Snowblower Recommendations

[deerminator]

Need to buy my first one. Lots look good and I'm thinking of going with something with a 24 or 26 inch clearing path from Sears - a craftsman model. Any tips or ideas in selecting one? I'll mainly be using it for our sidewalk, parking pad and clearing a path around the house, but I also want to use it to clear a path down our gravel driveway that is about 600 feet long if the guy who plows it can't make it out during bad storms and we need to get out.

[Nutty Fisherman]

If the guy you hire to plow can't make it out because of bad storms, how are you going to get anywhere if nothing else is plowed?

[LwnmwnMan2]

If you were going to mostly just use it for around the house, I'd look at a Toro CCR2450. You can also find a model from a couple of years ago, a CCR3650.

They have a rubber paddle, single stage.

It's what 99% of commercial guys are going to use for sidewalks, patios, couple of passes in front of the garage.

Main reason, as with lawn mowers, you can find a Toro dealer that will carry the parts on hand.

Sears, Fleet Farm, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, they won't have the part you need, when it's snowing.

It'll blow anything that an 8 hp 2 stage will blow.

I have pictures from a couple of years ago blowing 18" of snow with my Toro.

Before you buy retail, look online. With the foreclosures and people moving all the time, you can find practically new stuff for 1/2 price or less.

[motley man]

Don't get the rubber paddles if you are doing gravel drive way, as the gravel chews the paddles up. Many good used ones on the local list ads.

[TR21]

I have the 3650 and can tell you there is not much that it can't handle. The sweet thing about it is if you need to take it somewhere you just pick it up, throw it in the back of the truck and you are good to go. For parts try Biesswengers in New Brighton - they always have anything you need anytime.

[mojogunter]

Well a couple of years ago I bought a new snowblower, and did a ton of research on them. I had a toro 622 and it worked fine for ten years, but the last couple it started breaking one thing after another. Nothing major, but little things. My mom needed something at her house, so I brought that one up there. It still works fine so I would say don't shy away from toro. I decided that I wasn't going to mess around and everything I read and was told to buy was either a Honda, or a Simplicity pro series. I decided that a hydrostatic drive on the honda was overkill for what I needed so I went with the Simplicity pro. Simplicity pros like the Hondas are not cheap, but there is no comparision to my Toro, and I thought that was a nice snow blower. If you are thinking about a unit that will last 20+ years I would check them out. The others just plain ware out in a few years if you get a reasonable amount of snow each year. You can put some money into them and keep them going year after year, but I decided buy one of the best I can, and hopefully be done with it.

[CJH]

I ordered a 26in two stage Craftsman this year. (I get it delivered tomorrow) It was the highest rated by CR and a solid deal. Plus they were/are on sale for about 20-31% off right now. I could have gotten two craftsman for the price of the comparable two stage Torro and they looked like they came out of the same factory. Four for the price of a Honda. I have a Honda lawnmower and love it, but there is no way the snowblowers are worth four times more.

I have a large driveway and just wasn't sure if a one stage could handle a big snowfall with a three wide driveway.

Sears has in home service on them, so if anything goes wrong, I just give them a call and they come to me.

[crothmeier]

My dad bought and Ariens a few years back, almost 20 years old by now, and it has performed great (i borrow it from time to time). i dont know what they run nowadays, or what he paid for it back then, but it has stood the test of time and still runs/performs great.

[nofishfisherman]

I have an old Ariens I got as a hand me down. It has to be at least 30 years old but it still worked up until the end of last season when the wiring went bad. That reminds me I need to fix that wiring before the snow flies.

[CJH]

Colorado is getting dumped on right now!!!

[toughguy]

I love my toro. Got it from my Grandpa. It's 20+ years old and works great

[solbes]

I have a 7Hp Toro 726 TE, 2 stage. It has a Toro made 2 cycle engine that's an absolute beast. When the wet snow gets piled on the end of your driveway and it freezes overnight, this thing just gets a deeper growl and powers through it. Some of my neighbors 4 strokes have to go real slow through that stuff. Downside is all the racket of course. Also I love the Toro quickstick. I can do our 3 wide driveway in about 2/3 the time of my neighbors because I switch the chute over with 1 hand as I'm turning.

