John Deere 1330SE

$1,499

Type: Dual-Stage
Engine: 342 cc OHV 1550 series
Clearing Width: 30" (76.2 cm)″
Starter: 110V Electric/Recoil w/Large Mitten Grip

Snowblower Specifications

Brand	Briggs & Stratton
Type	2 stage
Horsepower	342 cc OHV 1550 series
Starting System	110V Electric/Recoil w/Large Mitten Grip
Fuel Tank	4qt (3.8L)

Overview

In-Dash_Headlights	Halogen
Heated_Handles	Heated hand grips
Weight	260.0 lbs
Consumer_Warranty	2-Yr Limited
Commercial_Warranty	90-Day Limited

Drive System

Drive	Friction Disc-Drive
Forward_Speeds	6 forward
Reverse_Speeds	2 reverse
Tire_Type	X-trac
Tire_Size	16" x 6.5" (41x17 cm)
Skid_Shoes	Heat Treated / Reversible

Impeller

Diameter 16” (41cm)

Profile Steel 3-Blade
Auger

Clearing Width 30" (76.2 cm)

Clearing Height 21" (53.3 cm)

Material Cast Iron

Chute

Material	Steel
Chute_Rotation	Quick-Turn remote
Turning_Radius	200°, Push Button
Max_Throwing_Distance	40 feet (12.19 meters)

Snowblower Reviews

Very Nice
By Ivan P Pagel(Owner), Dec. 26, 2010
Wow what a great snow-blower. she gobbles up snow turns like a dream and the electric control chute is awesome. She has plenty of power and the heated hand grips are the bomb.
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Impressive Machine!
By Mike(Owner), Jan. 4, 2011
I spent quite a bit of time researching walk behind snow blowers. I wanted quality, reasonable price, 28-32" clearing width and a CAST IRON gearbox,,, which is found on most "high end" Commercial/Pro Model machines. Brand didnt matter, I knew what I was looking for.

Enter the 2011 JD 1330SE.

PROS:

-30" Wide

-Briggs & Stratton 16.50 motor with push button electric start

-CAST IRON GEARBOX... you will NOT find one on any other brand in this price range...go ahead...try!

-METAL chute... no plastic junk!

-Larger diameter impeller shaft compared to most other brands

-Gearbox is reinforced by a brace to the chassis..., thus, less auger flex, less ware!

-Electric power driven chute controls! [they concerned me at first, but, work flawlessly!]

-Handwarmers

-Turns on a dime!

-Ground Speeds are versatile and seem "appropriate".

CON:
I am listing this as a con, but, it may just be a preference. This machine is front heavy. That said, you will have less concern about the blower "climbing" the snow. Its doubtful you would need to add any front weight to this machine. I wish the machine had more handlebar adjustment for personalization to the operator, but, thats about the ONLY thing I would change!

The B&S motor offers power to spare in various types of snow and is easy starting,,, generally 1 pull,,, hot or cold!

Make no mistake, this is a well thought out COMMERCIAL GRADE snow blower. It is a QUALITY BUILT MACHINE and will most likely give you many years of hassle free service!
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headlight issue
By Tim Kalal(Owner), Jan. 18, 2011
I bought this blower brand new,the first time i used it,the lights burned out,both of them,the next morning it had leaked fuel all over the garage floor,and i couldnt pull it over,took it in and they fixed everything,i used three more times and the lights burned out again,both of them,very dissappointed,it cost alot of money for this blower,any suggestions will be very helpful.I guess i will have to bring it back in for repair again.
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Ease of Use
By S. C. Chamberlin(Owner), Feb. 20, 2011
I'm a 65 yr. old female in the snow belt area of Rochester NY and choose to clear my own driveway and sidewalk rather than hiring plow that destroys lawn and blacktop. I traded in my hard to handle 8 hp for this new model and WOW....bring on the snow.

I was hesitant to buy this because of it's size, but wanted something easy to handle ....arthritic hands and a sloped driveway. What a difference this blower makes....I do the drive and walk, cleanly, in under 15 minutes and the electronic chute controls are great, as are the heated handlebars

