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

Has anyone used the little Toro Power Clear 180 yet?  It has the 87 cc engine 4 cycle engine on it. 

aa335 - I see your points with regards to the styling design of the snowblower - certainly it is more appealing to the eyes.  However I disagree on two points - the width and the weight.  The original powerlite was so successful and such a hit because it combined light weigh (37lbs) with amazing power (98cc 2 stroke) and a small width.  Changing these dimensions and specs (less power, more weight, more width) is a classic case of marketing study dilution.  Its like the case of the Honda Accord, the BMW 3-series, or so many wonderful sports cars.  Marketing studies show that when asked  "were you to add something to make XYZ better, what would it be?", customers inevitably will suggest something that it doesn't have (more space, more seating, more cupholders, a softer ride, etc).  Objectively speaking, all of these wishes are OK, but when added to the smash-hit original product, they dilute the essence of what made it a smash hit.  The original accord was light, reliable, handled well, and simple.  The new ones are big, fat, handle like a big marshmallow, and are overly complicated and difficult to work on.  Same thing with SO many other vehicles and products (not to rip on the accord - I just lament every new iteration as it drifts further and further from what made it so wonderful to begin with)  I see the same things happening with snowblowers.  The powerlite was just fine the way it was - and thats why it sold so many and you read review after positive review.  The few negative reviews were "it doesnt handle deep or heavy snow!".....uuuhh....its TINY....its not meant for that....  It did what it was designed to do, and very well.

That being said, its not specifically the Power Clear 180 that I take issue with - its the direction that Toro and others are taking.  Bigger, dumber, and more complicated.

You are right about the Accord.  I think the best driving one was 1993 Honda Accord, love the agressive shifting automatic transmission.  The 1994-1997 Accord were more comfortable but lost a lot of steering feel and automatic transmission was lazy.   The 1998-2001 Accord were too floaty for my taste.  The V6 engine has anemic bottom end torque and wheezy top end horsepower.  These last 3 generations of Accords got larger and larger to accomodate American growing belt sizes, ie the seats got wider and flatter.  It was great for carrying passengers but bore the hell out of the driver.

Back on topic, the jury is still out on the new Toro Powerclear 180.  Let me know when you add this one to your collection and provide an honest side to side comparison to the old standby Powerlite 325.  Your reviews are greatly appreciated.  *wink*

I'd get one myself but if I buy another snowblower, my wife will sign me up for SA.  "Snowblower Anonymous".  That might be bad, surrounded by others with the same affliction.  hehehe.

I think the key is to look at SCCA road racing and autocross - used to be Hondas everywhere - now you'll never see anything new save for a sporty civic or an S2000. GM is making a big comeback - look at any road race and you'll see new GM cars all over the grid, doing well too. Of course you have contingency money, but us race drivers don't just drive for money - we drive to win too. I certainly would love to get the chance to try out the new PowerClear 180 - If I do I'll certainly post a review here.

Yes, the Civic and the S2000 are the only two Honda models with any sporting intentions/pretensions.  The rest of Honda lineup are people/stuff movers.

I picked up a Power Clear 180 today to go with my 1130 SE Deere.  I'm only planning to use it for the smaller quantities of snowfall.  Can't wait to try it out.

You got a great combo.  If you have a curved brick paver walkway, the Toro 180 also serve well as a trim snowblower.  It is easy to maneuver and follows the curves nicely.  Plus, it is gentle on the bricks. 

Looking forward to your feedback on the Toro 180.  Don't be shy and use it on just the light fluffy stuff.  Go ahead and take on those windrows.  :)

Thanks, I'll try to give it a workout to see what it can do.  I'll post the results if we get snow in the near future.

Well I tried out the Toro 180 today.  We only had an inch of snow, but I thought I would give it a try.  I'd have to say that using it with only an inch is useless.  Instead I used my snow shovel to push the driveway snow into a deep windrow that stretched across my 3 car width driveway.  I started up the 180 and used it to blow the windrow off the driveway.  It worked pretty well and seemed to have plenty of power for this job.  Next I'd like to try it out with more than an inch of snow.  I'll report an update if that happens.

This morning I blew several piles of snow that were 6-10 inches deep and about 15 feet long.  The snow was neither fluffy nor wet today.  I would call it a medium weight snow.  The 180 blows this very well.  I used a second pass to scrape down to the asphalt.  I measured the distance thrown with a tape measure and the majority was thrown 20-23 feet.  Distance thrown is very dependent on the volume.  If you aren't throwing much snow the distance is very short.  If the volume is high it throws the 20 plus feet.  Next I cleaned the sidewalk and pretty much had the same results.  I did notice the rubber paddles can put rubber marks on the cement sidewalk if moving too slowly.  My experience is limited, but my opinion at this point is mostly positive.


Pros:
* Power seems very adequate for this snow.  Wet snow is TBD.
* Throwing distance is good.
* Starting - Pulling the recoil is very easy and has an electric starter as a backup.
* Unit is extremely light.
* Chute is easy to adjust.
* Price seems reasonable.
* Handle folds to make a very small footprint for tight spaces. 
* Small size fits into small places.  This could be a pro or con depending on your needs.  In my case I like the small size because it fits under the handlebars of my 2 stage.

Cons:
* The 180 is too small if this was my only blower, but this is totally dependent on the area needed to be cleared.  You get what you pay for!
* Choke lever seems flimsy. 
* Changing oil doesn't look as easy as it should be.  I'm probably going to add a 2" galvanized pipe to make it a little easier to drain oil.

* If blowing an inch of snow, just get out a push shovel instead.  This probably applies to most snowblowers.

* Sidewalk rubber marks.

superbuick wrote:
Well, after having seen the Toro 2450 in person, I can really see what you mean.  The newer Toros are bigger (bloated), and more complicated.  I'm not sure what you mean by dumber? 

I'm having second thoughts now, I'm beginning to like the 2450 more so than either the 221/421.  The 2450 seems to be more nimble and less front nose heavy than the 221.  Although I'm not too fond of the design of the 2450 belt cover.  Seems cheap and not integrated.