Ariens Deluxe 28 SHO (28") 306cc Two-Stage Snow Blower

Super experience with Snowblowers Direct. I live in the mountains in Lake Tahoe, record snows have drained the local shops, including Home Depot of all larger snowblowers...no problem at Snowblowers Direct...had this model in stock, and received it in 5 days. This Ariens Deluxe SHO 28 is a great price point, and really does the job. I had it delivered yesterday, took about 20 minutes to get it in working order (highly recommend watching the video provided on this site on how to assemble).

Put in the gas and started first pull, knocked down snow from the 7 foot wall stacked on each side of my driveway...my old Craftsman just couldn't throw the snow any higher. My first test of the blower was to toss this hard packed, Sierra Cement up and over the high walls...and boy did it pass the test! It blew it out of my driveway, up and over the 7 foot snow walls, over my yard and into the neighbors driveway, pretty cool. We had 8 inches of slush overnight, and the machine worked great. It handles great, the auto steer really saves the back, and the controls are easy and accessible. Almost a third the cost of a Honda, and does the job as well!

Super experience with Snowblowers Direct. I live in the mountains in Lake Tahoe, record snows have drained the local shops, including Home Depot of all larger snowblowers...no problem at Snowblowers Direct...had this model in stock, and received it in 5 days. This Ariens Deluxe SHO 28 is a great price point, and really does the job. I had it delivered yesterday, took about 20 minutes to get it in working order (highly recommend watching the video provided on this site on how to assemble).
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Bought this machine during October 2016 at the Big E in Western MA. The small company I bought this from brought it to my house shortly after. First snow storm, few month later, the snowblower handle broke and it kept stalling when I used it down my driveway. I always used star tron in this machine and did not even touch the fuel yet, as the dealer filled it up with gasoline.

I called the dealership up, and they picked it up to look at it. They gave me the snow blower back a week after and told me it was fixed. The next huge snow storm I used it, but the snow blower kept surging every time I took the choke off.

I called the dealership again, and this time told them the problem. The dealer told me to use mechanic in a bottle to fix anything that was clotted in the carburetor. Did not work. I called them back and had them pick it up. I contacted Ariens via Email, and asked if I could exchange this snow blower for another one, as this is my second return back to the dealership.

Ariens said their return policy is not like that, and only will replace broken items on the snow blower. I feel like I bought a lemon and now I'm without a snow blower for more than a few weeks. I purchased a 1969 Ariens blower in lieu of this, in case a storm would come when I don't have a snow blower. I spent $1400.00 on this product and it keeps breaking. Would not recommend buying a new Ariens snow blower

Bought this machine during October 2016 at the Big E in Western MA. The small company I bought this from brought it to my house shortly after. First snow storm, few month later, the snowblower handle broke and it kept stalling when I used it down my driveway. I always used star tron in this machine and did not even touch the fuel yet, as the dealer filled it up with gasoline.

I called the dealership up, and they picked it up to look at it. They gave me the snow blower back a week after and... more

I ordered this machine at the end of November. The delivery was on time and the extra fee to deliver it to my garage door was worth the money.

Assembly was OK except for the handle bars. The instruction guide is minimal and graphic, but the steps can be figured out (I used a couple of YouTube videos for help, too) The alignment of the handlebar pieces was poor and required more leaning and twisting to get the screw holes to line up than they should have.

I had a tough time opening the cap on the oil drain pipe, but eventually got it off. I drained the oil and replaced it with synthetic. I put gas in and ran the machine for 15 minutes, then put it away.

We didn't have any snow until today. When I went and pulled out the snowblower there was engine oil all over the machine and the floor. I HAVEN'T EVEN USED IT YET.

I am going to add oil in again and run it for a bit to see if it will hold the oil. If not, I'll be looking for my local authorized dealer/service center tomorrow.

I ordered this machine at the end of November. The delivery was on time and the extra fee to deliver it to my garage door was worth the money.

Assembly was OK except for the handle bars. The instruction guide is minimal and graphic, but the steps can be figured out (I used a couple of YouTube videos for help, too) The alignment of the handlebar pieces was poor and required more leaning and twisting to get the screw holes to line up than they should have.

I had a tough time opening... more

I would highly recommend this machine. Very easy to operate. Very powerful. Really blows snow 50 feet or more.

Ordered exactly what I wanted - shipping was extremely quick as we are only a one day point away for shipping. I ordered at 10:34am and it shipped same day (in stock item.) We contacted the truck company to make arrangements for delivery - we lost one day because they call and confirm. No problem. Delivery driver was AWESOME and he even helped me get to the back of the house!

By the time I got home, it was dark and real cold (-4 degrees) - we flipped the handle up and attached it so we could just get it in the garage overnight. We had a little bit of a hard time doing so as the holes did not want to line up correctly - once we got them lined up - BAM - right together.

Due to the extreme cold, we chose to wait until just after our latest snowstorm to complete final assembly. I had viewed a number of videos to familiarize myself with the assembly and it was a good thing I did - no instruction - or so I thought. I found them attached to the chute rather than in the package with the remainder of the materials including the warranty card and owner's manual. Regardless, I went over everything and double checked my work including checking the oil and gear case oils even though they were full - TIME TO CLEAR SNOW!

