Troy Bilt Storm …how will it perform compared to the Ariens?

[@russellmaddock3492]

Last winter here in southeastern Michigan we had a storm that left 6 inches of extremely heavy wet snow. It was the first time trying out my Toro Power Max HD 1232 in such conditions. Even as wet as the snow was, the machine was able to throw the stuff over 50 feet. I was not expecting that kind of performance in such adverse conditions. I was blowing that wet stuff for over an hour and not once was there any hit of clogging. The Toro anti clog system is not just hype, it really works. If a machine was ever going to clog, it would have in that extremely wet snow. These HD machines with 14-inch auger systems can really move the snow, no matter the conditions. It all depends on what kind of winters one has to deal with. It never hurts to be over prepared for whatever mother nature throws at you. Heavy wet snow is a good test of how well a snow blower works. If your machine can deal with the wet stuff, the powdered snow shouldn't be much of a problem. Great video to show how a snow blower works in the worst kind of snow conditions. Thanks for sharing.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi Russell…Toros are great machines. I’ve owned 5, and I still have two, a small PowerCurve, and a 1980’s 824 that I run at my cabin in Northern Wi. When I shopped for a new machine I had it down to two machines, your snow blower, and the Ariens 24” Platinum SHO. Both excellent machines, able to handle everything winter can throw at you. Over the top power is never a bad thing when the wet slop hits, or you have a huge EOD pile staring you in the face.if your interested in seeing my Toro 824 in action. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWHFpauigr16hdksi=GheW9qu4SprtaFeY If you enjoy this type of video, please consider subscribing to the channel, and thanks for the + comment

[@johnbautch6947]

That's good to see you help out a buddy. I think it's great to be able to try out other machines. Nice to see that Troybilt in action and not plug-up.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi John.. Gary does my snow & grass when I go out of town if asked, and I do the same for him. I agree it’s nice to try other machines. The TB Storm has the clutch & auger engagement controls on the opposite side as my Ariens, Toro, and Simplicity which screwed me up once in a while till I got used to it. Think of it as if you had to drive a car with the brake & gas flipped . It had me standing there staring at the dash a few times. I believe craftsman has there controls set up like the TB. Wonder if there made in the same plant ? Not sure about Cub Cadet and Honda controls….never had a chance to use one of those. I know guys with CC tractors, but not blowers.

[@paulcondie2520]

I have a Troybilt 2410 i bought almost 12 years ago. I installed an impeller kit after the first time using and i personally haven't seen any snowblower out perform this thing since! Ive had pro snow removal guys see this thing throw and go out of their way to come ask what is going on!?!? Lol pretty impressive

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hey Paul… My first experience with a TB Storm was when I moved here, and a guy down the block had one. There was a ton of snow around his mailbox, and it was throwing it like it was nothing. Looking at the machine, I think that long sloped plastic chute has a lot to do with it. The guy that owns the TB in this video also bought an identical machine at his cabin up North, and he bought another to use at his mother in laws house. You don’t buy 3 of the same machine without being satisfied with its performance. The only weak point I can see with these TB machines is over time, the plastic gear wears that controls chute direction. After this happens, in heavy snow, the chute will swing back to the center while blowing without the operator touching the controls the one that I use in this video has that issue. But the snow load wasn’t high enough to trigger this behavior in this video. Here is a clever repair fix it it ever happens to you. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpjHf6d7qtxqotksi=-OLoHTbP55mdX7xh I’ve never needed to do an impeller mod to a machine I’ve owned, but most people that have really speak highly of performance improvements. I think that’s funny that guys are coming to ask about your machine. Don’t do that unless you’re pretty impressed. In 2020, or 21 I believe Dewalt bought TroyBilt. Most of the time when a successful company buys another company, it’s because the want expand their product offerings, and it’s cheaper/faster to buy a company with a good product than it is to develop your own variation from scratch. Dewalt, IMHO, makes a good product, so that they would purchase TB shows they thought highly of the product. I haven’t looked at a new one lately, so I’m not sure how it’s affected tge features or build quality. If you enjoy videos like these, and haven’t already, please consider subscribing to the channel. We’re forecast to get 3-6” here tomorrow night, so maybe I’ll be able to post a new video. Thanks for tge + comment.

[@paulcondie2520]

@blowingsnow4fun thanks for the tip! Mines almost 13 years old and never an issue with the chute. However I maintain my stuff meticulously and make sure everything is adjusted correctly. I will say you can't express how impressive that Impeller mod is! Will throw the wettest of snow and mine hasn't clogged ever since I first installed it.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Interestingly, some of the manufactures did produce some of the first machines with impeller kit like set ups. My father had a 70’s Simplicity SnowAway that had the impeller set up opposite the current norm, and the paddles were thick rubber that licked the sides. I remember taking it down the middle of the alley, and throwing slush and water 35-40’. Here’s a video of one. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGfRqmdvhMyorsksi=-Pb3zYLi4izRxayk Problem was the impeller mod was tough on impeller bearings ( not sure why) I remember about every 3 years or so, we had to replace that bearing. That was the reason my dad eventually retired it, that bearing became hard to get, and $$!