[wishing for walleyes]

All i can say is...nothing runs like a deere.

[BriGuy88]

I've had a Cub Cadet for 10 years that has been extremely reliable and blows snow with the best of them. Handy features are power steering and heated grips. I know, power steering seems like overkill but it's pretty nice to let the machine do the work of turning itself around for the next pass!

[deerminator]

Thanks guys. I think I am going to end up going with the 26 inch Craftsman after visiting Sears, dealerships and doing online research. Appreciate all the feedback. Looking forward to not shoveling this year!

[jigeye]

I had a 524 Toro for years and it was pretty good til the engine started to tire out. I now have a John Deere 924DE. Man that thing will blow anything and is rock solid. No shearing pins when you pick up a rock and the engine is quiet and smooth. And it blows snow way over to the neighbors yard.

[chasineyes]

There's about 500 employees in Windom MN that would appreciate a toro purchase.

[Sergeant Slabber]

deerminator~ I bought a Craftsman snowblower new about 5 years ago. Haven't had any major problems with it, and I'm quite impressed in the snow amount it can handle. It's the 8hp, 27" path with the taller wheels. I think if you're getting something similar to this, you'll be happy with it.

[toughguy]

There's about 500 employees in Windom MN that would appreciate a toro purchase.

very true. Windom, Lakeville and Bloomington all have Toro facilities. One of the other reasons I buy Toro....besides the quality

[raymondk]

It depends if you want something to last or go buy something that will break down in a few years and all the parts are not available which craftmans is good for . I just had to fix my ariens my fault needed a gear had the part in 3 days found out that the blower is a 1974 model .

[hanson]

Grandpa's Toro 624 is still blowing northern MN snow now after 2o years, believe it is an 1989 model. Love that thing.

I also have a Simplicity Sno-Away handed down to me, model 843 built in 1969. It blew out my driveway in the Cities after Christmas's big snow fall. Got a bit of a gas leak that is fixable but its unreal that a 41 year old machine starts this well and gets the job done. I busted a tire chain off of it unknown to me, ran it over, and it chucked it out the chute halfway across the yard. Just incredible!!

If I'm buying, I'm buying Toro. No question about it. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used Toro either.

[Down Deep]

I too had a Simplicity and wore it out after 25 years. I opted for a new 8 hp Deer as a replacement on the recommendation of a friend of mine and have been disappointed. It has always started, but it seems it can't get through a major snow fall without something failing like a shear pin, belt slipping, gears popping out, etc. It also can't pick up a swath of snow and throw it without dropping half of it on the side of the blower causing the need to make a second pass. I do all the recommended annual maintenance on the unit too. No way would I buy another Deer. I think I'm going to sell this thing off and buy a Ariens or a Toro.

[solbes]

My Toro has been rock solid for 5 or 6 years now. No maintenance at all, except for fogging the cylinders in the spring and running out the gas.

[CaptainBly]

I have a 8hp 26" Snapper that I got from my dad. It's probly close to 20 years old. Still runs good. I have to take a little less that a full swath to keep it from spilling to the side from a big snow fall. Throws the snow over to the neighbors driveway too.

[The_Duckslayer]

I had an old 21 inch Snapper. I got it from my dad 10 years ago. He had it for 10 years and he picked it up well used at an auction. The thing did an awesome job for those 10 years. Last year I stuck new rubber on the auger and a new oplastic pick up across the bottom. The bottom of the unit was real bad! This year it decided to act up... needs carb work... Well I decided to get a new one rather than stik money into it as the bottom is about shot! Since I am unemployed I got the $299.00 on sale Yard Machine at FF. So far I have been happy with it! It is a 4 stroke so no more mixing oil. Take care and N JOy the Hunt././Jimbo