Ariens (Non-Abrasive) Reversible Skid Shoes

We have an area with stamped concrete that I dared to not drive old blower over without serious scratching/gouging. These are heavy/tough/reversible & they work with no hint of ever being on the concrete. Less shoveling is a good thing !!

Shoes cannot be tightened up enough to hold in place of adjustment. Shoes crack if overtightened or move if not tightened enough.

Great Product. Easy on driveways and pavers. Smoother and quieter than the originals.

Easy to install, no negative effects when in use. I had previously purchased the wheels and they locked up and flat spotted in one season.

Delivery of my snow blower was on the date and time I selected.I was very happy with the service provided by the freight carrier and the sales people at Snow Blowers Direct.

The unit came two weeks before a big snow storm and worked better then expected .The snow was heavy and wet and it handled it with no problem (6" to 8" deep ) and quickly.

I also live on a dead end street and the county plows leave a pile of compressed snow in front of my driveway. The snow blower handled it with no problem.

I also purchased the non-abrasive skids because I have a Paver Stone driveway and did want to leave any marks on the light gray stones. The skids worked great- not one mark left.

I would recommend this snow blower to anybody that needs a smaller unit with power. Get the skids if you don't want to leave any marks behind; and get them from Snow Blowers Direct because of their good service and prices.

Delivery of my snow blower was on the date and time I selected.I was very happy with the service provided by the freight carrier and the sales people at Snow Blowers Direct.

The unit came two weeks before a big snow storm and worked better then expected .The snow was heavy and wet and it handled it with no problem (6" to 8" deep ) and quickly.

I also live on a dead end street and the county plows leave a pile of compressed snow in front of my driveway. The snow blower handled... more

Good new and bad news, first the Ariens 30" Platinum arrived today, about a week early. It arrived with the box in excellent condition and R&L the shipping company was wonderful (very cooperative) to do business with. Snow blowers direct was exemplary to do business in every way.

Then the nit picking starts, the two bolts that hold the chute in place were missing. I called Ariens and tech support told me they were 5/16" x 1.75" NC, they are not, the two bolts are 3/8. Of course Lowes does not sell 3/8 x 1.75 NC so the 2" long bolts will work. Ariens promised me two platinum spark plugs in exchange for the two missing bolts I had to buy on my own. If they arrive great, it has only been a week I would not expect them yet. Should I not get them, I will update this report.

It took a while to assemble the chute turning control. The direction are abysmal. The directions also tell you to put the snow blower in service position. Then the snow blower arrived with the oil fill stick not snug so all the oil ran out. If you are not going to snug the oil fill stick that, at least tell me to check it before "assuming the position".

The assembly directions are full of meaningless important warnings in bold print like: "Be careful not to damage the cable spring hooks when the rotating the handle bar upward." Ok, what is a "cable spring hook" what does it look like? Where is it located and what would it look like if it is or is not damaged? I would think a reputable company would at some point give their directions to some off-the-street non-expert and watch them fight to assemble the snow blower. That exercise would help documentation quality enormously. Maybe for a retail small engine shop whose mechanic who preps 2 snow blowers every hour this is easy. But for a do-it-your-selfer it was a lot harder that it needs to be, all because of very poor and incomplete instructions.

How is it that when I go to the Ariens website and down load a "quick set up manual" for my year and model the photos don't match my year and model? I printed out the directions on 13"x19" paper. Even blown up to that size the quick set-up manual is not what it should be. In fairness to Ariens their tech support does speak English and perhaps the best tech support I have spoken to in 20 years? I'd give them a solid "B". I'd like to have Ariens put a video on for example you-tube. One such video does exist for similar but not identical model on you-tube and it is helpful.

The assembly instructions frequently refer you to one page or another in the manual for details that you must check and when you do the illustrations in the manual are not the same as the model you own. For example I know how to firm up the chute swivel by tightening up the nut under the spring. Fine my model is not like that and my chute flops all over the place and I don't know how to fix it. (Ariens support closes at 4:30 pm EST) Again next day the Ariens Tech support did help and stayed on the phone until I got it worked out.