[@johngrossbohlin7582]

This video reinforces my recent purchase of a Platinum 24 SHO... wrestling around the two 8 HP 28" MTD machines I used for years at two properties was exhausting... Also, due to the layout of the properties, and the relatively short throwing distance of the machines, I was moving the same snow 3-5 times to get it off the driveways. The new Ariens machine should be able to throw it all the way off on the first pass, or nearly so.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi John…. You’re really going to like your new Ariens. It’s high speed impeller with two belts, and that 369 cc engine. Be careful you don’t break any windows with it until you get used to how powerful it is. One thing you should know, the 369 will burn more gas than the old 8 hp units you had, As it’s a much larger engine. After you man handle your first big storm, let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear your impressions of your new machine. If you like videos like these, and haven’t already, please consider subscribing to the channel.

[@johngrossbohlin7582]

@@blowingsnow4fun Now that I purchased the no-snow insurance, i.e., the Ariens Sno-Thro, I may not get to use it until next year. 😉

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@@johngrossbohlin7582 That’s the way it is John. Want to guarantee little or no snow? Buy a new snowblower, snowmobile, or 4 WD. LOL Be patient …your day will come.

[@johngrossbohlin7582]

@@blowingsnow4fun I"m not too worried about damaging anything... the potential targets are far enough away when I first start out that I'll never reach them. I've also got many decades of experience on the properties so I know what to expect. Regarding fuel consumption, like with my Ferris FW15 walk behind mower, and my big Stihl chainsaws (461 and 661) I'll likely find that I don't use nearly as much fuel as their size suggests I would. This as they perform so much better on big jobs that they run for less time. I hold up better using the big stuff too!

[@l337pwnage]

@@johngrossbohlin7582 The following is just my opinion and experience and no warranty is implied. ;p But I had an older Ariens a while back. It was pretty weak, however, installing a 50% overdrive on it doubled the distance. The problem was it would launch rocks and ice chunks for half a block, so I always had to keep the deflector at least partially down. Fast forward, I bought a new Ariens that threw snow further, but, on the only couple occasions this happened, when it picked up ice chunks or rocks, they would bang around a bit and fall a few feet from the machine. Hmmm. Now, impeller speed certainly could be a factor, but I'm not sure. The old one spun about 1800 rpms w/ the overdrive. I don't know what the new one spins. The old one was 10" diameter, new one is 12". What I think makes a difference, tho, is the old impeller had a 1/8" impeller gap and the new one has 3/4" gap. I think heavy objects get flung off the impeller tip inside the housing before they can build momentum and get rocketed out. Doesn't mean one shouldn't check the back stop. ;) But I have much more confidence in that new one in that area. Granted, the old old didn't do that stock, but it only threw 10' and plugged in slushy snow. One other bonus of the larger gap on the newer machine, I always had to manually check the old machine before use to make sure the impeller wasn't frozen in ice, never had a problem on the new one.

[@andyslawncareandoutdooradv]

That's a great machine for the money! My craftsman machine is similar to this Troy bilt, and if this one handled the wet, sloppy stuff fairly well I'm confident my craftsman should be able to handle it as well

[@blowingsnow4fun]

The Storm is like $999., and it’s a nice mix of power/torque for the $. You controls are opposite mine, so you would have no learning curve on this machine. The chute has kind of an odd look to it when you look at it from the side, but you really don’t notice it from the operators perspective. The guy Acrossed the street and 2 doors down has one. It’s definitely slower than the SHO, but it’s able to move a lot of snow.

[@andyslawncareandoutdooradv]

@@blowingsnow4fun I assume you were in either first or second gear the entire time with 10" of sloppy snow?

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@@andyslawncareandoutdooradv yah Andy, I was in 1st 85%of the time, and in 2nd or 3rd when cleaning up those snow balls that were kind of rolling off the edge of the bucket today.

[@andyslawncareandoutdooradv]

@@blowingsnow4fun how wide is the Troy bilt storm and how many CC's is the engine?

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@@andyslawncareandoutdooradv Andy, I know it’s a 24” machine, and I believe it’s a 208 CC engine. It’s a fixed axel machine

[@MrGrin]

Отличная техника, отличная работа👍👍👍

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hey MrGrin….thanks for the positive comment. Where do you call home?

