Hi Pat, The reason why all manufactures have dropped greaseable ball bearings is two-fold.

1. You, my Dad and one other guy out in Montana were the only owners who actually greased those bearing when needed. The rest of the owners waited until the bearing rusted up, seized up and then tore the center worm gear out the snow blower. Then they blamed the snow blower for going bad. And that was 20 years ago.

Today, the normal residential homeowner does not own a grease gun, doesn’t know how to properly grease a bearing and has absolutely no interest in learning how.

2. Greased bearings and snow/water don’t mix. Even sealed bearing are a poor choice.

In snow blowers a poly or bronze bearing is actually a better choice. If you do wear out a poly bearing it’s a cheap, quick fix. The bearing doesn’t freeze/rust onto the shaft or doesn’t tear up the shaft. If a homeowner had my luck that $15 bearing always turned into a $100 repair. Ariens uses bronze bearings in the areas that have higher stress – transmissions and front gearbox. The poly they use is tough. For most people you’ll never need to replace them.

The LCT engine on the Ariens is actually a much higher quality engine than your Tecumseh. It will last longer and use a lot less fuel. The Deluxe 28 at HD will throw as far and the Honda. The Deluxe 28 SHO at your Ariens dealer will throw farther. I have no problems stating that either model will last as long as your old Snapper.

Hey Paul what do you think of the plastic bearing, or sleeve on the front auger which used to be a bearing you can grease, was going to but the areins deluxe at HD and found out its a non grease able fitting, are all machines like this most I have seen are the same. The Honda hss724 dealer said to me all the transmission have been recalled and replaced, am old school and I want quality my 25 year old snapper is running strong with a techumsa engine all grease able bearings , the Honda is pricey and we need easier turning snow blower but want quality and reliability.
Thank you for your help.
Pat In NH

Hi Max, We have had really good luck with the Ariens Platinum and Pro series snow blowers. They have big engines and very high capacity. I used a 30 platinum SHO last year and it would handle, deep snow wet snow, plow drifts and even snow that had settled and was melting. I really couldn’t slow it down.

The Platinum 30 SHO and Pro series all use a 420cc engine.

In St. John’s, Newfoundland we don’t always get a lot of snow but it is often like wet cement. I have a 16527 EXLT Husqvarna and to be honest, it vastly underpowered for the job, especially when the plow churns said snow into ice. Tried a Honda 11 hp a few years ago and it wasn’t much better. What will blow this stuff???!!

Hi Bill, all the 2104 and 2015 snow blowers have a service bulletin out except for the 2015 ST224P

Hi Bill, All of the things you have been told are true for engines made before 2008 or so. In addition before 2008 or so you could not get a Chinese engine here in the U.S. that was spec’d for our gas. Because of that they did have problems. Fuel lines melted, carbs fell apart, internals rusted – just like what happened when you tried to run an old Briggs, Tecumseh or Clinton engine from the past on today’s ethanol fuels.

Yes, all snow blower engines are made overseas except….one engine in the Honda single stage snow throwers is made in the U.S.

Yes, when you store your small engine including your snow blower, lawn mower, lawn tractor, generator, pressure washer, etc. you have to follow the instructions in the operator’s manual. If you use ethanol blended fuel you have to use a fuel stabilizer in the fuel all the time.

In reality, your new LCT, (Ariens, Husqvarna) Loncin, (Toro) and PowerMore (MTD) engines will give you 4 to 5 times the life of the old Briggs or Tecumseh L-head engines. These new engines are quieter, have better fuel economy and all repairs are done by the manufacture of the snow blower. You don’t have to get separate permission for warranty work on the engine like you had to do in the past.

So, you really are not that far off in price. There are quality 24-28 inch snow blowers in the $700-$1100 range. The Craftsman 88173 is basic 24 inch snow blower with no “creature features” like headlights or power steering for around $679. A Toro PowerMax 826 OXE is a good 26 inch machine with 4-way chute, headlight and automatic steering for $999. The Ariens Deluxe 24 or 28 you can get for $999-1100.

The Husqvarna ST224P is a great 24 inch snow blower with all the extras for $899. There is no design defect – it’s just the case that the 2014 models and a few of the 2015 models have an engine pulley that is too rough. It’s a pretty straight forward fix involving checking the belt alignment and polishing the belt pulley. My local dealer said Husqvarna is including pickup and drop off charges in addition to the fix. So no charge to me at all. Here’s a link to the TSB http://spotidoc.com/doc/787801/sb–service-bulletin–2014-dual-stage-snow-thrower-with-b…

Hi Glen, Amazon has been doing a good job of getting it out in the 5 days. I have a feeling Thursday is probably right, truck traffic is slow – and all deliveries will take an extra day or two for the next week in your area.

Hi Glen, The ST324P will handle the snow well. I would have suggested the 27 inch but the 24 inch will only take you about 10% longer to clear your area. Enjoy!