Yard Master Snow Blower

Review by Krawl : not a bad product

After a blizzard, which gifted us in the north east 14 inches of snow for christmas, i decided it was time to buy a snow blower. After researching a bit i chose this product. It was received within a week and a half, although I shall warn that it was delivered by a forklift...so i received the snowblower, its massive box and it's massive pallet it was resting on :) ) Luckily? Today I was given the opportunity to use my new toy. 30 inches of snow!... With the electric starter, had no problems at all getting it going.( to prep it all I had to do was add some oil, add the gas, and lower the skid guards as another reviewer said.) This snow blower is a beast. I was able to do my two two car drive ways and a long walkway with little trouble. The only issue I had was due to the nature of the snow (very thick, wet and heavy), and the fact I live on a hill, I had some traction problems. I'd recommend to anyone in a similar situation as I to get some chains to toss on the tires, which I plan on doing. 30 inches of snow and one clog. Not too bad. The headlight is a godsend for those night jobs you're forced to do. The only other issue I have with the design of this blower, is the chute. It moves freely and easily when you want it to, but also jumps a bit on its own. Also, the chute does not have as full a range as other blowers I've used. It shoots staight ahead of you or to your right. Not a major problem, just a pet peeve. Overall, I'm pleased with my purchase and hope it to last many more winters come.

Review by Jersey Shore Mike : Yard-Man a Lifesaver!

We purchased our Yard-Man snowblower on Amazon.com just in time. The snowblower was delivered on a Monday, and on Wednesday, 12 inches of wet heavy snow was on the ground. The Yard-Man plowed through and cleaned up our walk ways and driveway. I was even a good neighbor and cleared two of their drives and walks as well. A few people on my street have other brands and some of their machines struggled. I was done in 1 hour. This was a wonderful purchase!!

Review by J. DeSilva : Solid Snowblower

I bought this snowblower a week ago, just before we got 24 inches of snow in 2 days. The biggest thing confusing me while shopping for snowblowers is that they all seem to advertise engine size as cc, which does'nt mean much really. This snowblower says it is 208 cc, but horsepower is a better measurement for me, so if you were wondering, the manual rates the briggs and straton engine as 6HP. Assembly was pretty quick, just a couple of cleavis pins and a hex bolt. You also should adjust the skid pads as they are positioned all the way up for shipping. The engine was even already full of oil. Starting the snowblower was easy using the electric starter - I didn't realize that it plugs into a wall outlet, but it wasn't a big deal for me. The headlight is actually more useful than I thought it would be. The fastest reverse speed is still pretty slow, but you can always just pull it back yourself if you're in a hurry. Forward speeds are very adjustable, but you will probably use the slowest speed most of the time if you live in a climate that has you looking at this beast in the first place. This snowblower had plenty of power to tackle our record setting 1 day snowfall of 16 inches. It throws really far, like 20-30 feet far. This modle comes with a four way control joystick for directing the throw chute left, right, up and down. The movement of the chute is way easier than my last snowblower, and I'm glad I paid extra for that feature. The only issue I really had was that there is a bit too much "play" in the chute control, so it tended to wander a bit if left on it's own too long. I'm guessing there is an adjustment I can make somewhere to fix that. The tires seemed to have decent traction, although they did tend to spin when going through the plow burm at the start of the driveway. Not enough to warrant chaining them up though. As this is a relatively new modle, I was not able to find much for user reviews before buying this, so I was a bit nervous, but so far no regrets on buying this snowblower. I will try and update this review toward the end of the season when I have more experience with it. If you need a snowblower now, this one seems like a good bet. Update 6/9/2011 - Well I made it though the winter. We had out last snowfall in May, so winter was having a hard time letting go. I'm glad to report this snowblower handled everything Minnesota could throw at it with no problems. Always started right up and did not once get clogged, even with the heavy wet stuff in March. The wandering throw chute continued to be a minor annoyance but certainly not a deal breaker. Very satisfied with this one. We'll see if she starts as easy after sitting all summer though. I drained the gas and ran it to empty before storing, so here's hoping.

Review by D. A. Wells : Great snowblower for bigger jobs.

When I bought this snow-blower last fall I wasn't sure if it would be big enough and strong enough for the amount of snow it would have to clear, but it worked like a champ all winter. You have to understand that our "drive" is about 1/4 mile long, off the end of a dead-end road, and consists of a long hill on each end connected by a flat stretch in the middle. We had several snows that were 8" or more, and this machine just plowed right on through like it was no big deal. The electric start is one of the best features, it started right off every time with no problems. In the past I had used a lawn tractor with a blade to clear snow, but this works so much faster, wish I'd done it sooner. Now I don't have to be outside freezing quite as long. I have recommended this machine to some of my neighbors too.

Review by Daniel Jacobson : Great deal from Amazon warehouse

I came across this unit online where the page said "returned because of torn box". The price was way down and with free shipping why not! The unit arrives and had a small tear in the box, nowhere near any part of the snow blower which was in perfect condition! Great deal. The machine itself is sturdy yet much lighter than my 2-ton 50's era unit that was more work than shoveling. Setup took 15 minutes. I use the electric start, and the headlight is very handy. With six FWD speeds it's easy to match up to the amount of snow you are working through. I have yet to clog the unit even in slush. The big diameter tires get good traction and the engine has plenty of power. I haven't found it necessary to go past 3/4 throttle yet. The unit has a joy stick type chute control that works quite well. You can steer the chute much more quickly then the old crank jobs. Given the initial quality, features, and how well the unit performs I give it 5 stars even at normal price.