I was doing driveways for a living, it wouldn't hold up as well as a
thousand-dollar machine, but for my little 20x60 driveway, it seems to
be holding up fine. And my back feels a whole lot better in winter.

--
aem sends....

Posted by on October 12, 2009, 12:47 am

wrote:

>clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

>>(long and educational explanation snipped)

>Wow- you folks up north sure do have a lot more choices than we do down
>here, leastways if we don't want to take a weekday off to shop. I am
>curious, what price does a typical 24" 2-stage run up there?
>BTW, I didn't buy mine at the Borg. I bought it off Craig'sList,
>essentially brand new, from a small-framed fellow who was pretty clearly
>scared of it. 100 bucks cheaper than new, which was around 600 at the
>time. I did do a lot of shopping around though, at least at the places
>that were open on Saturday around here. Only difference between brands
>seemed to be color and decals. The 'Fisher-Price' rubber-auger singles,
>the 24", and the 26", all had a single model available. I'm sure that if
>I was doing driveways for a living, it wouldn't hold up as well as a
>thousand-dollar machine, but for my little 20x60 driveway, it seems to
>be holding up fine. And my back feels a whole lot better in winter.

wrote:

>clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

>>(long and educational explanation snipped)

Currently Canadian Tire has 2 24" blowers listed online. The Troybuilt
is 1149.99 and the yardworks is 999.99
Both use the Powermore 208cc OHV engine. The Troy has"power steering."

They also have a Yarworks with single speed - down and dirty cheapest
thing MTD could throw together, with the same engine for 769.95

Looks like with the death of Tecumseh the L-head engine option (the
old snow-king) is gone.
For the first time I also only see one HP per blower width - on 2
brands listed on their site.

Home harware has both a 26 and 28 inch TORO with 250cc Briggs. 24"
1599.99 and 28 inch with fingertip steering at 1899.99

Sears Canada has Craftsman 24" with 208cc Storm Force OHV (9 ft lb )
(6 HP) for 899.99
Also 24" 208cc Powermate engine for 999.99
Also for 1099.99 a 249cc 11.5 ft lb (8 HP) Briggs on the 24" blower.

Then they have both 27" and 30" with 305cc Briggs 14.5 ft lb (10 HP)
for 1699.99 eachIn the 27 inch size they also have 249cc briggs for
1199.99 and 999.99, as well as Briggs OHV 13.5 ft lb (9 HP) for
1299.99 and a Poulan Pro 291cc 12.4 ft lb (8.5HP)

So it is obvious they are still building and selling the same machine
with different engine options - both HP and valve configuration..

Looking at Briggs specs, the 205cc Intek OHV is 7.5HP compared to
249cc for the flathead 8HP.

The OHV Snow line has a 342cc, 20.85cu inch series at 16.5 and 15.5 ft
lb (10.6 and 11.3HP) as well as a305cc (18.6 cu inch) at 13.5 and 14.5
ft lb (9.25 and 9.9 hp), the 249 at 11.5 and 11 ft lb, and the 205 at
8 and 9 ft lb (5.5 and 6HP)

THe engines referred to as "power mate" are COLEMAN engines.

The "Storm Force" engine is a Chinese LCT engine.
The "Powermore" is also a cheap chinese engine - a cob-rough copy of a
Honda, used by MTD on their "value lines"

So, More than you ever wanted to know about SnowBlowers and engines in
Canada.

Posted by Worn Out Retread on October 12, 2009, 11:40 am

> clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

>>(long and educational explanation snipped)

> Wow- you folks up north sure do have a lot more choices than we do down
> here, leastways if we don't want to take a weekday off to shop. I am
> curious, what price does a typical 24" 2-stage run up there?
> BTW, I didn't buy mine at the Borg. I bought it off Craig'sList,
> essentially brand new, from a small-framed fellow who was pretty clearly
> scared of it. 100 bucks cheaper than new, which was around 600 at the
> time. I did do a lot of shopping around though, at least at the places
> that were open on Saturday around here. Only difference between brands
> seemed to be color and decals. The 'Fisher-Price' rubber-auger singles,
> the 24", and the 26", all had a single model available. I'm sure that if I
> was doing driveways for a living, it wouldn't hold up as well as a
> thousand-dollar machine, but for my little 20x60 driveway, it seems to be
> holding up fine. And my back feels a whole lot better in winter.
> --
> aem sends....

For $600 Cdn you get a "power broom." A decent machine is going to cost
$1600 or more. The toy machines are about $900 to $1100.

Posted by Worn Out Retread on October 12, 2009, 11:51 am

Thanks to all who replied. Some of the information was quite useful and as
usual some wasn't.

I will have to use my "gut instinct" on this one I think....nothing less
than 11 foot lbs.
--
Ron

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Snow blower power ratings - Page 9