Customer Reviews

YardMan 31AS2B5-801 Single-Stage Snow Thrower with Electric Start

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

 

 

I have used my new yardman 3 times and I am on my 2nd v-belt. I have an old toro before they came out with the shute and it still has the orginal belt on it. I like the idea of not mixing the oil with the gas. The engine starts easily and it hasn't stalled on me yet which is great. I might try a 34 and a half inch belt next time and see if it last better. The snow was on the heavy side but I can't control mother nature. I have a long driveway. I tried the electric start once and it works but it starts on the first or second pull so I don't have to use it. If it wasn't for the v-belts I would rate it higher.

This is the worst design I've ever seen for a belt cover. The left wheel is only 3/16" away from the cover and any snow/ice accumulation on the wheel causes it to jam into the cover. The wheel stops spinning and you have to push with only one functioning wheel. The tread on my wheel is completely worn off because this happens so often. If you don't mind pushing a snow thrower with a dead wheel 50% of the time, this one's for you.

It does not handle heavy snow very well at all. If the snow is wet, get out your shovel. We had a couple inches of wet snow and it just clogged it up constantly. I think it's due to the rubber belts used for the impeller. My neighbor has a small 20 year old 2-stroke and he doesn't have any problem with this type of snow.

The v-belts wear out too quick in my opinion. Mine lasts a season and a half. $17 for a new belt at the local store. $34 to replace the rubber impeller blades.

Pros: I got the electric start in case my wife uses it if I'm out of town, but it starts within two to three pulls every time.

The worst snow-blower I have ever owned. It makes you really wonder if they have any engineers on staff. The drive mechanism is almost at the "toy" level of quality. Is uses a v belt with a very cheap idler wheel and spring mechanism to engage the impeller. Not only will it not handle the heavy snow the snowplow pushes into the edge of your drive way, but if you even try to move it it burns up the belt and you are SOL. Thing is that MTD has used this design on a lot of units that it sells under different brand names. If it looks like this unit then it is probably made by MTD, make sure you ask. On the plus side, it starts real easy so you at least act like it works...

The specs on this machine sounded great for me -very lightweight but could handle up to 10" of snow, and a decent motor size and clearing width for a single stage. However, it has had various problems. The belt broke after the first 5" of clearing heavy snow (it can't handle super wet, heavy snow). Then there were problems starting it in the beginning of the season. The second winter, there was a lot of snow. It went through 6" fine, but it couldn't throw snow even 10' from one side of the drive to the other, so I ended up doing it twice, or three times. In addition, it took a lot of time to get it to work this season (OK after it finally started), and it didn't leave a clean driveway, so I ended up shoveling for the last round. Altogether, it was disappointing. Most of the time, my neighbor blows it with his two-stage. The third winter, I bought a light, smaller electric snowblower, which threw snow long distances, but this one proved to be useful when there was too much snow for the smaller one.

I was warned in advance about this this company (MTD/Yard-Man), but could not resist the price at the time. I now know why this company receives such low quality ratings: their products are of very low quality.

Expect it to work for one or two years. Then expect to pay $100 a year to fix the parts that break on it. They cannot take long term use.

We average, maybe, ten light to moderate snowfalls a year. Motor failed during the second year (just within the warranty period). Third year: the augur broke!! Yup, 4 inches of snow was more than it could take. That would have been a $150 repair. However, I know when not to throw good money after bad. I will be purchasing a Toro, Craftsman, Honda or Ariens - they are all rated superior to this company. By the third year, you will save $100 per year.

I just go this machine the other day and I am happy with it the fact that I don't have to mix the oil with the cad is great! 5.5 hsp my only problem with it was that on small amounts of wet snow it keept clogging because it needs more of it to throw it so I found myself cleaning it more than usual but when I had to tackle the thick slushy stuff it worked fantastic I even did 10 other homes with it that day it really can move the stuff! I like it's size also I was going to purchase a larger blower but opted for this one to save on storage space. I would recommend it for early snow removal and not stuff that has iced over you would need a bigger blower with cutting blades on it to tackle that.