ransley wrote in
:

On Dec 8, 8:03*am, wrote:
On 07 Dec 2008 22:28:07 GMT, rochacha
wrote:





wrote
:

On Sun, 07 Dec 2008 14:56:20 -0600, Steve Kraus
wrote:

I'm looking for a snowthrower recommendation.

We're in the Chicago area so we get dumped on now and then but the
driveway isn't very long and we have used a Toro single-stage (the
old kind with the straight rubber flappers and rubber vanes to
direct the discharge) for years but it's just getting too
temperamental. *I'm sure a single stage with the newer curved
rubber blades and central discharge chute will be fine in terms of
actually doing the job.

Here are the shopping considerations:

Electric start is a must.

Greatly prefer a model that has convenient system to re-aim the
chute so one doesn't to bend down to turn it with each pass. *The
old Toro with the vanes had that but most current single stage
chute models that I've seen do not. *Toro "Power Clear" with
"Quick Shoot" seems pretty good in that regard.

Would prefer 4-stroke-cycle but a 2-stroke is not ruled out since
we've dealt with gas/oil mixture for many years.

I know Toro has their 221QE (2-stroke) and 421QE (4-stroke) which
fit the bill but I want to know what else is available as the
latter is around $800 which is a huge price for a 21" single stage
snow thrower!
What else should I look at?

Ariens are excellent. You'll see a lot of them being used in
commercial applications because they work well, and live a long
time.

A 4-stroke 2 stage Ariens of about 8 HP and 24 inch wide will run
around $800 or so. Take reasonable care of it and you'll still be
using it in 25 or 30 years.

Ariens is a great product. *We've used the brand for years. *Does an
excellent job with heavy Lake snows.
We bought ours from a local "lawnmower" shop. *They give excellent
ser
vice
if we need it. (as opposed to home depot).

You'll also find that the local lawnmower shop's price is the same or
better than Home Depot - and the money stays in your community!- Hide
quo
ted text -

- Show quoted text -

And if it has a defect or breaks HD will do nothing.

Just roll it inside to the returns desk with gas in it. They love that.
Start yanking on the rope. Heck, if ya get lucky maybe it'll start.
Vaaaarooooooom! Vaaaarooooooom!