Snow Blowers/Throwers

I've finally had enough of shoveling snow and have decided to purchase a snow blower for the upcoming 'snow season'

Can any of the RFD'ers out their comment on the available snow blowers in the market.

I have been looking at the single stage Toro power curve. These machines are about 1/2 the size of traditional snow blowers but the dealers claim they work much better. What do you have to say? Are these machines really that good? Do they get stuck in heavy snow?

I'm a fan of the single stages and have used the toro model quite a bit (ie clearing 17-20 driveways after every snowfall). It works well especially in the gta where we don't get that much snow. It's nice that it is light (easier to turn) and if you lift up slightly on the handle then it will pull itself along and clean off right down to the surface.

My neighbour and I split on a single stage 6HP Murray from HD.
It does a decent job, although it has trubble with more than 8" of snow
(like the pile the plows leaves at the end of the driveway.)

Here's a tip : Wear an old *****ty winter coat when u use snowblower,
you will stink of gasoline fumes afterwards .

Originally Posted by mlc2000

Here's a tip : Wear an old *****ty winter coat when u use snowblower,
you will stink of gasoline fumes afterwards .

Do you have a leak somewhere or the engine not running right? This really shouldn't be happening...I used my big 29" 10HP unit for the past 10 years in Winnipeg snow/ice and never noticed any major gas smells at all....except for when starting at -30 below with choke but after start and a bit of warm up, she was fine.

Maybe it depends on the engine manufacturer, mine has a 10HP B & S.

I mlc2000 is refering to single stage machines which use an oil and gas mixture.

Look in the local classified section or pennysavers. You may be able to picked up a 1/2 year old machine at approx 50% discount compare to new. That's what I did, I picked up a 10HP machine for $750 tax and delivery included. You just have to be patient to wait for the right one to surface.

Originally Posted by jsparky

I mlc2000 is refering to single stage machines which use an oil and gas mixture.

yup

You can phone those independent dealers as well. If you're looking for a Toro, consider a Lawn Boy if you want to save money. The machines are exactly the same, only the Lawn Boy is green and a little more square vs rounded now for the newer model Toro. The motor in the old and new Toro have not changed for quite some time and when Lawn Boy bought Toro (or the other way around), they created a Lawn Boy line. Same machine only a couple of hundred cheaper. Get the Toro with a wind up lke handle to turn the thrower, it's much easier to operate.

BTW I got the Lawn Boy at Alpine in Scarborough.