Steve, I owned a Toro 1800 Power Curve. I bought it used but in good condition. At the time, I was using a garden tractor with a snow thrower attachment to clear my driveway. I wanted a smaller machine to do my front walk. The 1800 would throw 6" dry powdery snow about 15 ft., but in any other conditions (wetter, deeper, or crusty snow), it was not up to the task. The 1800 does not have the type of rubber paddles that help propel a gas powered single stage machine forward, probably because it did not have any power to spare. The power cord was a nuisance. On the plus side, it was quieter, had no exhaust smell, and was easy to store and maintain. I sold it after one season.
Thanks for the info. I know it's not a very powerful machine but I'm only looking to clear up what a 2 stage leaves behind. So you don't think it will blow that snow and get down to pavement? I won't be blowing more than a inch or so of anything except maybe slush. I've seen YouTube videos and it seems to do a good job with small stuff. Do you think the 1800 has enough power for that? I'm not having a lot of options. My wife thinks we should have the guy plow and use a smaller single stage to get EOD and the places the plow doesn't get. She phrases it a bit differently but that's what she means. She thinks a Toro 421 would work if we were plowed and just went over it to scrape it down. But I don't know if a toro 421 would do that.
"If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England." "If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England."