[@l337pwnage]

This is from an Ariens salesman, so, take it FWIW, but one of their selling pitches is the angle of the chute. See how that Troy Built reaches out and over? Well, if you happen to live in a place that gets 10' to 12" snow banks, that can't get the snow up there. Ariens (this is the salesman talking) uses straighter chutes to get height where it may be needed. I kind of believe him, because I've seen many different vintages of Ariens and you can see all the different chute designs they've tried over the years. For a while Ariens tried making a "budget minded" "Sno Tek" line, but I don't know if they were able to compete with the cheap blowers.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hey PWNAGE…. That makes sense to me. Guy down the block has a little larger TroyBilt than the one in my video that I’ve noticed is always struggling to get the snow up and over the END sides of the EOD. His chute actually contacts the piles at times. I never seem to have that problem with the SHO…even when the snows way higher than my bucket. I never thought about fixed chute angle??? Thanks for shedding some light on this. I’m always learning something new from community! If you like videos like min and haven’t already, please consider subscribing to the channel.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

By the way, LOWES still sells the snow tek…. Definitely an entry level machine that spears to be designed to compete with the Chinese models .

[@l337pwnage]

@@blowingsnow4fun That's good to know. Ya, last I checked them out, they tried using mostly metal, a plastic chute, cheaper tires, and just being really basic while still having ok guts. The problem is the cheap blowers just make everything paper thin, plastic bearings, but then throw goodies like lights, heated grips, and a remote chute deflector, and when people see the bling, they tend to go for that. Never mind that if they hit a frozen newspaper in their yard the gearbox will probably explode and the augers will be all bent up. On those cheaper blowers with those segmented augers, I notice some of them are installed in an interference pattern. I always wonder what happens when one hits something, breaks the shear pin, and the next one drives into it. I would think they would have to get bent up before that next pin breaks.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@@l337pwnage With as flimsy as some of the augers are on these cheap machines I’m guessing those augers would bend along with breaking the sheet pins,. Not sure if that’s because there helping to protect the gear box, or if they make more money when they can make them with less material???

[@l337pwnage]

@@blowingsnow4fun I'm sure it's all about cutting cost. Those segmented augers let them use the same auger parts for many different width machines, instead of making a custom auger set for each model.

[@Bostonharborwater]

I have the 2620. I have had it since 2015 here just south of Boston. Has been very reliable. Definitely slightly under powered with the 208cc when the stuff gets deep and heavy. I think I scored it for just over $500 for it new on sale. Looking to possibly upgrade but Wel see.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi Bostonharborwater. If your a Troy Built guy, you might want to look at the 272 engine if you can upgrade. Lots of machines are underpowered when we get wet heavy snow. You guys get some big storms there. If you don’t end up upgrading, reach out to me, and I’ll make some suggestions on how to handle that heavy stuff that might help.

[@Bostonharborwater]

@@blowingsnow4fun. The Troy bilt will be forsale after the first snow storm of the year when people will actually pay fair value for them because Home Depot has none left . I recently picked up a used Ariens pro 28. It’s a 2007 but it’s been used very little and has been stored in a garage.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

That strategy makes sense to me. Welcome to the Ariens family, and let me know how it goes in your first big snowstorm with the PRO.

[@paulmysliborski4832]

Nice vid, Bruce. That isn't an "Arctic Storm". Just a "Storm". Looks like the 243cc 26" model from a few years back. The Arctic Storm models were 30 & 34 inch XP units. Troy-Bilt makes excellent machines for the price, and while not Ariens quality, they are a great option for many guys (like me) who only get about one big snow event per year. (ZERO snow to blow here on Long Island this year though). I have the Troy-Bilt Storm 3090. (30'" wide, 357cc). I installed an impeller kit in it, and it will whip wet snow over 30 feet with no problem.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hi Paul….slip of the lip, it’s a storm. It’s a 24” machine, and I think Gary told me it was a 208CC? For the $, ii thought it was a really nice machine. Only issue I had was the chute control. I’m guessing it has plastic gears operating off that joy stick that are a little worn. I’d have the chute pointed right, and I’d throw a bunch of wet snow, and all of a sudden it would swing straight ahead. It did well in that wet crap. Do they have a tracked model?

[@paulmysliborski4832]

@@blowingsnow4fun Oh, ok. Yeah, the 208cc 24” is the smallest one they make, but it can handle basic snows and some bigger ones as well on occasion. Those older “pistol grip” chute controls have been discontinued for just the reason you mentioned.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

I just texted Gary, and he said it is a 2620, and he’s not sure the engine size. Based on the power I felt when using it, you must be correct…I’ll bet it has a 243

[@paulmysliborski4832]

@@blowingsnow4fun Yeah, they have since changed those controls. They do make a tracked model. It’s the Storm Tracker. 28” width with a 272cc engine. Solid machines.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Paul…. This is the first time I’ve used one, and I was impressed. Guy Acrossed the street & 2doors down has one, and I’ve watched him blow lots of snow with it. Do they have trigger steer, or any type differential on their bigger machines?

