180 feet? wow. maybe u could have lived with the snaller one , but if there is one storm a year that u got bogged down on u would have wished for the larger one.

do the 9 hp have an l head or do they now come w/ the ohv, which it has been suggested are better, wuieter and more efficient.
the handle bar warmers are also a nice touch. physically its only 1 incjh larger on each side (26 v 28) use it and enjoy. Conquer the winter.

You got the right machine. No such thing as to much horsepower. Enjoy.

I've had an Ariens 10/32 DLT here in MA for 10 years now. I absolutely love the power and reliability of it. Haven't had a problem (other than shear pins) and I still have the original (unused) spare belts I purchased when I bought the blower.

The 926LE does not have the trigger feature to lock and unlock your wheels. I would stay with the extra HP, the trigger wheel lock feature and the hand warmers.

You will clear your driveway a bit quicker and get back inside sooner to enjoy a hot cup of coffee.

Thanks for all the good input. This morning I started it up and was very happy that I got the trigger wheel lock feature. Man, it's almost impossible to turn that thing when the wheels are locked. But, it started great and everything works on it. Home Depot seemed to do a good job setting it up. It actually wsa better set up than one that I tried at a different HD a week before. Maybe this HD had someone that was actually into building them right.

In addition to the trigger lock which is worth the $$ by itself,
the 9hp is still an L head vs the OHV

What's an L head?

L head is a flat head. The valves are in the engine block. Over Head Valves are in the head. OHV are a way to meet higher EPA standards. They tend to be cleaner burning, and slightly more poweful than L heads. As with most innovations, there were bugs in OHV small engines at 1st. Most have been ironed out. I dont think the fat lady has sung , regarding their durability and ruggedness compared to the proven long term capabilities of some of the L heads though.

I live in Rhode Island and have the 8524. My driveway is about 160' long with two car widths. It's the perfect machine for the job. Even did great on the 21" we had in one storm last year. Went right through it and I was glad I had an Ariens. If I had to buy another one I would probably go for 10hp though. But 8.5hp has been plenty sufficient.

Must be small if its in your Honda?

He must have stuck the handle out the rear window and had one strong back or two to unload it. lol

I'm debating on the Ariens 926LE or the Ariens 926DLE
I'd prefer the DLE because its so much beefier but its substantially more expensive , about $500.oo bucks more I'm in Erie Pa. and we get some severe lake effect snow fairly often. Could get by with the LE but the DLE would be awesome .Hard decision .

The DLEs are closer to the original Ariens design from the '60s than the other lines. You're getting a really rugged machine. Remember that a snowblower isn't disposable--a good one should be planned to last 20-30 years minimum.

Right now I'm working on a '70s 2nd-pattern (full controls) Ariens for a friend. It was used hard and abused, then stored outdoors for a decade. So far I have the engine running like a top, and the rest of the machine just needs cleaning and oiling. I sold my 1st-pattern Ariens last year when at reached 40 years old. Still running for the new owner as far as I know.

For the OP: there's no such thing as too big a snowblower as long as it'll fit where it needs to go. If you can afford it you might as well go big.

got the DLE, figured I might have regrets if I did'nt

I also live south of Boston and bought the same machine last year. The machine does a great job especially with the plowed snow which is always the real problem.

Bill - Weymouth

"got the DLE, figured I might have regrets if I didn't"

I get just part of the lake effect snow in NE PA. I thought the snow was heavy last year but the folks in town (Honesdale, PA) said it was a light Winter. Based from where you are located, the DLE in Erie would be an easy decision as it will get lots of continuous use. I have the 1128DLE and a 8526LE. Never a problem with either machine.

