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

Heading out to look at an HS621 for $ 125.00 that's supposed to be in good condition. Got to love this time of year - I call it "dump your snow blower" season! Lots of good deals to be had if you keep your eyes open. Hope it's as good as the owner says! Update to follow.

Let's hope it's not a rust bucket.  Post pics if you score it.

Well I got it! Tried to get it for $100.00 but the guy knew what he had and would not budge below $125.00. It's in good condition (better than I expected) has the electric start option and fired right up on the first pull. It needs a little TLC but everything is intact and solid. I'll have to read the "how to post pictures" on here as I have never posted any to this site before (any suggestions?).The belt was replaced last year and it could use a new set of impeller paddles but for $ 125.00 I can't really complain. I'm looking forward to cleaning it up and getting it ready for action for next winter.

I plan on selling the HS520 this fall as I was somewhat disappointed with the performance. It worked OK but was not what I would consider a steller performer. The HS621 has the same type of chute control handle that I did not like on the HS520 but it appears to be a bit shorter in length so I can probably live with that. I'm going to have to get the Toro CCR3000 I scored a few weeks ago going (got to remove and thoroughly clean the carb) so I can do a performance comparison between it and the HS621. Right now I'm leaning towards keeping both of them and using the HS621 for driveway duty on smaller storms and the CCR3000 for clearing my deck. This way I won't have to drag anything up from down in the driveway area to the back of my house where my deck is located plus the CCR3000 is lighter to lift up the few steps onto my deck.

Pic's coming as soon as I figure out how to post them.

Nice.  You got two oldies but goodies.  I already have the HS621, while it cannot match modern Toro singles in terms of distance or handling, it's one my favorite.  It has the classic look and has soul. 

The CCR3000 is one of those rare ones I've been waiting for a good condition for a good price.  There's probably one sitting in someone's garage under utilized just waiting to be discovered.

Doing some picture posting tests - Here's my old HS624WA.

One more - I think I'm getting the hang of this. If so, I will take some of the herd and post later.

That HS-624 is a gem.  How does the metal on the impeller look on the 621?  Sometimes that area does not get enough attention at the end of the season and will rust out badly.  Speaking of which,  I need to do some preventive maintenace.  My family gave me a gallon of "Fluid film" for christmas and I was going to spray down the snowblowers before putting them away (still snow in the shady parts of the yard if I want to run them one last time).

There's some rust in the usual spots but overall it's in pretty good condition. I've got a few spare moments so I'm going to take some pic's and remove the housing on the HS621 to see what the engine looks like. I picked it up in South Boston which is very urban - triple deckers on 5000 square foot lots, so it appears to have lived a fairly light duty life. It was worth the 1.5 hour (round trip) drive to pick it up. Pic's coming soon.

   I'm over in Marlboro and had been thinking about that HS621 for a few days but passed.   At that price in decent shape with electric start it does not matter much if the augers need to be replaced.  

  The CCR3000 might be a bit big for a deck.  A Powerlite would be nice for a deck.  I'd be interested to know how the 621 and 3000 compare in snow.  If the 3000 had decent compression it should be impressive.

   Nice 624W.  I think you picked up either a 7 or 9 new which shoud be very nice.  I currently have a 624T which I've gotten to like.  It's got a very good reverse speed and about as easy to use as a single stage. 

Here's when I first got it home. I had to remove the chute and handle to fit it in my trunk!

Here's one from the top looking down.

Nice side shot.

I had some post clean up shots but they came out blurry for some reason. I'll post some new shots tomorrow.

Trouts: You're going to be upset that you did not jump on this one. I almost did not either but figured for $125.00, I'd take the ride and see what it looked like.Definite keeper and does not need too much to get her in top shape again.

A few more after a fluff and buff. A good tune up is next on the list after I gather a few parts. She purrs like a Honda should - sounds like my old HS624WA (same engine GX160).

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A couple of more and some of the Toro CCR3000 that's a work in progress.

Here's a couple of the Toro.

Congradulations, you've got a couple of nice machines.

Good deal for $125.  If the paddles and auger are lightly worn, that is even better.  Electric start is nice but not needed.  These engines with compression release pull start so easy, it's more effort to find a cord and plug them in. 

Looks about the same condition as my HS621 when I took ownership of it.  A few scratches and rust spots here and there, mostly superficial, no pitting.

What's your plan with the machine besides a tune up?

I'd bend the handle on the chute/deflector upward to get better side clearance.  Might be a bit more of a stretch to reach it but it at least wouldn't be a clearance issue sticking out the side. 

