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

This is an older snapper 8 hp  that I sold to buy the new to me honda 928

njal wrote:

I had a Honda 928TAS brand new but returned it for a Toro 1028 OXE. The Honda is great machine and works well but the Toro is much easier to turn and works almost as well. You can't go wrong with Honda tho.

njal wrote:
True, it's not a Honda but I bet it got the job done. 

Steve_Cebu wrote:

The local dealer by me had a few toros on the floor
I liked all the bells whistles on them headlight,joystick etc.
They looked well built. I also here some of there models no longer use
sheer pins,there that confident on there build ..

The honda is bare bones no light or electric start on mine.
However I did order the light kit for 50.00
Yes the tracks can be a pain with the machine off.In the off season I will just put it on a dolly
and if I have to move it,it won't be so bad.
The honda is also an import :( I like to buy AMERICAN  when ever possible.
I made an exception in this case because I saw one in action and had to have one.

The snapper did get the job done,I guess I just wanted a new toy ! lol

njal wrote:
Exactly same here.  See one in action and it becomes apparent  that  I want one.

Njal’s machine is an 8265 and a classic.  It’s one of the best machines in it’s class ever made with fairly robust parts.  Their great castiron gearbox on their bigger commercial models was used in the homeowner models of 8hp and larger.  Zerks on the augers and also fitted into the auger support bearings which were one piece, triangular, and mounted to the case so no insert bearing.  I never saw one with any appreciable wear even on commercial models.

 

Below is the inside of the 8265.  Nicely painted including the spings and moving parts.  It used a chain case with two gears.  The chain case rotates on the hex shaft and carried the friction disk to the front.  The top of the chain case was mated to a shift bracket 8 x 2 inches with a slot in it to catch a bar at the top of the chain case (hidden from view).  The shift lever moved the chain case across the hex shaft and the tractor engagement clutch raised and lowered the bracket causing the friction disk to mate with the drive pulley.  All simple movements with stout parts.  Adjustment of the clutches is done by changing the length of chain up by the handles and very simple to do.

 

Below is an 8260 which was the model a generation behind the 8265.  It used the same tractor internals and auger assembly.  The 8265 has handle bar changes, shift lever upgrade, better chute with a remote hood control that works without freezing up at least on the machines I’ve had.  The chute was upgraded and tossed at a good angle for distance.  The 8265 tossed the same as a Toro 824 XL of the same vintage, very well.  The 8260 with it’s short chute and forward lean is not the best for distance or consolidated flow.  It’s splatters low like most of the old machines and has so of a shotgun belch but good enough for a long two car driveway with a widened garage area.  

Below is an older 10301 heavy duty version about the same vintage as the 8260.  The 8260 and 65 were intermediate heavy frame but used the same parts as the 10301.  It has a  pair of lights and a wider bucket but the running gear the same.

 

Snapper did not make lots of changes over the years.  They had a good design and stuck to it.  They also made smaller less robust machines of 5 and 7hp at a price break like Ariens and Toro and the quality ok but nothing like the bugger machine.  The gearbox in those was aluminum with smaller gears. 

 

I put the John Deere chute on both machines and they tossed very well with it.  All these models have pin lock so no differential but the 10301 is easy to handle as are the 8hps.  At 30 bucks each these machines were a decent deal.  The 8260 needed a carb cleaning but a float needle was installed just in case.  It was used commercially in Boston for many years.  It needed zero parts to be operational, the bearing and flanges were fine with minimal wear along with the friction disk.  The 10301 has had many years of service and nasty looking like the 8260 but only needed a spring and carb work to be operational.  The owner had a 2 inch pipe section wedged in back of the tensioner arm for drive.   

All in all great machines and quite unlike the new Briggs/Snapper models which seem to be Murrays.  The new models are nice but no where near the quality of the older pre-Briggs machines.  Quite a change to go to a Honda.  I would consider it a step up.

 

njal wrote:

My Honda dealer charged me $85 for the light, installed. I didn't want the electric start but they gave me a $150 discount on it. So elecric start for $50 was a good deal. My whole package came to $2,537 for a 928TAS. Bare bones is how Honda likes things. Look at anything they make except cars. Honda is into reliability over features. The tracks were just too much for my wife to muscle around our driveway. I posted pics of the Toro in another thread. Too bad I didn't take pics of the Honda. I'm sure that if you had bought a Toro you'd have found it was a good machine. Honda really needs to add skid steer (dual ones like Toro has) to their tracked models which would make them unstoppable. I see a lot of old snowblowers rusting in driveways, not in use, at least your snapper got used.

New toys are always nice.

trouts2 wrote:
sounds like you know your snow machines.
The snapper was a beast even at the end of the drive way with the hard pack with a full bucket load it would hick up
for a  half second then eat right threw the hard pack with a vengeance.Never even tried the electric start.One pull on the rope
and race ready.I wasn't sure but I thought it had  a cast iron gear case. Try and find that today in home deopt!

All I did to it in the 4 years I had it was fresh belts and fresh oil every year.Will see if I can say the same about the honda.
Some gentleman came up from south jersey for the noma,I showed him the snapper he bought both.

I guess he just wanted the noma and re-sold the snapper on ebay this past week for 60.00 more then he payed me.
Good for him. I cost me 300.00 4 years ago  sold it 400.00
I have  been finding great deals on cragislist.

trouts2 I here you on the smaller snapper the 7.hp I just bought on friday is a lot lighter in weight and I know there is no cast iron
gearbox. Cost me 250.00 so not a bad deal. Very easy to man handle in the garage. See if I can get pic's up this week.

It's a sad week no snow in sight for this week :(

Steve_Cebu wrote:

Steve the machine you payed 2,500 for is 2,700.00 here in jersey this time of year. with the electric start and honda light kit.

 Then slap 7% sales tax on that. ouch!

That is what made me look for a used one in good shape ..

I'm sure that toro is one fine machine,or people wouldnt be buying them.

From what I read there track record is outstanding...

Trouts2,

I forgot to give the guy the drift cutters for the snapper ,found them today in the garage.

Being you have the same machine let me know if you need them.You can have them for cheap.

njal wrote:

Here in NH there is no sales tax which is a huge benefit and about the only one we get considering how high our property taxes are.

I think all the top brands in the higher models are all pretty good. Ariens, Honda, Simplicity and Toro. If they weren't they wouldn't sell so many every year.