We had about 6" on the ground and some ice underneath. Because of the ice and the new blade, the blower jerked around quite a bit as we cut into the semi-hard snow pack below the fresh. Beyond that the blower did everything it said - including clearing the ice pack and snow pile at the end of our drive. I had the skid adjusted a little high for the first time out and dropped them to finish the sidewalk.

No major complaints - a couple of notations.

It is very cumbersome to rotate the chute with the adjuster mounted in front of the dash. My old unit, an ST824, has the chute rotation handle behind the dash which is certainly a more handy place for it. It is something that I may get used to in the future. Knowing this now would not have changed my mind when I ordered.

The throw adjuster works fine, but again, my old unit was manual - I could put it exactly where I wanted it. Now in order to achieve "perfect" placement, I just have to rotate the chute forward more. We share a driveway with our neighbor and the snow needs to pile up in the bush line between our drives - again, not a big deal.

The housing where the extra shear bolts are kept seems to constantly pack up with snow when blowing. There may be a better location for these - hopefully this will make it onto the next model. Not a big deal, but one thing to clean off before I put it away.

The one thing that I don't get is the AutoTurn feature - it seems completely worthless to me. My old unit has no such feature and I accomplished almost the same results. Besides, try to get everything going at the same time requires a miracle of Christ. Turn the machine, rotate the chute and change the throw is nearly impossible. It might just be an oddity with my property, but I cannot see it being much use. I may be wrong.

With all that said - it is a great machine. Assembly was a snap (once I found the instructions,) the width is suitable for a large drive and long sidewalk, the motor has plenty of cutting power through some pretty thick snow/ice piles. Quality as usual is high for the Ariens, packaging was great and there was no fear of damage. Ariens has once again provided a great unit at an affordable price.

AND SNOWBLOWERSDIRECT.COM DID AN AWESOME JOB GETTING IT TO ME!!!

Ordered exactly what I wanted - shipping was extremely quick as we are only a one day point away for shipping. I ordered at 10:34am and it shipped same day (in stock item.) We contacted the truck company to make arrangements for delivery - we lost one day because they call and confirm. No problem. Delivery driver was AWESOME and he even helped me get to the back of the house!

By the time I got home, it was dark and real cold (-4 degrees) - we flipped the handle up and attached it so we... more

My new unit went together easily and the next day it went through 8" of wet snow with no problem. I looked at several units but settled on another Ariens. So far glad I did.

Ariens has one of the best reliable durable snowblowers on the market for its value I'm very satisfied with its capabilities and it has plenty of power , the things that I'm very disappointed with is why did they move the chute handle location to the front of the dash ??? ( feels very awkward ) and why did they take away the heated handgrips these are very common features on today's snowblowers ! What was once standard is now all optional ,I did however make my own modifications for the chute handle

Ariens has one of the best reliable durable snowblowers on the market for its value I'm very satisfied with its capabilities and it has plenty of power , the things that I'm very disappointed with is why did they move the chute handle location to the front of the dash ??? ( feels very awkward ) and why did they take away the heated handgrips these are very common features on today's snowblowers ! What was once standard is now all optional ,I did however make my own modifications for the... more

Ordered it on Wednesday morning and it arrived at my work while I was gone to lunch the next day. Brought it home and assembled it, the pictures on the instructions were a little out dated, but just pay close attention to the cable routing and you'll be fine. the oil levels were full and it started right up!!

I did lots of research and am convinced this is the one for me. The SHO cost me 10 bucks more than the Depot model, money well spent. I had an old Ariens 2.75 hp 20" that I bought used a good 15 years ago and it served me well. They got my business !!!!!
LET IT SNOW !!!!!!!

Ordered it on Wednesday morning and it arrived at my work while I was gone to lunch the next day. Brought it home and assembled it, the pictures on the instructions were a little out dated, but just pay close attention to the cable routing and you'll be fine. the oil levels were full and it started right up!!

I did lots of research and am convinced this is the one for me. The SHO cost me 10 bucks more than the Depot model, money well spent. I had an old Ariens 2.75 hp 20" that I bought... more

The assembly was very easy, it only took about 20 minutes (which was the estimate from a customer service rep I spoke with). Once assembled, I checked the oil and put some gas in the blower. It started on the first pull.

We've had 8" of new wet snow in the past 2 days, here in Western Montana. Deluxe 28 SHO has handled it perfectly & operates as advertised. This is an easy to handle beast!!

A few notes to new buyers :
1) The Ariens you tube video "Ariens deluxe 28 assembly, Amy Learns to Cook" at 20:52 was very helpful to watch as I waited for delivery. Will save you time & also has a noted step not in the instructions on your need to clip/tighten a bolt on bar that controls the lever you use to adjust fwd/rev. gears.
2) The auto-steer feature is great! Take time to view best practice use & you will appreciate not having to "horse" your blower around when turning the 300 lb. blower.
3) Wife hated the old machine that died. She handles this machine with ease.

We've had 8" of new wet snow in the past 2 days, here in Western Montana. Deluxe 28 SHO has handled it perfectly & operates as advertised. This is an easy to handle beast!!

A few notes to new buyers :
1) The Ariens you tube video "Ariens deluxe 28 assembly, Amy Learns to Cook" at 20:52 was very helpful to watch as I waited for delivery. Will save you time & also has a noted step not in the instructions on your need to clip/tighten a bolt on bar that controls the... more

Machine is very well built and has a lot of capacity. My only complaint would be that it is a little hard to maneuver. Very good machine for the money.