Got that carb issue straightened out on the Toro yet?   I really enjoy working on carbs.   In the last couple days I pulled and cleaned two 20mm Teikei and two 28mm Mikuni carbs.  Not sure what will be on that Suzuki engine in the Toro.  Maybe a Mikuni or Keihin or even a Teikei.  Let us know.

trouts2: Thank you - I'm looking forward to providing a comparison of the two next winter.

aa335: It's nice to have the electric start but I agree that it really is not needed as 1 or 2 pulls is usually all it takes. She has a few scratches and dings but nothing really bad. I think I'm going to try and do a complete makeover and really make her shine pretty. BTW, you're the reason I sought out an HS621. I read many of your posts praising the attributes of this machine and could not resist going to look at it when it came up on CL. The rest as they say, is history!

borat: The carb on the Toro is a Mikuni and I have not pulled it yet to clean it. I'm hoping to get to it this week so I can get it out of my garage as I'm running out of space now that I have this new project. Any suggestions on removing, cleaning and reinstalling the carb is appreciated (I've not done this before).

FrankMA wrote:
The HS621 is a great machine for people who appreciate quality.  It's very robust mechanically.  It's like a German car with Japanese reliability.  It was expensive to buy new and repair.  But with reasonable care, it runs forever. 

I like my HS621 a lot.  It was a big purchase and I splurged to buy it ($850 new in 1997) as present to my father for Xmas after I got my first job, so there's some sentimental value to it.  I did put in some money, time, and effort to spruce it up nicely, but it was worth it.

I think this machine will be more sought after because it no longer available for sale new in the US.  A $1200 Honda single stage snowblower is a hard sell in the US.  In addition, with the proliferation of Chinese clone engines, there's nothing for the homeowner to buy with the true and original GX160 engine.

I hope you have fun working on your HS621.  When you're done, I bet you'd be itching to see how it works on snow.

Still in search of the Toro CCR3000 (2-stroke) at the right price to add to my collection.


Here's a pic of my favorite Honda, de-badged.





Another pic of the Honda (left) with the new Toro 421QE (right).  The Toro is actually larger and porkier than the slim HS621.  Look at the
handlebar height and width.  Definitely made for the American girth demographics.

That's one of the things about the HS621 - it's very sleek and compact but is also very robust. I really like the look of it, especially compared to the HS520. I almost wish we'd get just one more quick snow storm at this point just to take the edge off. It's going to be another long spring, summer and fall this year. If you guys may recall, I got my new to me HS928TA last March and it never snowed again so I had to wait almost 9 months before I could put it to the test. This is the curse of buying used OPE in the off season...

"borat: The carb on the Toro is a Mikuni and I have not pulled it yet to clean it. I'm hoping to get to it this week so I can get it out of my garage as I'm running out of space now that I have this new project. Any suggestions on removing, cleaning and reinstalling the carb is appreciated (I've not done this before)."


Mikuni carbs are excellent pieces.  Easy to work on and perform very well.  

Pull the carb off, remove the float bowl and take a couple pics of the carb from sides top and bottom.  Post the pics and once I've had a chance to look at them, I'll have a better idea of what you have and how to guide you through the cleaning process.    Rest easy.  It's a lot easier than you might think.

I finally pulled it off last night and gave it a really good carb cleaner spray down. I honestly could not see any type of orifices to clean. It came off in one piece so perhaps it needs to be separated into pieces for proper cleaning. It did seem to make a difference in terms of being able to fire over easier after I reinstalled it  but the engine still will not stay running. I'll pull it off again this morning and post some pic's as you suggested borat, and we''ll see which direction to go from there.

FrankMA wrote:
For a snowblower with 4 stroke engine with OHV, I think it's a pretty good packaging without looking porky.  To remain compact looking, some of the newer crop of 4-stroke OHV snowblowers have their valve covers and mufflers hanging out in the back without any housing.  It doesn't look as nice.

Not that most people care too much about aesthetic, but a large looking single stage is going to invite would be buyers to cross shop into the compact two-stage machines.  Comparable price and size, why not get a compact 2-stage?

For me, I am not a fan of in-betweener products that's more gutsy than a single stage, but somewhat wimpy and feature stripped as a 2 stage.  But for some people with tough EOD to deal with and small garage space, these compact 2 stage are good comprise.  Not that compromises are bad, but it is what it is.

I've seen a video of someone reviewing snowblowers performance year round using finely ground wood chips as a substitute for snow.  If you want to take the edge off, that could be an option.  :)

Frank,

   The carb should be a Mikuni and easy to clean.  There are pictures and cleaning info here:

http://outdoorpowerinfo.com/repairs/mikuni_carb_15003.asp

aa335 wrote: "I think this machine will be more sought after because it no longer available for sale new in the US.  A $1200 Honda single stage snowblower is a hard sell in the US.  In addition, with the proliferation of Chinese clone engines, there's nothing for the homeowner to buy with the true and original GX160 engine."

This is the problem with a lot of people in today's world. They don't want to pay for a quality product, do not know what a quality product looks like to begin with and are basically mechanical morons when it comes to even the basics of keeping a quality product performing properly. There's a small engine repair shop that I drive by all the time and this guy does a great business. I would guess that 75% or more of his business is tune ups, belt changes, blade sharpening, etc... that the average homeowner would normally do himself 25 - 30 years ago. If you peruse CL you'll often see ads stating that the machine ran fine last year, last week, etc... and now it won't start so they're going to get rid of it. They then go out and buy a 50 hour POS OPE and complain that it's cheaply built or only lasted a couple of years.