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

Im kinda of on the fence in regards to "if I made the rite choice"? First impression was good, got out last nite in the middle of the storm and at first I was very happy. Motor fired rite up even thou it was 22 degrees or 14 degrees with the wind chill. Got the hang of the controls pretty quickly, the light was nice and bright and throwing distance was pretty good. There was a ton of blowing snow due to the wind and this caused huge drifts which is the begining of my "second thoughts".

When tackling big piles (they are with this storm) more than a hand full of times the motor almost stopped and backfired when under heavy heavy load. Even back fired when the engine gets turned off as well. I think I may have have used too much stabilzer. Today was a little differant, engine did not backfire as much (but it did a few times) and the engine did not bog as much either (but it did a few times).

Now maybe im asking too much being we got hit so hard??? I dont know, maybe its my technique. Maybe its the amount of snow and my technique combined. When I look at what I did I am surprised so I am on the fence.

If I dont go work i will try and post some pics tomorrow. Or if I get more aggravated then I will be going to buy the Toro 1028 tomorrow.....lol

My wife got pretty mad when I told her that  I bought a $2000 honda snowblower (Model 724WA before 7.5% tax).  I got smarter (or maybe dumber) so when I upgraded to a Model 928WAS a week later, I lied to my wife telling her that the difference was only $100, which is about $300 shy.  The point is that when you spend that much money, it does not feel too good to have an underpowered machine.  So good luck and hopefully everything works out.  It is only money after all. 

To answer your question about smaller bites: When you have to bury the whole intake into the snow, use the slowest gear and if it starts to bog down, back off a little to let the blower discharge; then repeat over and over until your first path is done. You can start the next path without completely covering the intake. For such deep snow, it helps to install drift cutters, if you have them. You make better progress, because the cutters reduce the amount of snow falling back into your path.

You probably already knew all this or figured it out; but, since you asked...

stresst wrote:

Nah I'll keep my 1028, if mine died or was stolen I'd buy another one in a second. Yeah there are more powerful machines out there and this one hasn't had to deal with 24" yet, but The quick chute is a joy to use and everything works great. Don't use high octane gas use the cheap stuff (87 octane) it should help in the colder weather. The first cut is always tough but do it slow and it will work just fine. You have the right machine now you just need the technique. For 50% of my driveway I have to lower the chute really low so I don't break the windows on the lower floor, it doesn't look impressive but it's better than putting the snow on my roof   like I did in one of those new videos. Seriously use 87 octane and some Stabil and you'll be fine.

jdpilot wrote:
Ditto - you have to allow the augers & impeller to process the volume of snow being ingested. Also, where the snow was so deep your carb may have taken in some moisture which would impair the overall performance. The second pass should definitely be much easier to move through once you determine how wide a cut to take.

stresst

your machine is BRAND NEW  don't go crazy with the fuel stor.

I took half bites with my 9hp. honda.why beat up the machine??

we did have 30 inc. here

Hello,

 I also used the 826OXE yesterday for the first time, although with a bit less snow, we only had about 15" on average of nice powder. But I did do a couple EOD that were over three feet of heavy stuff.  I didn't have any backfiring problems (except when I ran out of gas), but i definitely couldn't barrel in to those huge mounds at the EOD.  I would go in a bucket length, it would usually ride up, then i would let off the drive while keeping the auger turning, let it clear out it's load, then back up and plough in again.   Wasn't a big deal for me as my EOD is only one car width plus mailbox, so it only took an extra few minutes.   There were also some drifts in the driveway over the bucket where I would do the same, stop for 5 seconds, let the snow blow out of the machine, then back in gear. 

  I have no complaints, except that "cruise control" would be nice, I am thinking of adding some kind of vice on the drive handle with a quick release so I can just trot behind the blower, maybe even "ghost ride the whip" :)

Good Luck,

-Dan

MN_Runner wrote:
I have the Honda tracked model, their largest one at 32", and it is very involving to operate it, almost like riding a motorcycle.  Fortunately or unfortunately depends on how you look at it, I like a challenge to learn how to master this beast.  On light snow less than 8 inches, I'd use the Toro single stage for most of my snow clearing.  The 2-stage Honda comes out to level EOD piles and helping neighbors.  But tell you what, when the weather is nastiest it can be, the Honda strengths become apparent.  Even though it has a 32" bucket, it is quite diminutive in overall size, and it has got some serious grunt.  I can have the snow up to the gas tank and it will just burrow through EOD like a gopher.  Set the bucket in scraper mode, transmission lever in low speed, and let it do its thing.  No need to feather the drive or trying to keep that bucket from rising.  The aggressive serrated teeth auger will chip at ice quite nicely too.

It's still not too late to sell and get what you want.  The Toro that Steve has is an impressive machine.  It moves snow well and is one of the my favorite machine to operate.  If I ever get tired of this 32" Honda, I'd sell it and get the Toro 1128OXE, cause I like the large engine and pivoting scraper.  If the 2 stage is your main machine, consider getting one that is friendly and you enjoy using.  Cut your losses early and move on.  Life's too short to be agonizing about a few hundred dollars.  You can always make more money, but you can't make time.  Or, keep the Honda and begin discovering why it garner the reputation that it does. 

Good luck with your decision.

njal wrote:
Right on!  It's not too hard to get a feel of how much to load that engine to be productive while not overstressing the snowblower.

I am fairly happy with my HS928 so no need to sell and re-buy.  My kids think that I am a snowblower-freak (and also lawnmower) so no need to reconfirm their observations.  Steve's Toro is a nice machine and I want to acknowledge that he has a nice snowblower and maybe a bit better than a Honda.  I do not wish to start another Honda vs. Other war so relax.  Regardless of the brand, if you have an underpowered snowblower you will either have to go slow and learn to live with it or upgrade to something more powerful.  The situation is very similar to the MN Vikings (HS724) and the Bears (HS1132).  The first game was fairly close when things were not so bad yet.  The second game was a knock out when things were really bad/sad I thought I was watching the Gophers.  I am not a Bears fan, but I do acknowledge that the Bears are a much better team and can go deep in the playoffs.

MN_Runner wrote:

Modern snowblower are quite impressive in snowblowing distance and throughput.  The gap in performance has been closed up when comparing similar engine size and bucket width.  Honda no longer leads the pack, and rightfully so, there's very little secret.