I understand now why customers buy power equipment from big box stores

[Brian Elfert]

I have pretty much decided I want to buy a Simplicity snow blower to replace my dead unit. It wasn't until last night that I finally figured out my snow blower has a fatal problem. I have 6" of snow on my driveway that I really want rid of. The only neighbor I know well enough to borrow anything from doesn't have a working unit either.

None of the Simplicity dealers nearby are open on Sunday and not in the evenings either so I will need to wait a week to get a snow blower. I really want a Simplicity. (I called a Simplicity dealer an hour away that is open today, but doesn't stock the Pro models. Wanted to order me one, but didn't want to wait and would go more local if I have to order.) I don't blame the dealers for wanting a day off either.

This makes me understand why a lot of customers simply buy from a big box store because of the convenience. Simplicity has chosen not to sell in the big box world which means they aren't being squeezed for every penny.

[michael langman]

Brian, I have a 25 year old simplicity snowthrower I bought from a dealer near my home. It is well built, and I have always been able to get parts for it.
If you can wait to get to a dealer to get one then it will be worth the wait. I bought mine in the spring when they were on sale.
Get some extra shear pins while there if you can.
If you can repair things craigslist always has some simplicity snowthrowers for sale for a considerable savings.

[curtis woodall]

This is kind of a strange post for me. I am more lurker than participating poster. Here's the funny thing, I live in Houston, TX. Most people down here don't know what a snow blower is. I have a habit of killing time watching Youtube videos, mostly about people building or fixing things. I ran across a Youtube channel by "mustie1". He has hundreds of fix-it videos....and a whole lot about repairing snow blowers that he has picked up here and there, mostly for free. He lives up in the far northeast U.S. I was fascinated and amazed about how simply (most of the time) that he fixes snow blowers people have given up on. Very high quality videos and very entertaining. You guys might want to take a peek and see if any of the ones he fixed have the same symptoms as yours. Might save some money. It was just a thought. Thanks. curtis

[Brian Elfert]

This is well past the easy fix territory. One of the parts that holds the end of the auger to the side of the blower broke. When that happened the auger assembly moved forward and pulled the gear case forward which caused the input shaft to pull out of the gear case. It is probably going to require opening up the gear case to see if it can even be fixed. I just finished separating the two halves of the snow blower and discovered that the main pulley for the auger somehow got damaged and the belt is slowly getting chewed up. The pulley is stamped steel so it is possible to bend it.

This is a bit like an old car. At what point do you quit throwing good money after bad? Maybe $200 would get the gear case fixed by a mechanic, but what breaks next? Does the transmission go out next? The engine works great so not worried about that.

I can get the pulley locally for $52. I have looked at the exploded diagram of the gear case and I am not sure it is repairable based on what I see in the diagram.

[Brian Elfert]

Brian, I have a 25 year old simplicity snowthrower I bought from a dealer near my home. It is well built, and I have always been able to get parts for it.
If you can wait to get to a dealer to get one then it will be worth the wait. I bought mine in the spring when they were on sale.
Get some extra shear pins while there if you can.
If you can repair things craigslist always has some simplicity snowthrowers for sale for a considerable savings.

I have looked through Craigslist for used snow blowers and nothing excites me. At this point I don't want to buy something else I need to fix. I just want something I can depend on.

The Simplicity dealers all close at 5 pm or 6 pm during the week. I get home just before 5:30 pm. The closest dealer is opposite of my commute so I would be lucky to get there by 5:45 pm and they close at 6 pm. We had a really good dealer selling Simplicity that is open seven days a week and until 8 pm week nights, but they decided to not sell Simplicity this season.

[Nathan Johnson]

Brian, do you have a truck or large SUV?
If you do, I'm in Andover and you could borrow mine if necessary. I can help load.

Unfortunately, the blower won't fit in my sedan.

[Jim Koepke]

The closest dealer is opposite of my commute so I would be lucky to get there by 5:45 pm and they close at 6 pm.

If the businessman running the store is interested in making a sale, a phone call might get him to stay late one evening.

jtk

[Lee Schierer]

I would get the Simplicity. I have one and it is great. I think it has clogged once in 6 years. It is capable of putting snow into the roof of the house as I discovered the first time I used it. It handles heavy wet snow or the fluffy stuff with ease. Mine sits from when I change the used oil in the spring until the first snow in the fall. I turn on the throttle, set the choke, press the priming button twice and starts on the first pull every year.

