I’ve been getting a lot of readers asking, “Is the Ariens EFI worth the extra money?”
Here are three short videos that will help you answer that question.
The snow blower in this video is available at The Home Depot and your local Ariens dealer. Home Depot Link: Ariens Deluxe 30 EFI
Feel free to ask questions in the comment section below.
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Aaron Morrison
Hi Paul,
I live in Traverse City MI and am debating between a deluxe 30 efi and platinum 30 sho. Would I notice a large difference in power, performance and fuel efficiency? I’m wondering how much of a boost you get from efi compared to the beefier SHO carb engine. What would you suggest? Driveway is 90’ long and wide to to a 3 car garage.
Paul
Hi Aaron, The EFI engine gives you easier starting. You don’t have to worry about using today’s crappy fuels as much. No one gives you Horsepower ratings but I’ll guess the Deluxe 30 EFI has about 10hp where the Platinum 30 SHO has about 14HP.
Where you live, I always suggest the higher HP machine. You get a lot of snow and the Platinum 30 SHO can handle anything you get quickly. The SHO impeller also throws snow farther than the Deluxe impeller.
Gene
Hi Paul, I’ve watched your videos on the Ariens EFI models. Impressive how easy they are to start. From looking at the Ariens owners manual it seems they’ve reduced the size of the fuel tanks. Do you have any ballpark idea about how many hours or minutes of run time for the 369cc and the 420cc? Considering 8″ snowfall, not too wet and not too dry.
Thanks, Gene
Paul
Hi Gene, Everyone is making the gas tanks on snow blowers smaller. Why? First, The large majority of problems with snow blowers is stale fuel. A snow blower may go months between uses and the fuel in the tank can go bad. By using smaller tanks you have a better chance of rotating the fuel through the machine and fewer problems with stale fuel. Second, today’s engines are much more fuel efficient than the old side-valve models.
Roughly a 369cc will use 1/2 gallon of fuel an hour and the 420cc about 3/4 gallon per hour.
Rich
I have a 2-year-old 30″ Platinum SHO with a good old carburetor and it started up last week for the first time, since last season, on the first pull. All I could think was wow! I use stabilized gas and always turn off the gas tank and run it dry after every use. Love my Ariens!
Steven D Visek
Paul, a year or so ago I’d asked for a recommendation for a snowblower and you suggested the Ariens Deluxe.
I ended up getting the EFI version and didn’t pay a premium. At the end of last season the EFI went on sale and was the same price, briefly, as the carb version. I even got to use it once when we got an unexpected late season snow.
I have also used it once so far this season. At the end of last season, there was no running it dry or draining gas. I just put the cover on it and then every 3 months started it for a few minutes. With our recent snow I pulled it out and it started right up and ran like a champ. Awesome machine!
Thank you again for the great recommendation. Unless someone likes dealing with chokes and carb maintenance, etc. I would suggest for most folks there shopping can begin and end with the Ariens EFI. Even if you have to pay the premium it is worth every penny. Though I didn’t have to pay a premium, I would have, even if that premium was double what it is now.