Ariens make great snow blowers, but they make them in two distinct quality ranges. I had an 824 for almost 25 years that was still a good workhorse although it had needed a few repairs to the auger drive parts (auger gearcase, bearings and bushings mostly)in its last couple of years. However, I also found a great close-out at HD in February, 2 years ago and bought an 11.5 26LE for $650. (down from around $1495). HD put them on close-out at 60% off, and all the stores in eastern NE were sold out that night. I have found that the new one is much better at throwing snow of all densities - much better chute design that almost never clogs, 40+ foot distance, etc. However, it does not handle as well (balance, drive train to wheels) particularly to do with the locking differential. The old one also had a locking pin, but with it unlocked, it still pushed forward pretty evenly. The new one is always pushing one side much harder, making you work more to hold line (with diff unlocked). The new one has a differential lock that is activated by wire, versus the old that had a solid mechanical pin on the wheel. New mechanism seems frail in comparison, but has been no trouble. If you stop at a dealer, they should have both the LE line and the heavy duty line (forget the letters). The heavy duty line is much more the level of the old machine, with a stronger Auger gear housing, limited slip differential, heavier hand controls, bigger wheels and tires, etc. However, the basic mechanicals seem to be very much the same parts and I decided that the more frail pieces could be easily replaced if they do break sometime. So far, it has been a great deal, but I don't expect it will look as good 25 years from now as the old one which I sold for $400. By the way, when I got it home I pulled it partly apart to add grease everywhere, tighten bolts properly, make adjustments, etc. and that turned out to be a good thing because not all was as I would have liked it out of the box (but just minor maintenance stuff).

hettar7 - I can give you some pointers on ordering beans from Purcell Mountain Farms. 1. Don't bother e-mailing them because they don't reply. 2. Be aware that several of the beans are sold under different names. I accidentally ordered two packages of the same bean. 3. My order processed fast. I ordered on Saturday afternoon and had shipment confirmation in my mailbox on Sunday. The box arrived shortly, with a corner broken and one of the packages punctured but if I lost some beans I don't think I lost many. 4. Many of the beans are a lot smaller than you think they're going to be and actually are beans from varieties that are most often eaten as green beans. Most of the beans I bought were about the size of those little black turtle beans like you can buy at the grocery store. I have planted a few of the beans inside under light because I needed to know whether they were pole or bush before deciding where to plant. The folks here gave me that information on some of the varieties, but there were about 8 beans that no one had information on, so I figured growing a trial one was the only way to know. The pebble beans are climbers for sure. I'm having a lot of trouble getting the white marble bean to germinate, but the others have germinated within a week. I think pink pearl and dapple gray are going to be bush, but won't know for sure for a little bit longer. Hope this helps! --Ilene

http://terralegno.com/testing_data.pdf I have 6 samples of Terra Legno Engineered Flooring in a 3.5" width and 9/16th thickness sent to me from Dyerich Flooring that are very nice with a 3 MM real sawn cut wood veneer over 7 layers of Russian Birch Plywood and undescores under the wood in Brazilian Cherry wood species. I also have samples of their White Oak unstained and stained which are so nicely constructed and beautiful. I would like to know if anyone knows anything about this hardwood flooring since the price is good and the quality is nice and the testing seems to indicate it is a good wood. It is difficult to scratch or dent and holds up to samples of pee poured on top for 6 hours in case one of my very small dogs has an accident. It seems to be a 30% to 35% gloss on top slightly less glossy that the pretty BR-111 Brazilian Cherry 3.25" planks I have here that have a 3 MM (1/8th) Veneer on top and are only 3/8th inch thick and are about $1 more per square foot in price. I am going to cross post this to the decorating forum also. Here is a link that might be useful: Terra Legno Engineered Wood

I'm not going to be much help but I can tell you that I also bought my hardwood from ProSource. I couldn't find much online so I worried too. After two years, no issues. While trying to find pictures of my hardwood online, I stumbled upon a company in another state selling the same stuff. They were about $600 cheaper and no sales tax. I asked ProSource to match the price and they did. I ended up saving a little over $600. With Harding being an in house brand this probably wont happen for you but it usually pays to do some research. I found ProSource to be rather high. The wood I bought had a marketed price is $7-$8 per sq ft (too high) then the guy told me he could do $5 something.. I ended up getting it less when they price matched (and I know they are still making money!). I don't know how much you're installing but don't be afraid to ask for a discount.