Deluxe 30 EFI 30 in. 2-Stage Electric Start Gas Snow Blower

I live in Park City and we have seen some 450+ inch winters lately so it's critical to have a good snowblower. I researched and researched and came across this unit to replace my heavy and hard-to-turn Honda HS928 (with tracks, MSRP is about $3200). This Ariens **demolishes** the Honda. Bottomless power (it automatically throttles up slightly when it starts bogging down). Never smells bad because it's EFI, uses whatever gas you want, and it starts on first pull. The massive 30" opening made my former 45 minute job into a 20 minute job -- the snow blower is just so much better. It turns on a dime. Relatively light weight. Higher handles so it's just more comfortable. The electronic throttle is awesome (I put a dollup of silicone to keep it better). Make sure your don't have too much air in the tires -- it has to be about 10psi or less to get good traction and no bouncing. Adjust the blade based on whether you have a paved or gravel driveway. Takes about 2-3 times to get used to how it runs and how it turns. After that, it's literally the best snowblower I've ever used. A++++

I love how easy this starts. Even on a day at -20 it fired right up! The controls are reversed from what I had, but easy to use. I like how the chute is turned, and looks like it'll last (the joy stick and cable driven ones don't seem to hold up). Only issue is chute creeps sometimes.

PRODUCT ARRIVED ON TIME. CHECKED ALL FLUIDS AND CHARGED BATTERY FOR EFI, STARTED ON THE FIRST PULL. READ MANY REVIEWS AND DECIDED ON AN ARIENS PRODUCT. I LIKE THE FACT IT HAS EFI, WAITING FOR IT SNOW TO SEE HOW IT PERFORMS. IT SEEMS TO BE A WELL BUILT MACHINE. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE WITH HOME DEPOT, VERY FRIENDLY.

I assembled, adjusted and charged the small EFI battery on this machine after reading the manual. I noticed this snow blower does not produce the normal exhaust smells common to yard equipment. I attribute that to the EFI fuel system. When working into heavy windrows I noticed the EFI system adjusted power much faster than the way classic mechanical governors did. This virtually eliminated the transitional power loss when working into more difficult snow. I upgraded to the frictionless skids and I attribute the upgrade to better auto steering on my mildly sloping driveway. The installed light is OK, however it could be doubled. I bolted two self powered camping lights to the front.

29+ inches of snow fall in 2 days here in Western New York. I had fired my plow guy due to extremely poor attendance and reliability. I decided it's time to take matters into my own hands...I researched more than I care to say about snow blowers. I was told on several occasions that Ariens was the best of the best, even though I was looking a slightly more affordable Troy Bilt for several hundred dollars less. Once I made up my mind from all the reviews I'd read, I went to my local Home Depot and saw one on sale from $1699 to $1399...it was the coup de Gras of deals...This was the same Ariens machine I'd looked up online, EXCEPT this one was the Deluxe 30 with Electronic Fuel Injection!! NOT a carburetor. EFI for the same price? SOLD!! Brought this puppy home and poured in some gas (with Ethanol Shield Fuel Treatment as recommended), turned the key, pushed the start button and.........................nothing. So I thought to myself, well the battery probably needs to charge. Let me run it for awhile since I have a ton of snow to remove off my driveway...1 pull and away I went. This machine is a monster. Ripped through the heaviest of wet snow, throwing it a good 30 feet or so. It was so powerful I had to slow it down and back her up a few times (in 1st gear) because it wanted to ride up the wet snow drifts. Once I got her steady, she was a rock star, or snow Angel if you will. Took a little effort to maneuver since I've never owned one before. The hand warmers weren't really necessary, but they worked well! The auto turn feature is a bit weird, as it really doesn't automatically turn when it senses you're turning unless you're doing a U-turn. After I was done with the driveway, I took my leaf blower and blew out all the remaining snow I couldn't get out with the mounted scooper. Tried starting the machine with the push start button again. Nothing....APPARENTLY it only starts via the push button if it's plugged in with an extension cord!?!?!?!? Well, luckily it starts VERY Easy with the pull start. I'm sold on Ariens Snow Blowers!!

