Craftsman 26" 208cc* Dual-Stage Snow Thrower Reviews
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Rating Summary
“Great value for the price!”
- average homeowner
Craftsman 26" 208cc* Dual-Stage Snow Thrower —
My snowblower was delivered on Christmas Eve 2009. No way the box it came in would have fit in my mid-size SUV. Outside the box, and disassembled, it could have fit.
Assembly took me about 40 minutes, although now that I know what to do, it could actually be done in 5. In fully assembled state, it just barely fits into a mini-van. You need two people to lift it of course.
The snowblower started on its first pull. That said, I have often had to pull 2-3 times to get it started because there's no universal setting on starting it - i.e. if it's cold, you must have choke set, if hot, you shouldn't. So, if you took a 30 minute break, is it cold or hot? Do you have to prime it? I often guessed wrong.
The engine is pretty noisy, much louder than a typical lawnmower. A bit rough too, you definitely don't get the impression of refinement. When just idling, it will occasionally misfire, but under any load (i.e. engage the auger or drive), it's fine.
Engine power is OK. This blower is 26" wide, with a 21" high intake. Don't expect, in the lowest forward speed, to be able to blow 26" wide, 21" high snow. It will handle about half that - i.e. 10" high snow at full width. That said, it does work fine on 26"W 21"H snow, but you have to constantly start and stop the drive to keep it really slow. However, don't get me wrong, I do consider this snowblower to be adequately powered. I haven't stalled even once, though at very heavy load, the engine does start shaking noticably.
With fresh power snow 6-10" high, you'll be able to throw the snow a good 25 feet. Any change, and the throwing range varies greatly. Wet slush - forget it, it just clogs the chute. Slightly drier, and you may be able to throw it a foot or two - not very useful. Reasonably dry snowpack - i.e. right after the snowplow blocks up the front of your driveway, can be thrown at most 6-8 feet. Likewise, at 1-2" of snow you won't be able to throw it very far either. Note, not having the chute set at full height also cuts down significantly on blowing distance. This is a problem when it's windy, and you're trying not to blow the snow straight up into the air.
The auger just isn't very good at chopping/feeding. Try attacking any non-fresh snowplow packed snow/ice, and you'll just find yourself not moving, with your wheels spinning. I can't honestly say chains would help,because me pushing at full force didn't help, and sometimes when traction was actually good, I guess the drive belt slips, and the wheels just stop moving at all.
Also, the snowblower doesn't have much ground clearance. At snow > 21", you'll "ride up" on the snow, and get stuck, just spinning your wheels.
The plastic chute is a potential problem. No issue if the snow is under 21". Anything above (including drifts) and you can see how the chute could rub against any hardened snow and break. It's unfortunate, as the rest of the blower (metal) seems very durable, this is a significant weak point.
The joystick chute control is OK. Easy to move it up and down, not easy to rotate it left and right. Moving the chute requires much more force than holding down the drive handle. Thus, I wish I could use my right hand instead of left to rotate the chute, but the current design mandates left hand use for chute control.
Turning this beast is not easy - sort of wish I had bought the next model up with power steering.
You definitely want to store the blower somewhere below freezing after using it, so the snow/ice melts away. I could definitely see expanding freezing ice damaging both the chute and the blower. Alternatively, clean it well before storing it.
It runs maybe 90 minutes on a full tank of gas. You get no warning when you run out.
All said, I think that for $699, this snowblower is a great value!
Craftsman 26" 208cc* Dual-Stage Snow Thrower
