On Thursday, October 18, 2018 at 9:38:21 AM UTC-4, Tom wrote:
I've think I've narrowed it down to Ariens and Honda.
Honda engines are virtually unbreakable but the machines are also 2x the price. Are Hondas worth it?
Both brands have great local dealers.Â* Which brand do you recommend?

IDK about Honda snowblowers, but I can tell you about Honda mowers.
I bought one at HomeDepot when it was end of season, got a great deal,
think it was ~$350, about half price. In terms of the finish of the cut
it did on the grass, it was the best mower I ever had. It used a double
blade, one on top of the other, mulched very fine and was quiet too.
But it only lasted about 7 years, just using it on my lawn, which is
~6000 sq ft. The transmission wore out where the shaft enters it.
A new tranny was $135 plus shipping at the time. Even worse, this was
a real mess to take apart, dozens of small parts, bushings, etc.
I had two egg cartons full of stuff and while I'm experienced working
on a lot of things, I wondered if I would get it back together right again.

I wound up buying a new Craftsman on Ebay locally for $160. It has more
power, more noise and doesn't cut as nice. About 5 years in, it too
stopped moving. Unlike the Honda, it doesn't have a tranny, it uses a
slipping belt for variable speed drive, the Honda had 3 speeds. I took
two screws out, removed a cover from the top of the deck, found the belt
underneath. The end of the tension spring had broken. A zip tie and I
was back in business. That was at least 5 years ago, it's still working
fine.

So, my opinion of Honda lawn eqpt is very mixed. No reason a tranny
should fail like that. Also the variable speed is better thatn the
3 speed. Once in awhile I slow it down momentarily by partially releasing
the handle. The 3 speed Honda, all I ever used was speed 3. And the
tranny shouldn't fail on a $700 mower in just 7 years of light use.

For snowblower I also have a Craftsman that I bought 23 years ago.
It's been fine, except the carb is sensitive to getting fouled by the
ethanol gas crap. I've had to take it apart to clean or rebuild it a
couple times, but otherwise it's been rock solid. But it doesn't get
a whole lot of use here either.