The included Briggs & Stratton operators manual is the quality I normally associate with products from 3rd world countries. It is worse than the Ariens documentation. It does not tell you where the engine SN and model is? (I know it is on the cylinder head, I found it on my own.) Does this motor have an air filter? That and whole lot of useful stuff just is not included in the Briggs & Stratton operators manual. It might be nice to know where the air filter is, the part number and how to clean or replace it?

The engine did start on the second pull. Now all I need is snow, I believe long term I will be very happy with my Platinum SST30DLE, and I will forget all about the initial set up problems. However I would encourage anyone who is not handy to perhaps arrange with someone who is for initial setup and assembly. Ariens has a lot of work to do on their out-of-box customer experience.

In conclusion, Ariens may be the king of snow blowers, but the directions are not. Everyone complains only about the directions, but not the product itself. When will Ariens listen? If you are mechanically inclined you will eventually figure it out yourself, but you should not have to do that.

Two missing bolts and lose oil cap on one machine may not in the long term end up being major product issues, but it makes a customer wonder about else may have been overlooked?

-----

Because I have a paver driveway I purchased Ariens non abrasive skid shoes for my Ariens snow blower, the new shoes don't come with bolts and the OE bolts are marginally just long enough to work with the thicker non abrasive skid shoes. How hard would it be to ship these with (4) ten cent quarter inch longer bolts?

------

The illustration in directions were just flat out wrong for the drift cutters showing the wrong bolt in the slotted hole. The top most bolts accept the slots not the bottom bolts.

Good new and bad news, first the Ariens 30" Platinum arrived today, about a week early. It arrived with the box in excellent condition and R&L the shipping company was wonderful (very cooperative) to do business with. Snow blowers direct was exemplary to do business in every way.

Then the nit picking starts, the two bolts that hold the chute in place were missing. I called Ariens and tech support told me they were 5/16" x 1.75" NC, they are not, the two bolts are 3/8. ... more

I purchased the "non-abrasive" skid shoes in case I became unhappy with the original ones (steel) from the manufacturer. These are not cheap plastic but made from a substantive material (heavy) and come with attaching hardware (bolts and nuts).

I like having spare parts on-hand when I need them and not have to hurry about trying to locate the parts. Between the snow spray, these skids, additional shear pins.....all I need next are spare "belts" for my Ariens two-stage snow thrower.

Although I have NOT used these skid shoes, I would highly recommend them (they're well made).

I purchased the "non-abrasive" skid shoes in case I became unhappy with the original ones (steel) from the manufacturer. These are not cheap plastic but made from a substantive material (heavy) and come with attaching hardware (bolts and nuts).

I like having spare parts on-hand when I need them and not have to hurry about trying to locate the parts. Between the snow spray, these skids, additional shear pins.....all I need next are spare "belts" for my Ariens two-stage... more

The non-abrasive attachment is ideal for operating the snow blower over my lawn, which leaves no grooves or gouges in the surface.

I purchased the "non-abrasive" skid shoes in case I became unhappy with the original ones (steel) from the manufacturer. These are not cheap plastic but made from a substantive material (heavy) and come with attaching hardware (bolts and nuts).

I like having spare parts on-hand when I need them and not have to hurry about trying to locate the parts. Between the snow spray, these skids, additional shear pins.....all I need next are spare "belts" for my Ariens two-stage snow thrower.

Although I have NOT used these skid shoes, I would highly recommend them (they're well made).

I purchased the "non-abrasive" skid shoes in case I became unhappy with the original ones (steel) from the manufacturer. These are not cheap plastic but made from a substantive material (heavy) and come with attaching hardware (bolts and nuts).

I like having spare parts on-hand when I need them and not have to hurry about trying to locate the parts. Between the snow spray, these skids, additional shear pins.....all I need next are spare "belts" for my Ariens two-stage... more

With over 10,000 square feet of newly sealed driveway, we didn't want to take a chance scratching the surface, so the skid shoes (non-abrasive) just make perfect sense.

These definitely protect the concrete driveway surface. I am very pleased.