If you’re looking for a snow blower or snow thrower, the most important thing to look at is how well the unit itself works. After all, you don’t want to get out on a cold morning and be faced with the fact that your new snow blower can’t really handle moving snow. Fortunately, the Ariens Deluxe 28″ has all of the functionality you could want, allowing you to move massive piles of snow with relative ease. Taking a look at the construction of the unit, the assembly process, and how well it works will help to explain why the Ariens Deluxe 28″ is so useful.
The Specs
At a basic level, what you’re looking at here is a fairly standard two-stage snow blower. With a 254cc engine and an electric start, it gets to work quickly and it goes to work with a great deal of power. It doesn’t have many fancy features in terms of engine construction, but the six forward speeds and two reverse speeds make it easy to do your work at your pace and in a way that makes you feel comfortable. The unit makes use of steel serrated augers and a bladed impeller to get rid of snow as fast as possible.
There are a few extra features that aren’t necessarily standard, but they work wonders. The big one is the propulsion system – you can’t quite let this one go, but it does help to drive the unit forward while you’re holding on to the handles. The snow blower also features a great auto-turn functionality, which is perfect for those who don’t have a lot of space to use when turning around. In addition, there’s are also features like a headlamp, a remote ice deflector, and reversible steel skid shoes. The snow blower falls under a three-year consumer warranty, but the gear case actually has its own five year warranty.
Shipping, Assembly, and Starting
The bad news on this snowblower is that the shipping leaves something to be desired. Because you’re looking at a fairly heavy product, you’d think that you’re looking at something that would be handled with care – but you’d be wrong. There are far too many reports of this unit arriving in banged-up boxes, but don’t worry too much. It turns out that this is a fairly sturdy snowblower, one that’s going to stand up to daily use so even a bad shipping process shouldn’t do much. It should be noted, however, that the company is really good about sending a replacement if something does go wrong in shipping.
Assembly, thankfully, is a breeze. If you can read the directions – which are, for once, very simple – you can put this one together without professional help. There aren’t too many little parts or complicated maneuvers to perform once you get it out of the box, so don’t expect to take too long when you’re putting it together. That’s definitely for the best because you’re going to want to use this snow blower as soon as possible.
The good news is that you don’t have to follow any complicated set-up procedures to get this snow blower started. In fact, you’re generally going to get it going on the first pull – something that you can’t say for most similar devices. You’ll notice that the machine is fairly loud and feels powerful, which it is. The vast majority of users will be able to get the machine started with no problems, but you can usually rely on customer support to help you out if you run into an issue.
Overall Performance
If there’s a word that best describes the performance of this snowblower, it’s probably professional. Simply put, there’s more power here than you’d expect out of a consumer model. This is the kind of snowblower that can power through a few feet of snow without pause, allowing you to get the job done far faster than you’d expect. The power is very nice, considering that this model isn’t self-propelled. You won’t have to fight the snow quite as much as you might fear, which will help you to get a lot more done in a single session. All in all, this is the kind of snowblower you need if you’re dealing with serious snow.
The good news is that all of this power doesn’t mean that you’re looking at a short-lived device. In fact, many users have reported that they get years of service out of this snowblower. You’ll have to make sure that you pay attention to the regular maintenance schedule and that you don’t do anything too crazy with the snow blower, of course, but you should have the same experience with the unit season after season. It’s about as good as you’ll find in terms of reliability, so you won’t have to cross your fingers when you go to start it every winter.
Are there drawbacks? Sure, but they’re minor. The snowblower’s headlight is a little on the dim side, which isn’t great when you’re out taking care of the driveway while the sun is still coming up. Fueling is also a little bit harder than it needs to be – not to the degree that the average person can’t figure it out, but it’s just tough enough that you’ll be annoyed when the unit gets low on fuel. Beyond these very minor issues, though, you should get a great deal of enjoyment and utility out of this snow blower.
In short, this is a snow blower that really goes above and beyond. It’s made well, is easy to assemble, and will get the job done the first time every time. It’s not quite perfect, but it’s as close as you are likely to find for the price. Consider this a great choice for anyone who regularly has to get rid of a lot of snow quickly or for anyone who doesn’t want to deal with a finicky machine. The Ariens Deluxe 28″ is really one of the best consumer-grade snow blowers on the market today.
Looking for More Ariens Snow Blower Reviews?
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