Honda snowblowers

Who knows these beasts and have advice to share? New, used, pros and cons, likes and dislikes?

I think I want one of the bigger models with the tracks. Used ones on local CL are quite overpriced this time of the year for obvious reasons, there's a couple of HS828 and HS724, also a few older Hs55 and the likes.

And I think I want a Honda as I'm assuming they are good quality and reliable (kinda like their generators),
am I wrong to assume that?

Thanks

 

What kind of terrain are you clearing?

the treads make me nervous when there are bumps or other elevation changes (curbs) involved. For a long flat sidewalk, it would be great, but my driveway has a 100' oak tree lifting up a section...

 

We have an HS1132 at the shop. The tracks work really well however the wheeled versions are a little easier to handle. If you are snowblowing a gravel driveway buy the track version.

 

I have a small flat driveway, no curbs to go over with the blower, the yard is not too big either. I certainly don't need the biggest blower Honda makes but we are probably going to get a lot of snow again this year and want something that kicks ass and is reliable.

 

Buy a 1 way ticket to Florida instead. 80° and sunny here today.

 

No gravel to go over, paved flat driveway, flat sidewalks along the street and mostly flat yard with grass around the house and some more behind.

The one you have maybe a bit of an overkill for me (I also can probably buy a Grom for that money!).

Would you say they are worth the $$$ and reliable? I have plenty of shit to wrench on and really just want to put gas in it and fire it up and be done with it.

 

We're going to Miami for New Years and the Pats/ Fins game. I would honestly move there in a heart beat but it is not an option at this point.

 

No issues with reliability on the unit. Make sure you have extra shear pins if you go with the bigger units.

If it's a driveway under 75ft in length I would just buy one of their smaller single stage units. The bigger units don't clear down to the pavement as cleanly as the rubber paddles and the weight makes them a bit harder to use.

 

Thanks for the pointers TJ

 

I don't think anyone is going to be able to say "every honda slow blower is going to be awesome." There are just too many models. Some will have flaws. Honda has a reputation for being good about engineering things intelligently, but until you use one, you won't know...

Here are the things that have been annoyances with blowers I have used or owned over the years:

- self-propelled feature was belt-driven on my dad's old Toro (maybe MTD?) model. You had to change 'gears' very gingerly to avoid the belt falling off. pulling that heavy fucker from the curb to the garage was not cool.
- The auger on my current small blower is driven by a belt as well. It wears out about twice a season. Chain-drive augers are much more reliable.
- the plastic 'skimmer' at the bottom of my auger housing has pretty much deteriorated completely away. I should have bought a new one years ago, but finding the part is a pain in the ass.
- multiple speeds are stupid. More things to break. i don't need 6 forward speeds... 2 or 3 is plenty.
- I also think the treads are subject to breaking or wearing out more quickly than regular old tires. And once one breaks, you're screwed. I can at least fill a tire with fix-a-flat and keep going a few hours later.
- electric start always breaks. I would forego it if i could. No reason to pay more for it when it's not going to last more than a season.
- an electric motor to rotate the chute would be a HUGE convenience feature. I would pay more for that. (or rig up a mount for an electric drill to turn the crank. hmmm...)

All that said, what I really want is a 4x4 quad with a plow. It will not be faster, and it will not clear snow as well. It WILL be more fun, and take up a lot more garage space... But you bet your ass I'm showing my wife the $1500 price tag on top-of-the-line snow blowers when the time comes to replace mine, and I find a used quad for $2500 :P

 

Save yourself some money and get a Simplicity snow thrower. Single stage will prob do more then you need it to. I distribute Simplicity in Canada, and I have taken the business of several large commercial customers away from Toro with the simplicity. Honda is a decent product, but in the world of OPE it is overpriced. You are buying the name only. Simplicity is made in the USA, and uses Briggs engines.
http://www.simplicitymfg.com/us/en/snow-blowers/snowshredder

But, whatever brand you end up getting, only run good fuel with stabilizer. Try to find fuel that has no alcohol if possible. I would even recommend using Sthil motomix in it, even though it is a 2 cycle premix. There is not enough oil in the fuel to cause problems in a 4 stroke engine.

 

Still using my HS55 track model from 1984. Starts 2nd or 3rd pull every fall after sitting all spring/summer.

I think it does a better job than 90% of the new ones out.

 

As far as quads go, better price the snow plow/mount/push bar and all before you show the wife any prices.

 

Wow, a timely thread. Im not trying to keep up with the Jones. Im thinking of buying one soon, so a single stage clears the snow better than a two stage? 40-50 foot drive plus side walk. I was thinking I needed a two stage blower. Now I'm thinking tha two stage blower maybe overkill.

 

Unless you are trying to throw 6+ inches of snow FAST, then a single can do the job. The thing about singles is that the rubber paddles will usually get right down to the surface. A dual stage will have a steel auger, so you will need about a 1/4 inch or so clearance between the ground and the auger.

 

Also, remember that the tracked units are a real pain in the ass if you have to move them without them running. A wheeled unit can usually (I know all of ours can) be set to neutral and easily moved.

 

I am using a shittier Troy-Bilt copy of this model. This thread inspired me to buy some of the parts I was complaining about in my earlier post. $25 (once I searched the part numbers on Amazon) to get my blower back into "good" condition.

But I agree on the single-stage being enough for almost all residential applications. The only time my small single-stage hasn't been enough is when the snow is extremely wet, or when we get 3' all at once... Neither happens frequently enough to have a 2-stage blower around.

 

Oh boy, just for a second I thought I had this thing figured out. Looking at Simplicity as I type here...

 

This is what I'm now thinking.

 

What's the deal with electric snowblowers? If it would only get used maybe 3-5 times per winter, is the hassle of a cord worth not dealing with gas/storage? The electric are a bit cheaper too.