Craftsman 250cc 28″ path Two Stage Snow Thrower Model 88690 Review
Sears item# 07188690000 Mfr.model# 88690
NOTE: This snow thrower has been replaced with the Craftsman 277cc 28″ path Steerable Two Stage Snow Thrower Model 88791 and the Craftsman 357cc 30″ path Steerable Two Stage Snow Thrower Model 88830 Click on either link to view the new 2009 models.
This model replaces the Craftsman 9 hp Gas Snow Thrower Model 88190 from last year. The new model has one new feature and three changes from the previous model.
Pros
This is a good basic snowthrower with lots of capacity. If I only had one choice to choose from this would be it. The 88690 has enough capacity to easily handle a 16 inch snowfall and enough power to bust through anything the city snowplow can leave at the end of your driveway. At 28 inches wide it is large enough to make quick work of your drive yet narrow enough to clear your sidewalks and garden paths.
The design is simple. One crank to control the discharge chute, one lever for the six forward and two reverse speeds. It also has a clutch lock so you can free up one hand to control the chute or scratch your nose.
The best new feature this year is the Glide Tech polymer skid shoes. Have you ever looked at you cement driveway and sidewalks and noticed little brown streaks on them. Those streaks are caused by the steel skids shoes on your old snow thrower scraping and leaving little bits of metal. That metals rusts and leaves those brown marks. These new skid shoes protect your driveway from scratches. The Glide Tech shoes are reversable so you can get long life out of them.
Cons
There is a little more plastic on the machine this year. The top brace on the handlebar was made of steel last year and now is replaced with a plastic piece.
The biggest disappointment this year is the good old Tecumseh Snow King engine has been replaced with a Briggs & Stratton. You know how much I like the old Snow King. The Briggs has been around a few years now so they do have all the bugs (an electrical switch) worked out of it so I guess it’s not that big of deal. The Briggs is a overhead valve engine so it is quieter, smoother running and more fuel efficient than the old Snow King.
In summary I like this machine. It is a good basic snowblower. No, it doesn’t have a joystick chute control, headlight, power steering and other accessories like the 88999 but for the money it is a very good value.
NOTE: This snow thrower has been replaced with the Craftsman 277cc 28″ path Steerable Two Stage Snow Thrower Model 88791 and the Craftsman 357cc 30″ path Steerable Two Stage Snow Thrower Model 88830 Click on either link to view the new 2009 models.
You can read more about this snow thrower and order it online using this link Craftsman 250cc 28″ path Two Stage Snow Thrower Model 88690. If you order it online you can pick it up at your nearest store and not get charged for shipping. Sears has this model on sale a lot for $50 to $150 dollars off the retail price. They also have a 30 day price guarantee so you can buy it, watch the sale ads and come into your local Sears and get the difference refunded to you.
I will also suggest that you purchase an extra package of shear pins with your machine and duct tape the package right to the handles.
The machine is designed to break these pins instead of tearing up the transmission and they WILL break if you try to run chunks of ice through it or the garden hose you forgot to put away.
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