Customer Reviews

Powerland PDST32 32-Inch 389cc 13 HP OHV Gas Powered Two Stage Self Propelled Snow Thrower With Electric Start (CARB Compliant)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I was reading through some of the reviews for the smaller version of this snow thrower and they were hit or miss. Well after getting 2 feet of lake effect snow over the last week I have had a chance to thoroughly put this through the paces and it is awesome. It is fast, cuts down to the concrete, and hasn't given me even one problem so far.
Only "con" I can think of is that some of the more expensive machines have one handed chute aim controls, whereas this one is a little more of process. Every time I want to change the chutes direction I have to stop the machine, unscrew the lock for the chute, adjust the direction, and finally tighten the lock back up. A small price to pay for what I consider an excellent snow thrower at an excellent price.

Below is review from January 2012...

This thing is definitely a p.o.s. buy a slightly smaller higher quality for the same price or spend more for a name brand. I have had so many problems with this machine. Replaced auger belt twice, drive belt once, I am now waiting for the second replacement auger control cable - not to mention the chute now has to be adjusted by hand, I can't use the direction control since one of the rivets holding it in place have popped out. Customer service / tech support from manufacturer is sub par at best. When the machine is working properly I still think it is great, however, it has been out of commission far too many times in the just over a year that I've owned it. The amount of money/time I have put into this thing have surely justified spending a few hundred dollars more for a machine that has a WARRANTY! I am frustrated at this point, please heed this update as well other reviews and look elsewhere.

Just received my new PDST32 Snow Thrower and unpacked it today. Asssembly was easy, the instructions were easy to follow and I had the unit up and running within 30-40 minutes. I filled up the engine with oil and gas and tested it out in 8 inches of wet snow! The 13HP engine started on the first pull with no problem and threw the wet snow at least 8-10 feet without any hesitation. I was somewhat leary to purchase the unit since it wasn't a major brand name, but now that I've been able to run it for a few minutes it is probably one of my best purchases. I had to contact Tech Support on a quick question regarding adjusting the auger engagement and they were very, very helpful and pleasant to deal with. I would recommend this unit to anyone seeking a snow thrower with a powerful engine, large clearing path and price that can't be beat! Looking forward to seeing more snow!

Major dislikes are the engine is very very loud and the control knob for the chute direction is a pain to use. I have to unscrew the lock to change direction everytime. Why can't Powerland simply use turn & crank rod like most other models?? Screw to hold the tire in place is missing, tire almost came off. Other parts are very very low quality. Plastic jam tool mount broke, can't remember what else is falling apart. THIS UNIT IS A PIECE OF JUNK!!! DO not buy this snow blower, it really blows!!!!!! Good thing Amazon stands by there customers and helped me fixed the situation. Thanks Amazon!!

All the review's are true on this machine ....... this is waste off money. we bought this on jan 31st 2011 and the time it arive we did't get any snow so we left that machine as is in the box thinking we will open that in 2012. So now in 2012 when we had snow in Jan we put this snow thrower together and guess what it stated leeking GAS and we were way too scared to use this machine. We called the manufacture and they said they have nothing to do with this you have to call AMAZON, then we called Amazon they said its been 1 year we can't take this back, we told them it was leeking gas it could have killed us and the only reson we bought the machine because AMOZON was selling this on their wedsite so they were saying will halp you buy giving you 60% refund on this and now you can do whatever you want with this we also have nothing to do with this. PEOPLE PLEASE DON'T BUY THIS MACHINE

We bought Powerland 2 stage snow blower for $600.00 in year 2009. The first time we used the plastic chute broke. We asked replacement for metal chute and we have to pay $299.99 for the kit? They sold us a defective model. DO NOT BUY POWERLAND. The company is NOT RELIABLE. They can't even sell us just the metal chute. They want to sell us the whole replacement for auger blades and everything.

I had the same problem with the speed cable that other reviewers mention. Also the bolts fastening the wheels came off and were lost in the snow (something else other reviewers mentioned). I had to purchase my own bolts and use locknut on them to prevent this from happening again. I too am puzzled by Powerland's chute design -- it seems like it could be redesigned to give much easier use so you don't have to constantly pause to change the discharge height. Side-to-side adjustment, however, seems fine.)

Another thing to keep in mind -- Amazon's return policy. My understanding (read Amazon's return policy for yourself) is that Amazon will not accept returns of items that have been run with gasoline because of the shipping/receiving issues. This makes things like snow blowers and generators essentially impossible to return to Amazon, so you are forced to deal only with the manufacturer. In this case the manufacturer -- Powerland -- has seemed to cause many reviewers headaches when returns were attempted.

Machine's cable for auger broke immediately. Brochure advises to contact authorized service representative, but when I called company, they advised they have none. Instead, I would need to bring to a local repair person and then send the company the bill. They would only pay for repairs within first 30 days..... Belt came off after 15 minutes, so I had to reinstall. Blower didn't blow hard enough, but no answer as to why. Engine ran rough but no answer in either brochure as to how to fix. No answer in brochure on how to fix other aspects of the machine. Bottom line - the machine's no good and the service is even worse.

This thing broke on the 2nd use. I know these things can happen however, there is NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT from the factory for this product.
I called the 888 number and only get recordings. I just want to purchase some replacement parts and this company is a solid zero in customer service.
Stick with a brand name from a local dealer, unless you like throwing away $1000.00 on junk.

Extremely poorly made, fees cheap and can't even throw very light snow a decent distance!

I am extremely disappointed not only in the machine, but can't help but wonder if they changed the unit since these other reviews were written?

I'd give t a zero were it an option! PLEASE SAVE YOUR $$!

The Pros: The delivery was fast and easy. The machine is very powerful and exactly as advertised. It also came with two spare belts, which is much appreciated. I had no problem clearing a foot of snow in my driveway this morning--including some packed icy snow. I saw a complaint in a comment about the chute controller stick being difficult to use, but I don't find it all that difficult. You do have to stop driving the snow thrower, but it's easy enough to turn and only takes a second or two. The snow thrower drives well and throws snow a long, long way (I would guess about 40 feet for dry snow).

Cons: Assembly could have been easier. First, the instructions say several small parts are in a plastic bag, but they were attached to the chute and the chute control rod. I wasted some time looking for the bag and then called the service number. The good news was, the service guy was very helpful and quickly told me where to find the parts. Also, the handle to the chute control rod is held in place by a retaining ring that cannot be put on by hand. I had to buy retaining ring pliers ($4.99 at Harbor Freight Tools), With the pliers, it went on in seconds.

Overall, there are many more pros than cons, and the price (I bought it on sale directly from the web site and with free shipping) was unbeatable. Hopefully this machine will hold up over the years. So far it looks like a great buy.