Simplicity or Toro Snowblower??

[ccg]

For good snow blower information, go to: www.abbysguide.com

My two cents would be to stay away from tecumsa engines as they may be going out of buisness. They are good enough engines, it just might be hard to find parts in a few years.

Also, I heard the Briggs & Stratton purchased part of Simplicity and now are making them into John Deere's that are sold at Lowes? Can anyone verify without hijacking this thread?

[darin]

I have an Ariens that I bought used 3 years ago. I had to get the engine tuned up and the gas shut off switch replaced and the throttle cable... all for about $100. The manual that came with it is from the early 70's. It's perfect. Looks a little beat (from the other guy), but starts and runs perfectly everytime... I paid about 150 for it and stuck 100 into it. I suppose I should have looked for new, but I only use it a dozen times a year...

I bought a new Toro 724 in 1985 and it still looks and runs great.
On the other hand, my Uncle bought a new 11hp Simplicity in 1972
and he's still using it at 82 years old. They are both quality products,
you will be happy with either one. Make sure you get enough power.

[Anthony E]

I purchased an 8hp Toro about five yrs ago & it has been very dependable. It has the plastic chute & joy stick that you mentioned. Both have been a non-issue. In fact the joy stick that operates the chute has been a very nice feature. My neighbor just borrowed it because his Sears blower was down. He was very impressed with it. I purchased the Toro because of a recommendation of a friend that does implement & small engine repair. I've been very satisfied with it. Tony

I'm with ccg - don't buy one with a techumseh until we know what is going to happen to the engine company. They quit building engines a couple months back. Although I know walleye sites have a strict rule on rumors, I've heard to expect a bankruptcy filing.

Simplicity has Briggs motors, and lots of happy customers.

I looked at the new Deere - they also have B & S motors - I thought it was interesting there was no throttle. Just an on off switch. I wonder if they have a true fixed speed carburator? I'm not sure they are as good as they used to be, Murray started building the JD's.

I really like the Ariens too - but they're techumseh motors. Husquavarna has a mix of motors, and nice speed control, no gears, just a slide lever.

Consider your servicing dealer. Having said all the above, the Ariens is probably my best choice due to the servicing dealership.

The new Deere blowers are versions of a Simplicity & labeled as Deere. The past few Deere years have been from Murray under the Frontier label. Frontiers appear to be non-Deere spec, rebadged products in a different shade of green. Deere is offering employee discounts on the Frontier line. Many dealers still have them. Working them for a better deal did not appear to be a problem but the Frontier models are not the quality of Simplicity or Ariens models in the 2 stages I looked at.

[dakota48]

I agree with the Simplicity over Toro. That said, I have a 8hp 26" Troy Bilt bought new in "97. Trouble free, changed skid shoes this fall and plug once. Change oil each season, drain gas in spring. Blow 3 driveways and trouble free.

[Capn Hooker]

I bought a Toro in 1977. Over the years I had to have a new handle put on and a new fuel pump. I had it until 2007. Can't complain about that for 30 years of use. In 2007 it finally died and I bought a Simplicity. Wow. What a difference. The Simplicity really blows (snow that is). Im much happier with the Simplicity. Much less work effort on my part. I hope it'll last 30 years like the Toro did. I also have a Simplicity lawn tractor (for 11 years) and am happy with it. Of course, you have to take care of any equipment.

[woods]

Don't know about the mentioned brands, but I've had 3 MTD's over the last 37 years, and they have all been great.

I have a chance to purchase a Husqvarna snow blower, and am wondering who builds it?