Bill Don, I'm in Marshfield. I just put the finishing touches on my old Ariens 928. Last night I dug out the snow shovels and straightened them out. Ive finished stacking my firewood. Over 3 cords . I'm predicting a mild winter. :D

Just took delivery today of the Ariens 926DLE. After inspecting it, this is the e-mail I sent to their customer support :

Just purchased an Ariens 926DLE sno thro. To my dismay, the chute does not lock into position when I rotate it. I can get it to rotate but it won't lock in at certain positiions. Was kind of worried I might run into this problem when shop
ping for snowblowers a few weeks back.
I first looked at the Ariens for sale In Gerlachs garden and power equipment ,only one Ariens in the store had a chute mechanism that worked properly. Then I went down to Miller Brothers and looked at more Ariens sno thros , not one Ariens model in the entire store had a chute rotation mechanism that worked properly. Went back to Gerlachs and was assured the chute mechanism would work properly when adjusted before delivery. Today they delivered it and well... you guessed it. I just want to alert you to what appears to be a very poor design.The whole mechanism seems loose and simply does not work . I expected a much better engineered product from a company as well know as Ariens. I tried a last years model that has a little different chute rotation mechanism and it worked fine . Well , guess my next move is to call Gerlachs tomorrow and see what they say .

I went to Home Depot the other week and tinkered with all the models; specifically the new the chute control. No problems with the locking mechanism.

Could it be assembly errors? If you continue to have problems I would speak directly to Ariens. Ariens is usually very good on resolving issues. Keep us posted.

Called the Lawn and garden center where I purchased the Ariens and described the problem. They sent a maintenance person out and he adjusted it , sprayed it with CRC , still could'nt get it to work right. Took it with him back to the lawn and garden center.I tell ya the design is a rube goldberg experiment. lots of cables and gears and many parts all which have to be adjusted just right to get it to work properly. Simple is usually better when it comes to something like this. The honda models have a worm gear attached to the end of a metal rod that turns the chute gear , simple and effective. I'm tempted to rig something like that up on my Ariens.

That is what last years Arien's model and subsequent years were like. (worm gear) I believe Simplicity, Honda and others still use worms.

I agree with you on the simple is better which is why I avoided the trak Honda models. (plus they are expensive) I wish I could buy a simple car or truck that I can work on myself like the cars of the 60s.

Ariens must be trying to compete with the Toro "Quickstick without infringing on the Toro patent but you still need two hands to operate the Ariens as opposed to one hand to operate the Toro.

One problem with the worm gear models. There is a tendency to turn the crank the wrong way, for a split second, when re-aiming the chute.

It will be interesting to see what the final verdict will be from the garden center.

Hey decades:

Did the garden center fix your problem? It has been 3 days.

Got the snowblower back from the garden center yesterday . Chute rotation seems to be working good now , it locks into position like it should , the lever has a different feel now. So I'm happy at this point .

Thats great news decades. I went to my local OPE to check out the pro models. The chute worked fine on all the models.

While I was there, I did a quick quality control check on a 1126DLE that had a "sold" tag on it for a customer. I lifted the machine up by the handles and spun the left wheel with my toe (trigger unlocked). The other wheel should have turned in the opposite direction but didn't. The other pro models worked fine so I suggested to the owner to save himself some grief and fix the differential before his customer picks up his machine.

I did the same last year at the Sears store as I got a tour of the repair shop. I pointed out 2 Craftsman snowblowers that were not repaired properly. I embarassed the manager and he quickly lead me back out to the main sales floor. One machine actually had a flat tire. lol

My snow thrower has the OHSK 80-130 engine. reading the manual it says to use Multi grade SAE 5 W 30 or SAE 10W
for operating 0 to 32 degrees outside temps. Is that just regular motor oil like the kind that goes in your car ? I picked up some Pennzoil SAE 5 W 30 synthetic , will that work ?
I guess you are supposed to do your first oil change after only a couple hours operation.

I just took delivery of my 926DLE And the snow in the upper peninsula of Michigan is starting tonight. I CANT WAIT! I looked at the le's but they have nothing on the DLE's. However all of us who own snowblowers be they yard machines, MTD's are in a unique club and there really is no bad snow blower.

Chris

>>My snow thrower has the OHSK 80-130 engine. reading the manual it says to use Multi grade SAE 5 W 30 or SAE 10W
for operating 0 to 32 degrees outside temps. Is that just regular motor oil like the kind that goes in your car ? I picked up some Pennzoil SAE 5 W 30 synthetic , will that work ?Yes. the manufacturers now prescribe synthetic for all-temp use.