Recs.
Updated
This 2 stage snow blower is a reliable and very durable machine capable of cleaning up to 20” of snow on a single pass. Due to the 24” auger, the machine is perfect for regular 2 to 8 car driveways. Huge weight is one of the most important downsides of this machine.
SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro You can buy a lot of useful accessories
This machine supports a lot of useful optional accessories provided by Ariens. For example, you can buy optional heated handlebars, ‘Sno-Thro’ cab, and even Ariens ‘Sno-Thro’ tire chains. The complete list of optional accessories is available in Ariens' catalog.
Pro Durable gear case
The solid cast iron gear case is one of the most reliable components of this snow blower. It is used to transmit the force from the impeller shaft to the auger, basically being a simple 2 gear system. The majority of competitors offer a symmetrical gear non-iron gear cases, such gear cases are particularly prone to breakages and oil leaks. The Ariens Compact series snow blowers, on the other hand, have a top loaded gear case, therefore the oil leaking problem is almost fully eliminated (note, that the oil leaking is directly related to the failure of a gear case).
The manufacturer, in fact, provides an additional 5 Year gear case warranty, additionally to the standard 3 Year warranty of the machine.
Cons
Con Steel skid shoes leave scratch marks
It is very likely that you will have to replace the original steel skid shoes with the optional non-abrasive shod shoes. The steel skid shoes can easily scratch concrete and asphalt, thus leave the scratch marks all over your driveway. The optional, non-abrasive skid shoes ($ 40.19), on the other hand, are made from high quality polyethylene (plastics), therefore they can not scratch concrete and asphalt.