This is a fine snow blower. I cleared my 330-foot gravel driveway of a five-inch snow easily in less than an hour. Ariens says that its Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) system, which eliminates the carburetor, ends the ethanol fuel problems of congealing fuel clogging the carburetor. This snow blower turns easily with Auto-Turn, which automatically disengages the two-wheel-drive, unlike a previously-owned other brand, which had a pin in the axle that would lock the wheels (increasing traction) or unlock them (making turning easy), but which was not convenient to withdraw for turning. Turning the Sno-Thro, even making a U turn, is easy, but it is a challenge to follow a slight curve, for the wheels tend to stay locked. I will probably learn to clear snow in straight lines tangential to the curve. Clearing my driveway I did not pick up any gravel (over paving) as I have done with a snow plow or by lifting the snow with my John Deere 4310 tractor’s front bucket. I had set the Sno-Thro's skids at 5/8 inch above the surface to be cleared. The Ariens Sno-Thro starts easily with one pull, or very easily with the plug-into-110-volt-outlet electric starter (the necessary extension cord is not included). The warm handles are a help, though they are only slightly warm. The headlight helps even at dusk — it's halogen, and its heat melts the snow that inevitably falls on it after being blown into the air and carried by any breeze. The staff at Home Depot, where I bought the Ariens Sno-Thro was quite helpful in removing the blower chute and lifting the machine into my SUV. Once home though (where I rolled it on planks to the garage floor), it took me over an hour to get the machine started, for the wire from the ON/OFF ignition key to the battery hadn’t been connected. I tried charging the battery, which didn’t help, and at last discovered the not-connected wire. This machine has six forward speeds, a wide-enough range to deal with shallow or deep snow, and dry or wet snow, and two reverse speeds. The throttle is a dial that goes from IDLE to EFFICIENCY to POWER. Clearing five inches of snow the Sno-Thro ran easily at the fastest forward speed with the throttle on EFFICIENCY. The chute adjusts easily over 200 degrees from left-slightly-to-the-rear, to right-slightly-to-the-rear with the crank just forward of the dashboard. The top of the chute adjusts easily over seven steps from flat to way-up for maximum distance, with a handle on the dashboard. The Sno-Thro threw the light, dry 5-inch snow 25 feet at the way-up setting, and I think it would throw a more-dense snow farther. The engine is as noisy as a similar-size 30-inch lawnmower, and Ariens recommends that the user wear ear protection. The 16-inch directional tires provided good traction. The machine weighs 275 pounds, but I find it quite easy to move around in the garage without starting the engine — my wife can move it too. The controls on this machine are all user-friendly, more so than the controls on other machines that I tried at several dealers. The EFI engine was introduced on Ariens snow blowers in October 2016, but it is not new for Ariens, for they’ve been putting EFI engines on commercial lawnmowers for years. This is a fine snow blower that makes clearing my driveway an easy, even pleasant task. I feel prepared for the biggest snow storm.

Was delivered by a local distributor "white glove" service, assembled, tuned, oil filled and gassed up. It starts easily and runs great. I've only had 6 inches of snow so far but it worked great so I have to reserve judgement and not give 5 stars. Handles easily running and not. Just a nice machine.

Purchased this less than 3 years ago and only used it 4 times. It would not start when getting it ready for this winter . Took it in for repair and both the throttle body and fuel pump were shorted out! $650 repair@$”’

Bought this snow blower. Once I got it home, I checked the gas, oil, spark plug and all other connections. Read over instruction manual several times and also watched several videos of the startup and operation of this model. Couldn't get it to start after 2 hours of trouble shooting. Brought the unit back to place of purchase and was told that 3 other customers brought the same model back because they couldn't get theirs to start either. Would not recommend this product or any Ariens snow blower with electronic fuel injection.

Bought this beast right before a big snow storm . Started right up like a car. Did my 200 ft. Driveway and parking area. Performed just as said. Had to assemble it so I found a video that gives easy instructions. Plenty of power. Handles wet snow with ease. I love it !