Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Hi,

What is your opinion on the older Toro 724 blowers? I'm thinking of buying one for my daughter.

Fred

Hello Fred,

While I have never seen one in person or used one I have seen many of the 824 and used one. Finding unhappy Toro snowblower owners is very difficult if not impossible. Got a good buddy with a 824 15? year old or so, uses up here in NH the entire time. Replaced the impellor belt once when he lent it to his neighbor to clear ice and frozen snow that he shoveled off his roof months old. His wife backed their car into it and damaged the gears so it didn't have all of them and it stilled worked and finished the season. I asked him if he would ever buy another brand of snowblower and he just smiled at me and said one word...No.

I can't stear you away from it unless it has been terribly abused like being hit by a plow truck. Cowboy 999? (I forget his exact user name, [shame on me] but it was close to that) was a member here and he restored an old Toro and had pictures in his member profile on WTB, it should still be there if you scroll through.

Hope that helps you Fred,

C

countryboy9799_99

is the guy you're looking for. Haven't seen him around for quite awhile.

Thank you Emmo.

C

Hi Fred,

I recently donated my 25 year old Toro 524 to my neighbor, which is the 5hp version of the one you are considering. It was in perfect running condition. The construction was rock solid and always ran great. Of course I myself did all the maintenance, which was always easy. If it had the 7hp engine on it, I most likely would never have given it away to get the new 828 LXE. The 5hp engine was great until it came up against wet snow. I'm sure the 7hp engine will be just fine. Also, a great feature the old Toro's have is the throttle lever is on the dash board. I think only a Honda has that feature now. Just kick the tires real well before you put any money down on it.

Hey Fred...

My sister has a ~6-8 year old small Toro 2-stage... 5 hp or so... maybe 7 but I doubt it...

I used it ~ 3-4 years ago in a blizzard at her place... 20x30 parling area... + 10 x 50' drive... + 60' sidewalk...

Tough workin' machine !

Snow was almost full intake height and more at roadside... and the snow was not light...

The little Toro chewed it up and spit it out !
No fast mind you... but it didn't hesitate for those 2-3 hours...


Dave...

All,

Thanks for the great info!!

Fred

Fred,

The ONLY problem I have seen & heard about these machines is that their "drum" style auger has a tendency to "walk" up on heavilly packed ice/snow. In other words, the front of the snowblower may go upwards away from the pavement. Otherwise, these babies are built like TANKS!!

Marty

Marty,

I have an older toro 724 with one of the "drum" augers.  I have not seen this design on any other blowers and always wondered why this was done.  Any thoughts?  I just see it as a way of limiting throughput.

Chris

Chris - I think that their objective was to have more solid mounting for the augers. With the horizontal drum, the auger "rakes" are attached to the drum tube at many points. On a regular snowblower with shafts, they only attach in 3 or 4 spots.

Marty

I have one of these puppies...got it new in '74 and still runs fine.  A little beat up as it got moved around a lot.  Only use it for small stuff now as I have a ride on tractor to handle the 4 huge driveways I clear.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a good used one.

the drum also helped meter the snow intake, making it harder to choke the machine with too much snow.