Although the cost was high, $1500, it is worth every penny. I even do my neighbor's driveway to give myself and the machine a good workout. I couldn't be happier with my purchase.
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Excellent Performance
By Ben(Owner), Nov. 20, 2011
I never write these sort of things, but had to after using this machine for the first time tonight...I live in MN, where the winters are pretty tough...we had our first snowfall today....it was three inches of heavy slush/snow....the blower handled it amazingly...operating the blower was like a walk in the park...I can tell this machine is a keeper....the very small area that I had to shovel because I couldn't get to it with the blower convinced me....a full load with the small shovel I have was probably 25 lbs....the 1330se cut through and sprayed this kind of density like soft butter....I highly recommend this machine!
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Good...Bad....John Deere 1330 SE
By Dave Bernas(Owner), Dec. 22, 2011
The Positive...
Starts, Runs, Blows Snow Like It is Supposed to.
The Negative...
It is a tank to handle...
I found that it tends to favour one side or the other but mostly the right side on mine.
When it gets over a slight incline it refuses to back up and both #1 and #2
reverse modes are painfully slow..
It was back to the dealer for adjustments
after about 20 minutes of use.
Got it back and the problem still exists.
My hands tend to slip off the handles when I push down on them and it is a struggle to maintain a good balance point..
There is a recessed area around the top of the gas tank fill tube which collects and retains snow and slush that has to be cleaned out before refueling.
Loading it on my Dakota is a major operation...
I give it two out of five stars..........
I expected more from this reputable brand...It costs about a third more than most other brands...
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best running
By (Owner), Jan. 3, 2012
my John Deere mower is the best running machine I have owned. I have purchased a Torro, Yard Machine, Snapper and Lawn Boy snow blowers. The John Deere has lasted longer than all of the rest. The Yard Machine was absolutely the worst. Ran half a season. The other brands were ok just not as reliable as the John Deere.
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Forever breaks shear pins
By Neil wilkinson(Owner), Feb. 17, 2013
Good when it works but constantly breaking shear pins which are not always easy to replace - better design expected for the price and reputation of John Deere
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The Best, better than ariens deluxe 30
By Brian (Owner), Feb. 27, 2013
I have used a 2012 ariens deluxe 30, the chute controls work fine but you have to move your hands and adjust...making you stop at turn around to adjust. Also when the wind blows in your face you have ussually stop to adjust the deflector. The Deere's electronic chute controls are awesome and the "easy turn" system works great, even better in reverse. Get to the end, make your turn, adjust your chute and deflector, put the bucket back down and your off. Never need to move your hands. Plenty of power, threw 6" of slushy snow just as far as the ariens. No snow spill over. I know they quite making these in 2011, i was lucky enough to find a left over at a dealership in February 2013. Briggs and staton make these, they still do, identical units just painted gray.
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Good Unit when it works
By WP F(Owner), Jan. 4, 2014
Good powerful engine connected to a useless drive system, works 75% of the time in cold weather. Will rarely go into reverse and will not move forward unless you are in the upper range of gears, 4-6.
I have had it to the dealer twice and have now used it a total of 14 times in 3 years, the last trip cost me $250.00.
The last JD product I will buy.
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1330se Best snowblower
By Brian (Owner), Jan. 6, 2014
This is by far one of the best snowblowers for the price. Plenty of power, just did 15 inches with 22 inch drifts with out any problem. Will take the full width of the bucket 30" with no spill over. The easy steer works to perfection, the electric chute controls and deflector controls are a must have!! The gear spacing (6) is nice, 5th and 6th gears a great for transport. Most snowblowers are too slow on even the upper gears. 1st gear just did 20" of snow so the speed is perfect.
They don't make the John Deere any more 2011 was last time, but they make the identical unit labeled as Briggs and Stratton as they made them for Deere. They are pained grey.
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Not happy with 1330 se John Deere Snow Blower
By Lawrence Giordano(Owner), Feb. 4, 2014
I've had this snow blower JD 1330 SE for 2 1/2 years and its broken down twice. Once for the auger belt and now the electronic chute and lights will not work. I paid good money,$1,500, for a quality machine and this isn't it.
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Huge disappointment!
By Glenn Smith(Owner), Feb. 18, 2014
I really wanted to like this machine: I did plenty of research prior to buying it & really thought that it would be just what I wanted and needed. Unfortunately, after using it for most of one winter, it seems to be a huge waste of money.

Let me explain:

I had an Ariens 1028 snowblower from around 2005 which really worked and ran like a dream EXCEPT that it was a solid-axle type & therefore difficult to make sharp turns with, whether under power or not. The house which we moved to (AFTER buying the Ariens) has an L-shaped driveway with a fair amount of pitch near the garage. This layout means a lot of turns and was wearing me out the last couple of years. This is what made me decide to buy a new, more maneuverable snowblower. Since I really liked the Ariens with its Tecumseh Snow-King engine, I started looking there. I was very disappointed to find that Tecumseh had gone out of business & that Ariens - along with most other snowblower manufacturers - seemed to be using Chinese-made motors instead. This turned me towards the Briggs & Stratton-made brands such as JD, Murray, etc. No Chinese motor for me, IF there is an alternative!! (It turns out that B&S has sent much or all of their small engine manufacturing to China as well, but that's another story.)

The 1330SE actually has plenty of plusses among it's features:

Cast iron gearbox, a differential, all-metal chute, PLENTY of power, heavy-duty construction, heated hand grips and motorized chute controls, but the engineering mistakes outweigh these in my opinion.

The minuses include:

1 - It is WAY front-heavy! This has proven to be a serious mistake in my experience. It is the exact same difference as driving a FWD vs. RWD car in snow. With the weight balanced over the drive wheels, a snowblower (such as the Ariens mentioned above) has MUCH better traction to power through even compacted snow. On the other hand, if the JD encounters any packed snow, such as you normally would if anyone has driven on it, it will either just stop & spin the tires or get into a 'bucking' motion where the scraper bar repeatedly digs into the snow, stops the snowblower, then does a 'wheelie' & breaks free, only to come back down and dig in again. The forward weight also make it a bear to lift the front of the blower for any reason and the curved handles just add to that difficulty.

2 - The motor really does have plenty of power & seems to be fairly good on gas, too. However, it ALWAYS backfires when I throttle it down before cleaning the blower off & putting it back in the garage. I may be able to adjust this out, but I'm really reluctant to mess with the carburetor when it otherwise runs very, very well...

3 & 4 - The motorized chute adjustments are nicer than I thought they'd be but there are problems here too. The screw used to change the vertical chute/deflector angle is prone to freezing & jamming and must be carefully cleaned after every use. Also, was there that much of a price difference between the cheap connector used on the wiring for the chute rotation & a decent, automotive-type locking one??? This plug comes apart every time I brush snow off of the machine. I ended up using a wire tie to hold the plug together, but this was a silly engineering shortcut.

5 & 6 - Also to do with the chute: whenever it is turned most or all the way to the right, a large portion of the snow is thrown ahead of & to the left of the chute, missing the deflector entirely and gets tossed upwards into the wind & all too often back into my face. The other thing here is just that I wish the chute had a few more degrees of rotation in each direction. To be fair though, I've never had a snowblower that could turn enough past 90 degrees right/left to suit me.

All in all, I'm sorry I spent the substantial amount of money for this machine & really miss my Ariens, EXCEPT when making all those turns.
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