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

I want to thank everyone for theie help in helping me decide in the Toro 826OXE, I almost went for the 828 but with storage space being an issue I opted for its smaller brother the 826. IMO (even thou I havent used it yet) it feels and looks better built then then the competition. I had them head to head with Simplicity and even with more expensive simplicity models on display they recommended the Toro. The dealer was pretty crowded with people but I still felt "taken care" of.  Opposite of what I felt @ the 3 Ariens dealers. So overall im happy, I will give a full review after I use this thing.

Can anyone tell me how much oil this engine holds? Do they burn oil regularly? I know my neighbors less then 3 year old tecumseh (craftsman) burns oil........

Any negative effect leaving the blower outside for the winter? I plan on building a 4" high wood platform (or pallet) to keep it off the ground and will be under a toro cover. Anything else I can do to preserve it until I can build another shed?

I just bought a JD 1028e nice looking but when bought I could find nothing on this model since it's new for this year. I compared with the Airens and this is a bigger engine. So I went for it. Consumer reports just gave it a great raiting so I feel better now. The electric shute and heated handles sold me. Let just see how the electric shut holds up.