Ariens Professional ST36DLE (36") 420cc Two-Stage Snow Blower

Machine arrived in perfect condition. A minor amount of assembly and a few cable adjustments are required. These are easily accomplished if you can read & follow written instructions, have some basic mechanical aptitude and own a few wrenches. This snow blower is solid, well-designed and built to high quality standards.

After the first pull the engine started and ran smoothly but I’ll probably use the included 120V starter when it turns cold. Controls are intuitive and operation is smooth. Turns require very little effort. I am very pleased with this purchase and would not hesitate to recommend this model to a friend.

Machine arrived in perfect condition. A minor amount of assembly and a few cable adjustments are required. These are easily accomplished if you can read & follow written instructions, have some basic mechanical aptitude and own a few wrenches. This snow blower is solid, well-designed and built to high quality standards.

After the first pull the engine started and ran smoothly but I’ll probably use the included 120V starter when it turns cold. Controls are intuitive and operation is smooth. Turns require very little effort. I am very pleased with this purchase and wou... more

I upgraded from my Ariens ST824 (bought new in 1996) to this model (ST36DLE) in the spring of 2010. Transaction was smooth through SnowBlowersDirect.com, delivery was fast and assembly was straight-forward. This winter has been it's first true test however.

Winter of 2010-2011 in Fargo, ND we've received about 32" total of snow at the point of this review. A few 4-8" storms and one around 10-12". My corner lot drifts in easy so the depth at times I'm sure is more than this and I get to deal with what the city plows leave in the corner lot area-sidewalks - high, compacted walls of snow.

This machine has handled everything with ease so far. The throw distance is great (dry to moderately wet snow) and the cut is tremendous compared to my old machine. It is obviously heavier than the old ST824 and thus a bit more difficult to maneuver, but nothing you can't get use to. Put this machine in high gear and it might rip you out of your boots :) - it's powerful.

Yesterday's storm left about 7 to 8" of snow on the ground and the city plows had been out by the time I went to clear my driveway and sidewalks out this morning. I have a 3-stall garage (wider driveway) on a 90ft wide by 125 ft deep lot. I cleared the driveway, entire length of sidewalk (including my backyard neighbors length) and 4 sidewalk corner-points (including neighbors again) plowed in by city plows in 45mins. This included time to shovel off the dusting left behind by the snow blower to get to "clean" concrete surface. To me that's pretty quick.

I personally have nothing negative to say about this snow blower nor the entire transaction process through delivery and setup. I'm a very satisfied customer and wouldn't hesitate in making this decision all over again.

I upgraded from my Ariens ST824 (bought new in 1996) to this model (ST36DLE) in the spring of 2010. Transaction was smooth through SnowBlowersDirect.com, delivery was fast and assembly was straight-forward. This winter has been it's first true test however.

Winter of 2010-2011 in Fargo, ND we've received about 32" total of snow at the point of this review. A few 4-8" storms and one around 10-12". My corner lot drifts in easy so the depth at times I'm sure is more than this and I get to deal with what the city plows leave in the corner lot area-sidewalks - high,... more

I can only comment on shipping, delivery, and assembly as it hasn't been in the snow yet. You will want the lift gate service for sure, it came on a pallet and is heavy.

I am VERY impressed with the quality of it. Great welds, very good engineering, and very high quality materials. Assembly took about an hour but was very simple. Some mechanical skills are needed for the adjustments to cables but it was pretty basic stuff.

While very heavy, it moves much easier than my 20 yr old dog that it replaced which was only a 30" unit. Starting was easy to pull and it is very quiet again compared to older models. Plus with electric start I could be lazy and plug it in. I am wondering how good the hand warmers will be as in the short time I ran it yesterday, they got warm but not hot.

For the first time in years, I feel completely ready for whatever winter has in store for us.

I can only comment on shipping, delivery, and assembly as it hasn't been in the snow yet. You will want the lift gate service for sure, it came on a pallet and is heavy.

I am VERY impressed with the quality of it. Great welds, very good engineering, and very high quality materials. Assembly took about an hour but was very simple. Some mechanical skills are needed for the adjustments to cables but it was pretty basic stuff.

While very heavy, it moves much easier than my 20 yr old dog that it replaced which was only a 30" unit. Starting was easy to pu... more

MY Pro 36 arrived just after we had been hit with 24 inches of snow and just prior to another 8 inches of heavy snow.

It is a big machine and heavy... the liftgate service was helpful for sure.

My driveway is 600 feet long up hill and had become a bobsled run with nowhere else to push the snow after more than 80 inches in Western PA which was the 3rd largest snowfall for this area on record.

Assembly was rather easy to get the handle in place and attach the deflector. I must say I spent more time making the proper cable adjustments than actually making the assembly.

It is best that these adjustments are made properly for the deflector chute in order to keep it operating when out in the cold. The machine started flawlessly, and the drive gears work well.

The machine is well balanced and turns easily for the heavy weight. It is a beast and does tend to grip the hard packed snow and want to turn on you... so be careful.

The traction is excellent considering my steep driveway. I have already tossed quite a few stones through the machine due to my driveway collecting them from water runoff, but no problems with the impeller.

The only issue I have had was that the headlight did not work upon delivery. I found a replacement for that easily online. It also comes with a few shear bolts, but I am sure I will be ordering more since my application warrants having some objects in my path unknowingly.

Overall it's a sound machine, very large... not something for someone expecting a light machine. It takes some effort to operate it due to its over 400 lbs weight.

It clears a lot of snow very well and is well built.

SBD RESPONDS: This unit has a 3 year consumer use, 90 day commercial use warranty which also covers the headlight. You may want to give Ariens a call at (800) 472-8359 for more information.

MY Pro 36 arrived just after we had been hit with 24 inches of snow and just prior to another 8 inches of heavy snow.

It is a big machine and heavy... the liftgate service was helpful for sure.

My driveway is 600 feet long up hill and had become a bobsled run with nowhere else to push the snow after more than 80 inches in Western PA which was the 3rd largest snowfall for this area on record.

Assembly was rather easy to get the handle in place and attach the deflector. I must say I spent more time making the proper cable adjustments than actually... more

After the 2nd blizzard of 2010, I bought this Ariens Pro 36 snowblower to try and dig out an access to my home on High Knob in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

The snow was about 40" deep and had been on the ground and compacted for about 10 days. In two hours I had cleared my VERY steep 180 ft driveway.

I'm 69 years old and was able to do it without over-exerting myself. It works great going downhill and I found that if I just let it drive itself back up hill before making the next cut, the job was almost effortless.

It starts easily even though the temperature was about 9 degrees.

After the 2nd blizzard of 2010, I bought this Ariens Pro 36 snowblower to try and dig out an access to my home on High Knob in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

The snow was about 40" deep and had been on the ground and compacted for about 10 days. In two hours I had cleared my VERY steep 180 ft driveway.

I'm 69 years old and was able to do it without over-exerting myself. It works great going downhill and I found that if I just let it drive itself back up hill before making the next cut, the job was almost effortless.

It starts easily e... more