Honda Vs Yamaha Snowblowers.

 
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Post by EarthWindandFire » Mon. Oct. 06, 2014 2:09 pm

For those looking to get a new Honda snow blower, I just got quotes back from two local dealers.

Honda HS724TA: $ 2300 dollars.

Honda HS928TA: $ 2500 dollars.

Honda HS1332TA: $ 3100 dollars.


 
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Post by stovepipemike » Thu. Oct. 30, 2014 8:52 am

I have been running my Gravely with the 26 in. snowblower attachment since 1976. No plastic parts, and if it isn't cast iron,it is welded steel. That pretty much tells you how the Gravely was made. Most don't want anything to do with them these days because they are heavy and they are slow. They have a tendency to turn a newspaper hidden under the snow into confetti and hit the second floor window with it, if you are not keeping track. They are presently cheap to buy because they are too old to be thought of as "any good". So far I have 38 years of faithful service and going strong, bring it on!!! Just my $.02. Mike

 
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Post by EarthWindandFire » Thu. Oct. 30, 2014 10:53 am

Hey Mike,

The only similar walk-behind made today that's as good (or better) than the Gravely's are the BCS or Grillo tractors made in Italy. But, quality comes at a price. These are very expensive machines. The snow blower attachment alone costs around a thousand dollars.

http://www.earthtoolsbcs.com/

http://www.italianfarmmachinery.com/company_detai ... asp?id=137

http://www.bcsamerica.com/

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Post by windyhill4.2 » Thu. Oct. 30, 2014 11:15 am

Unless you plan to blow snow 24/7 why do you want to spend $$ for the "best". We currently have 8 snowblowers in our shop for service/repair,mainly running issues related to the fuel. Most of these units were made in the early to mid 90's & are perfectly capable of doing their job for quite a few yrs more....... most of them are MTD units with different name labels on them,some Murray,Ariens, Honda,Toro

 
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Post by EarthWindandFire » Fri. Oct. 31, 2014 4:13 pm

I'm going tomorrow to look at the Honda's. I have five driveways that I need to do, four elderly neighbors and mine. I would hate to buy the 7hp model only to find out its not big enough for a big storm like we've had recently. On the other hand, the 13hp might be too big and hard to use especially when I'm older. So, I'm thinking that the 9hp model might be a good compromise.

Does anyone agree with me or have any suggestions?

 
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Post by franco b » Fri. Oct. 31, 2014 4:49 pm

EarthWindandFire wrote:Does anyone agree with me or have any suggestions?
Good solid machines, but then again Ariens, Simplicity, and Toro all have good reputations. Then there are the innovations by MTD such as trigger steering which I think Toro has also and how about the triple stage Cub Cadet?

You could buy two or three of these machines for one Honda, as David pointed out.

How good or bad are the surfaces you have to clear?
How important is maneuverability?
Replacement parts availability?

 
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Post by lzaharis » Fri. Oct. 31, 2014 5:10 pm

The problem with the current two stage snow casters
with my experience in the last forty plus years dealing
with them is one of poor design.

The two stage units available today will not stay on the
ground-meaning they will ride up on packed snow or slush.

The Yamahas are heavy becuase they are well ballasted
and have more than adequate power power for the job.

Saying that the gear drive(BCS) or face to face
friction rubber plate clutch units(Yamaha)shine
because of their drive train.

The second stage impeller fan of the BCS is gear driven.

The torque created by the drive train permits the user to have
the power needed to remove snow.

Saying that the Yamaha is purpose built for the the
northern island snows of Hokkaido, japan.

The gear train of the BCS will handle the workload for you
because there is no slippage other than gear backlash for
the attachment.

The wheel drive for the BCS is also gear driven which creates huge
amounts of traction for you when wheel weights are added or the
tires are filled with windshield washer fluid as a traction aid.

You can also add snow and Ice chains for additional traction
on all surfaces.

The the BCS unit also offer independent brakes for steering as well.

The BCS units will also allow you to attach a riding sulky
which will help you with the job of clearing the five driveways.

It may be better for you to purchase a sub compact utility tractor in
the long run using the Kubota 1860 as an example with a rear mounted
snow blower as the front mounted units are very expensive and perform
poorly in deep snows.

clearing snow is tedious and boring and exposure to the elements is an
issue simply due to temperatures.

If your looking at this in the long haul sense of things as you seem
to be looking at a sub compact tractor with the rear mounted snow blower
will be a better fit as you could purchase a front end loader with it to
clear snow piles where the snow caster cannot work and it will retain value
as sub compact tractors with front end loaders hold their value for a long time.


 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Fri. Oct. 31, 2014 10:08 pm

In my shop I am currently servicing a Honda HS828 , hydrostatic drive which gives all kinds of speed selections,this unit has tracks & the lack of power steering makes it a hard unit to turn. Looks like Honda did most everything else right with this unit except for the steering issue. I have never used a Honda to blow snow,i have used Toro,MTD, Ariens & a few others,i see very little difference between the Ariens & MTD units. MTD has many labels to choose from & the better ones offer the power steering. Cub Cadet & Columbia would be the top 2 to choose from. They have a residential line & a commercial line ,the commercial line is more money but has heavier gauge steel,bigger diameter auger & blower. You could probably buy the commercial unit for quite a bit less than the Honda & have a very good unit,very easy to operate,very capable of the job at hand. Size for your use...all around the 10hp 28 " would be a good size,not too little,not too big.

