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

Briggs and Stratton was not going let time stand still and let Toro have all the limelight.

http://www.simplicitymfg.com/products/snow-throwers/compact-single-stage/

Looks like the offspring of the venerable Toro 2450/3650/221/421 auger paddles, the Honda HS621 bucket and chassis, and the handle/console design of the Honda HRX mowers.

And you can get it with a headlight, a first of its kind for a single stage snowblower.  :)



Also available in the Snapper appearance package. 

http://www.snapper.com/products/snow-throwers/compact-single-stage/

And maybe a John Deere appearance package will be available in a year or two later, with Deere's usual icing on top .

Looking good.  Can't wait to check out this thing in person.

What does 8 - 9 ft. lbs. work out to in terms of HP? Looks pretty sweet - 4 cycle, halogen headlight and chute control all for about $700.00. Nice package overall - hope it performs as good as it looks!

Not too shabby looking. I hope there's metal in that bucket or super tough plastics.

At 3600rpm each ft-lb of torque is 0.6845 hp, roughly 2/3hp per ft-lb of torque.

Well, based on that formula, the B&S Snow Series 800/900 engine on that snowblower is rated for 5.5 hp and 6.2 hp, respectively.  Reasonable for a 205cc engine.

Uh oh! Now a wrench in the works. I like the looks of this thing!! Now to decide this or the Toro! Too many toys and not enough money.......

Well, you can consider that the Toro is a proven incumbent versus a new design that just came out this year, that must have some weight in your decision.

I love competition.  Consumers win.

True, I discussed this with the better half. Its kind of like buying a car in the first production year. May not be wise.
Besides I can't find a dealer who has this thing. They have the mowers but not the snow blowers.

kellyinkc wrote:
kellyinkc: You gotta go for this thing and provide some feedback. Looks like a sweet piece of OPE and it's got a halogen light and chute controller as well! Seriously though, it does look like a serious machine and capable of clearing some snow. Not sure we'll know how well or not it performs until sometime this winter after a few good storms.

I am interested to see how that 4-stroke engine performs relative to the Toro Rtek 2 stroke engine. Whether the balance and maneuverability beats the nimble Toro 2450, slush handling exceeding that of the aging but legendary Honda HS621, and that chute rotation mechanism works as slick as the Toro 221Q.

If anything, those are the benchmarks I see B&S should have targeted.

It looks really promising - the auger design seems to be "Correct" in the vein of the Toros. Its a shame they put those 4 strokes in there and not the R*Tek, which Briggs owns/makes anyways. Oh well. Good to at least have some attention on the single stage front!