[Brian Elfert]

If the businessman running the store is interested in making a sale, a phone call might get him to stay late one evening.

I have to call tomorrow to see if they even have the model in stock that I want and I can ask then.

[Brian Elfert]

Brian, do you have a truck or large SUV?
If you do, I'm in Andover and you could borrow mine if necessary. I can help load.

Thank you for the offer, but a neighbor plowed it with his quad for me today. I have a trailer which is how I will pick my new blower up.

[Brian Elfert]

This is kind of a strange post for me. I am more lurker than participating poster. Here's the funny thing, I live in Houston, TX. Most people down here don't know what a snow blower is. I have a habit of killing time watching Youtube videos, mostly about people building or fixing things. I ran across a Youtube channel by "mustie1". He has hundreds of fix-it videos....and a whole lot about repairing snow blowers that he has picked up here and there, mostly for free. He lives up in the far northeast U.S. I was fascinated and amazed about how simply (most of the time) that he fixes snow blowers people have given up on. Very high quality videos and very entertaining. You guys might want to take a peek and see if any of the ones he fixed have the same symptoms as yours. Might save some money. It was just a thought. Thanks. curtis

I pulled the blower apart today and this is most definitely not an easy fix. The input shaft to the gear case snapped off inside the gear case. The gear case is NLA although I found someone who rebuilds the gear cases who might have an input shaft to fix mine. Still 99% sure I am buying a new one anyhow.

I suspect the easy fixes for a blower would be carb/fuel, spark plug, belts, adjustments, cables, shear pins, and the like not a broken gear case.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Sometimes, paying extra to buy quality is worth it. Sometimes it isn't. In the past ten years I have had several new/used, etc lawn mowers. One for the barn one for the house. Anything that had a Kohler motor went to crap within 2 years. Against my wishes, my Mrs. purchased a Cub cadet, at a dealer, the motor crapped during the third year. (The casting of the crank case panel was less than a 32nd inch thick and couldn't take the vibration.) Neighbor's identical model did likewise. I would have been better off buying Murrays and junking them every fall. There is no doubt that some items are better built. But not always.

[Brian Elfert]

Sometimes, paying extra to buy quality is worth it. Sometimes it isn't. In the past ten years I have had several new/used, etc lawn mowers. One for the barn one for the house. Anything that had a Kohler motor went to crap within 2 years. Against my wishes, my Mrs. purchased a Cub cadet, at a dealer, the motor crapped during the third year. (The casting of the crank case panel was less than a 32nd inch thick and couldn't take the vibration.) Neighbor's identical model did likewise. I would have been better off buying Murrays and junking them every fall. There is no doubt that some items are better built. But not always.

My snow blower lasted 19 years so I think that is pretty good. I think that is pretty good quality. The casting that broke is full of voids inside the casting. Maybe it would have lasted even longer if the casting had no voids. I like this snow blower well enough that I will likely fix it if I can.

This snow blower had an issue a few years back. I went to the power equipment dealer I bought it from thinking I would get a new snow blower. I dealt with the owner and after he found out what I had he said he would spend $500 to repair mine as the quality is much better than what is sold today. He said I would need to get a Simplicity Pro snow blower for over $1,500 ($1,900 today) to get the same quality. The problem I had was an auger that was rusted to the shaft so I couldn't replace a broken shear pin. I had it fixed as I couldn't figure out how to get the rusted auger off.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Sometimes, paying extra to buy quality is worth it. Sometimes it isn't. In the past ten years I have had several new/used, etc lawn mowers. One for the barn one for the house. Anything that had a Kohler motor went to crap within 2 years. Against my wishes, my Mrs. purchased a Cub cadet, at a dealer, the motor crapped during the third year. (The casting of the crank case panel was less than a 32nd inch thick and couldn't take the vibration.) Neighbor's identical model did likewise. I would have been better off buying Murrays and junking them every fall. There is no doubt that some items are better built. But not always.

That is why I do my shopping for a lawn mower at the local dumpsters. Currently have a three Troy-Bilts, one with a Briggs, another with a Honda, and third with a Kohler engine. The Briggs model required a $5.00 replacement safety cable. Other two requiered draining out gas / water fix from fuel system. Ain't ethanol fuel wonderful?

[Nathan Johnson]

Thank you for the offer, but a neighbor plowed it with his quad for me today. I have a trailer which is how I will pick my new blower up.

Glad you got it cleared.