 
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Post by SMITTY » Fri. Oct. 31, 2014 10:51 pm

That's why I love my Toro Powershift - you hit the lever and the axle "powershifts" backward - just like placing a 60lb weight over the auger. Won't ride up on much, unless your trying to go too fast. Thing is great. 8-)

I don't know man - maybe people in MA are tougher on their equipment ... but every single MTD product that comes through my doors is just so poorly built, worn out and trashed it takes just shy of an act of God to get it throwing snow again. Discs shredded to a pile of plastic (seems like what they make them out of), trashed bearings, broken auger adjustment cranks, warped augers, stripped auger gearcases, shifters all bound up and bent, components so rusted they look like they came from TITANIC ... same issues, different components on all their lawn equipment. Could be because most were built in the 90's - '00's. Seems to be a bad era for automotive products as well ...

At the same time, I have seen SEVERAL 1970's Ariens snowblowers that needed NOTHING but a carb clean. Oh, one I had to put new brass bushings in for the drive axle. All are still running strong.

 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Sat. Nov. 01, 2014 7:52 am

Toro powershift = extra mechanism to break & upkeep,extra weight thrown forward means less weight on the drive wheels ,less weight on the drive wheels means less pushing ability. Toro,Ariens & Mtd all use basically the same drive system with a rubber friction disc,all about the same size.Murray is similar setup with a smaller drive disc.Snapper has used this set up on blowers & mowers since early 70's,maybe even b4 that.We service many early to mid 90's blowers that are still going strong.$1500 or less investment that lasts 20 yrs.is good enough for me,course I do not have the $8000 ATV toys to play with , break & repair either. If I did maybe I would change my thinking for a $1500 blower to last 40 yrs. I personally do not care what brand anyone buys,just expressing my opinion based on my experience from working on this type of equipment since the early 70's.Dollars invested for work done & ease of work done = a top of the line MTD unit,but then I won't be using a snow blower in 40 yrs. :) An afterthought to add : Most manufacturers do not have the parts available for 20+ yrs.,so far I have found MTD to be the best in supplying parts even back into the 80's. The Tecumseh engines that were predominantly used on most brands tend to be the weak link & usually determine the end of a snow blowers life,i can't remember ever junking an MTD with a good running engine,but we did junk 1 yr old units because of engine failure & the impossibility of finding a new twin shaft Tecumseh.MTD now uses their own engine & it seems to be a good engine.

 
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Post by coalder » Sat. Nov. 01, 2014 8:54 am

Just food for thought, I have had a fair amount of experience with Gravely snow blowers. My son currently has my old one and still works great. Trust me, if you can find one in working condition, or even needs a little repair, buy it. They basically last forever. And outperform almost anything. They were a subsidiary of Studebaker corp. And parts are still available.
Jim

 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Sat. Nov. 01, 2014 9:01 am

The previous post of mine seems slanted toward mentioning one brand the most. That is because that is the most popular brand,so naturally we service & repair far more of the one than we do of all the others combined. Out of 100 MTD units we serviced 1 Gravely,2-5 Honda,2 Snapper,6-12 Toro/Lawnboy,15-20 Murray/Noma, 20-30 Ariens,so the field is slanted with the popularity favoring the various MTD brands.Naturally we then have to repair MTD's the most but only because of the numbers. We have some customers who have both Ariens & MTD,both perform equally well,both seem to last as long as the Tecumseh engine will allow them to. I get no royalty check from any manufacturer(that is why I quit being loyal to Chrysler products a few yrs back,no check for all those loyal yrs. ,no more loyal from me) I gain nor lose no matter which unit a customer chooses. Just trying to give a perspective view as seen here in our shop & after being able to test so many different units in actual snow blowing usage . Your own results will depend on several things,so it depends. Gravely......... yes they are one tough unit,at 57 yrs old I ain't tough enough to want to man handle that beast anymore,besides, being tough does not mean that they throw all kinds of snow real well.

 
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Post by coalder » Sat. Nov. 01, 2014 9:25 am

Windy, in the early 70's I lived next to my uncle up a quarter mile dirt road through a pasture. He had a Gravely walk behind snow blower. When he couldn't anymore I took over. For many years I maintained that road with that gravely in all kinds of snow and never had any problems. In 78 I relocated and bought a ride on Gravely "commercial 430" used. Used up till 2 yrs ago, never had a problem. My son now has that tractor and lives in Watertown, NY and he loves it. So the answer is yes it can handle all hinds of snow, if your "man enough " to use one. :D
PS: I just located one in Englewood,DE for $ 800. It was listed 0n "americanlisted.com". and the blower looked like new. Hmmm, I wonder why?
Jim

 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Sat. Nov. 01, 2014 9:32 am

Why ??? Not much snow in Delaware ?? I wasn't trying to say that the gravely couldn't blow snow even tho a close look at my post might seem that way. :)

 
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Post by coalder » Sat. Nov. 01, 2014 9:52 am

Windy, was just being a tad factious at the end of my post. :D. However, IMHO, with all I have experienced with Gravelys I firmly believe that anyone looking for a "serious" snow blower, should check them out. I am not a betting man, however if I were, I would bet a $100,00 bill to a hole in a doughnut that a 30yr old gravel Could and WILL outperform ANYTHING of equal horsepower out there. Bar none.
Jim


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