Abby’s Guide > Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) > Discussions > Toro 826 2 stage snowblower or Ariens Robin Subaru snowblower
Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions |
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joed
Joined: Sep 1, 2008
Points: 84
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Re: Toro 826 2 stage snowblower or Ariens Robin Subaru snowblower
Reply #21 Dec 7, 2010 8:37 pm |
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"I'll have to check out that new Shindaiwa the next time I stop by the dealer"
I was under the impression that Echo bought out Shindaiwa a couple years ago. Try to find an active Shindaiwa dealership. If you do, you'll find Echo products on the shelves and much fewer choices of the Shindaiwa line.
You're right. Echo did buy out Shindaiwa in 2008. They've begun to share quite a bit of technology with each other. The Shindaiwa EB854 is an amazing blower. Here's a link to a video I did to compare my Shindaiwa, Sthil, and Echo blowers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYNi0dD2X98 I think I'll go into the dealer's at the end of the week to see these machines again. I'm really torn as to which to get. I like the toro 826 but not sure about space, price, nor the Briggs engine. The Robin engine is terrific but I'm not sure if the Ariens compact is big enough for the job nor strong enough. Love the single stage toros but then I'd have too many blowers in the garage and the wife would kill me. Going to be a tough choice.
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shiva916
Location: Massachusetts
Joined: Nov 13, 2010
Points: 22
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Re: Toro 826 2 stage snowblower or Ariens Robin Subaru snowblower
Reply #22 Dec 7, 2010 9:38 pm |
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Hi Joe, I don't think you can really go wrong with either choice. The Toro is a very nice machine and I looked at it as well when I was checking out new blowers. I didn't have much money to play around with so I'm not going to lie the cheaper Ariens was much kinder on my wallet and for the size driveway I have i didn't think that a little wider machine would save me all that much time. A nice single stage may also serve all your needs as well so it won't be an easy choice for sure. It's great to see some feedback about someone who has actually used a machine with the Subaru Robin motor on it. I have to say that while things can look great on paper I am more concerned as to how they actually do in the real world and I'm sure most people would agree. While not all snow is the same I look forward to actually taking my machine out and building my own opinion of it.
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Steve_Cebu
Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 888
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Re: Toro 826 2 stage snowblower or Ariens Robin Subaru snowblower
Reply #28 Dec 12, 2010 11:52 pm |
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Update #2
Well, after much thought, I decided to go with the Toro 826. I figured out a way to get it through the tight spot around my house. I got lucky too because my dealer had a sale going on this weekend to clear out some stock. Normally the 826 goes for $1499 Canadian. I got it for $1299. Pretty good price considering the compact Ariens would have cost me about $900. Though the Subaru engine would have been great, I still think that the Toro 826 is a much better unit than the compact Ariens, even with a Briggs engine on it. Though it looks like a big machine when you first see it, I can't believe how easy it use to move with that freewheel steering. Anyhow, all I need is snow to see how it works now. Thank you so much to all of you for helping me out during this process. I really appreciate it. Big thanks to Steve too. I saw your videos on Youtube with your Toro 2 stage unit and it helped to convince me that the machine was easy to use.
Congratulations and welcome to the Toro family!
It's a great machine throws snow like magic and when I use mine especially on the EOD it always impresses me. Mine threw a 2"x3" piece of solid granite that had come loose from teh walkway and it threw it like 30-35 feet! No damage to my unit at all. So forget newspapers, granite is tough stuff. Post some pics of your new baby if you can. My wife and I are planning more videos for YouTube with our Toro 1028 to measure throwing distances of various types of snow. Should be fun! Glad I could help.
"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."
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