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

I have a moderate-sized (maybe 40' x 15') driveway constructed with paving bricks. Additionally, I have a sidewalk I'm responsible for that requires me to trudge across a neighbor's lawn to access (don't ask...). I've been using a Toro electric, but it bogs down terribly in heavier/wetter snow, and the cord makes it impossible to get to the sidewalk, which is more than 100' from an outlet. So this year I'm finally switching to gas, but it seems like I only need a single stage gas blower, since my needs aren't too heavy. There are two I'm considering, the Toro Power Clear 210R, and the Murray 1695537.

The Toro Power Clear 210R is top-rated by Consumer Reports:
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100677593&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=100677593&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D28X-_-100677593&locStoreNum=6204&marketID=191#BVRRWidgetID

The Murray is getting good reviews on Amazon, but reviews elsewhere are difficult to find:
http://www.amazon.com/Murray-1695537-21-Inch-4-Cycle-Stratton/dp/B002JIN6TS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1284054991&sr=8-1

I know Toro's a solid brand, but what about Murray? Does anyone know anything about the brand and how the model above compares with the Toro? There's also a lot of specs, too, which I have no idea how to compare. For example:

cc's: Murray 190cc, Toro 141cc
cycles: Murray 4 cycles, Toro 2 cycles

Does this make sense to anyone? Any recommendations/experiences/thoughts?

EDIT: And just to make things even more confusing, how do these compare to the Toro PowerClear 421Q, which appears to have a different engine than the 210R?
http://toro.com/home/snowthrowers/gassinglestage/421Q.html

Just to finish out this thread, for posterity... Got the Toro 221Q running a few days ago with the very patient help of the guy at ValleyPower.com, where I'd ordered the snowblower from. The key points:

1. He told me to lift up the handle so the snowblower was standing up 45 degrees on its auger, then slam the wheels down a couple of times. He said this was to shake loose a possibly stuck needle in the engine(?)
2. Thinking it might be flooded, he told me to turn the choke all the way to the left, i.e. have the choke totally disengaged so that it's not choking the air supply to the carb
   
3. He had me pull 20-25 times

After 15+ pulls, the engine started to sputter a bit, which encouraged me to keep pulling until it started up proper on the 20-25th pull. He'd warned me in advance that it would start smoking like a pig, and, indeed, it did. After working with electric equipment (I had an electric PowerCurve 1800 before this), the snowblower sounded very loud to me, so I shut it off only after a few seconds - it was early and I didn't want to anger the neighbors.

A couple of days later, I got a chance to try it again, and this time I started it up as per the manual's instructions. It took me about 10 pulls, but it started up again, and this time I let it run for a few minutes. The copious smoke cleared away after a minute or two, and maybe I was just more used to it, but it didn't seem to sound as rip-roaringly loud as before. I pulled on the handle to engage the auger, and everything seemed to be running just fine. 10 pulls to start up the blower still seems excessive, but I trust that it will take less pulls as the blower breaks in a bit.

The 221Q is, as people have said, very manueverable, and I have to say that the Quick Shoot, which I initially thought gimmicky, is looking more and more like it'll be a real back saver. The 221Q fits perfectly in my garage and is now ready to go. Looking forward to the snow!!

Billin - thats still way too many pulls. I would suggest no longer priming it. It should start up just fine with only the choke. Mine start with a single pull even after being stored all summer.

superbuick wrote:
Thanks for the advice, superbuick! For what it's worth, I tried it again this morning with the regular two pushes of primer, and it started up after 4 pulls, so it's definitely getting better with each subsequent startup. Maybe next time it'll only be two pulls! I will definitely give it a try later without priming to see how it goes.