Snow here !

[The Slab Bacon]

Ariens................ Hmmmmm...............
You mean MTD? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 

My Bad! ! ! ! !  I dont like to disseminate bad information! I went out to get some parts today for my MTD POS blower and took a minute to look at some new snow blowers.

Frank,
         You are definately right, there is no comparison between the MTD and the Ariens!
the Ariens is definately much beefier. It also has a cast iron worm drive gearbox compared to the MTDs cheesy little aluminum one amoung other things.

But........................ It uses the same "friction drive" assy as the MTD and even the exact same parts, Hmmmm........................ It will be very interesting to see who makes them for Ariens.

[w3jn]

Wife and I went to Meteroa, in northern Greece over the weekend.  It snowed yesterday and we ran into snow on the way back.

[WA3VJB]

... we ran into snow on the way back.

Looks like there was room to go around it.

[w3jn]

Indeed!  It apparently snowed a LOT earlier in the week - that was leftover.  The ground was warm enough that the snow didn't stick except on the mountain tops.  On the way back to Athens you hafta go thru a mountain pass with a lot of twisty hairpins, and that had been plowed/salted. 

It being winter, and because that pass sometimes gets really ugly,  I debated over taking the Cadillac or the Land Rover - the Land Rover's heater fan is crapped out, so comfort won and thankfully we didn't need the 4 wheel drive.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Lunei looks cold in that second shot. Probably brisk at the high elevations.

Interesting perspective of the monasteries in the back ground. I recognize the center one from the Bond movie For Your Eyes Only. No slight of hand needed in filming - it really is that incredible.

Must be fun cruising around Europe in that 6 spd Caddy. Wonder how they view speed limits there? Snow doesn't seem to bother them.

[WA1GFZ]

Frank,
I think everyone uses the same friction drive for the wheels. It is really geared down after the clutch. My 1975 Sears is just showing surface cracks on the rubber friction surface. (another reason I replaced it. My guy told me I may have to JS it to replace the clutch). Saturday night I was at a party and a friend told me he bought a machine just like mine before the Oct storm.
He said the limited slip differential was the balls and really worth the extra cost.

[KL7OF]

Massey ferguson 135 with front mounted 4 way blade.......That's what I use here in Tum Tum for my 4000 ft road... So far not more than a skiff of snow here...gonna change this week.....Snow com ing to the Pacific NW....
   Just returned from a tour of the desert SW...NV, AZ, CA, and mexico....Cold and severe clear for a month.....Very cold camping in the NV desert at night but no snow!!!!  not even at the 7900 ft pass levels.......Never owned a snow blower........ I have a Troy Bilt Rototiller that has been in service for 35 years...on its 3rd engine but the rest has held up admirably......

[W1RKW]

I have a Troy Bilt Rototiller that has been in service for 35 years...on its 3rd engine but the rest has held up admirably......

We got our first snow for 2012 last night, about 2 or so inches. It was wet. It's still above freezing and should be gone soon.  I'm not going to bother.  The snow blower was put to use for the freak snow storm we had back on Halloween. I hadn't prepared it for winter use yet.  It worked like a trooper as usual. It's a 6hp 2 stage. The smallest Toro made back in early 2001.  I like it alot. I can manhandle it, walk it up the steps of the deck, push it if necessary rather than use the drive wheels and it tosses even the wettest snow over 10 feet.

I have a Sensation Lawn Mower Co. 21 inch mower that I pushed around the yard when I was a teen.  It's about the same age as your rototiller.   I just replaced the original B&S engine on it with a more modern engine but that is temporary. It's by far the best lawnmower I've ever used/had. It has a cast aluminum deck. I found an NOS short block for it on EPay. This winter the mower will get rebuilt.  The Sensation Mower Co. folded back in the early 80's.  I've managed through relentless searching find replacement parts for it.  I figure it will outlast me. 

[WA1GFZ]

we also got two inches but didn't need to get the new machine dirty. It is pretty much melted.

[Steve - K4HX]

Sensation. Sounds like something you buy at the drug store.