[@ImpalaSS08]

It’s just another POS MTD. Ariens and Toro are the standard with me personally leaning towards Ariens. I bought a Deluxe 30” off an old guy with less than 5 hrs on it for $600 and it the best purchase I’ve ever made. 😂😂

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hey Impala…. I agree Ariens, then Toro are the best machines for the money out there. I seriously considered a Toro in 2019 when I bought the SHO. Good machines, but too much plastic in the dash and chute controls. The Troy B machines throw plenty of snow, and they are definitely better than the cheap Chinese crap off brands most of the big box stores offer. WOW, you got a screaming hot deal on that Deluxe 30”. Looked at one at a hardware store the other day and it was almost $1500.

[@donhgr]

Doesn’t look like 10 inches

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hey donhgr… it was measured as 10” of extremely wet snow in the morning that quickly compacted to what I was blowing in the afternoon. Thanks for the + comment. Please consider subscribing to the channel if you like this kind of video.

[@tudvalstone]

Looks good to me. I liked your video, no offense, but too many are ripped 25 year olds muscling these machines around, and I don't relate well to that. You showed that with a bit of knowledge, it can actually move by itself.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hey tudvalstone…no offense taken, and thanks for the compliment….nobody 25 & ripped in my driveway LOL I try and let the machine do the work wherever I can. If you enjoy videos like these and haven’t already please consider subscribing to the channel.

[@paule.maurice1521]

Headlight reminds me of a 6 volt motorcycle , otherwise an excellent choice . New Ariens are a heartbreak compared to the old dog killers I grew up with

[@blowingsnow4fun]

Hey Paula…. Out here in the garage making a video in my phone binged, so I thought I would shoot you a quick response. Very few companies make things the way they used to, and Ariens is no exception. Everyone tries to compete with the Chinese knock offs. Companies respond to what we the consumer wants, and that’s great quality at a low price. For many, snow blowers are disposable items that are junked at the first sign of trouble. I think Ariens does a good job at having reasonably priced high quality entry level blowers, and then having machines like the SHO series, and pro models. While I agree with you my 2019 isn’t made with the same thickness of steel my 1980’s machines are, the Ariens turns and handles much better than my older machines. My old gals are built solid, but there fixed axel, and there like wrestling Victor the bear when it comes to turning on pavement. The only other company that makes things that are built to last IMHO is Milwaukee tool. However, they don’t have the low price point equipment, and people are willing to pay for that extra quality. Thanks for the + comment, and if you like this type of video, and haven’t already, please consider subscribing to the channel.

[@Rebel9668]

@@blowingsnow4fun I don't seem to have any trouble turning my 1965 Ariens 10M4, I just shift to neutral and I just kind of turn my body to the right between the handlebars to make the snowblower turn left, but being 6'8" and 220lbs I imagine my leverage has a lot to do with that. As heavy as that sno-thro is, the front end still comes off the ground if I lean on the handlebars a bit.

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@@Rebel9668 hey Rebel. I’m not familiar with the 1965 M4 so I did a little research. We had a neighbor when I was growing up who had a 1965 M8, and it was probably one of the best snowblowers I’ve ever seen. I think this machine had some type of differential which would result in much easier turning than the fixed axel machines.(not sure about this. You might be interested in the site I found with info on 65 Ariens snow throwers? scotlawrence.github.io/ariens/Page5.html Thanks for the + comment. If you like videos like this and haven’t already, please consider subscribing to the channel.

[@Rebel9668]

@@blowingsnow4fun Scot has my exact model on one of his web pages. My biggest problem is the wheels on mine are hard, hollow plastic and they're riveted on to the axle sleeves. The "tires" are completely shot, having holes in them big enough to sink a ship, yet it still rolls along just fine. This spring I'll remove the axle shafts and grind out the six rivets on each wheel and split the rims and either replace the tires with new plastic ones or drill a hole in the rim for a valve stem and put pneumatic tires/inner tubes on it. Then put in bolts where the old rivets were. On Scot's page it's listed as a 1966 model 10M4 which IS the one pictured, but they had that same model the year before in '65. :)

[@blowingsnow4fun]

@@Rebel9668 That’s interesting about the tires, I hadn’t heard that before, but it makes sense. The Troy Built in this video has pneumatic tires, and they have good traction. If you go the pneumatic route, my advice is to get XTrac tires as they provide excellent traction & longevity if you can find your size.