First off, this is a great forum. I've done lots of reading in archvies on older snowblower topics. I'm a wristwatch collector, and I'm a long time member on various watch forums on the internet, but brand new here.
Quick background:
I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and we get a moderate amount of snow during the winter.
I have had 3 back surgeries over the past 4 years to correct a herniated disc. This is the reason I'm looking at single stage units, as they are smaller, lighter and tend to remove the snow right down to the concrete as I don't want to have to touch a shovel.
All I have to "blow" is a 2 car driveway. No sidewalks etc.
Last year, I bough a Toro 1800 Power Curve Electric snowblower. It worked well, but the cord was a hassle to deal with in -30*, and the motor burned out on the last snowfall of the year (Which was lucky!!) . Toro gave a full cash refund, which was great customer service. I found there were only a few snowfalls that were too much for this machine where I had to make multiple passes.
Now I need to buy another blower for this winter.
I was all set to buy new Toro 621 models. Last night I went to Home Depot to pick one up, and was quite surprised at the physical size of the 621. It's quite big, and I'm not sure how I will store it in the garage with the cars.
So here is my question:
Does anyone have experience with the smaller Toro 418 model? Will a small 87 cc motor be able to handle snowfalls? Would the 87cc motor be on par with the power of the little Toro electric 1800 that I had?
I've also started to look at some of the Sears Craftsman single stage units. They have 2 available in Canada.
One is a big 205cc Briggs and Stratton unit (I haven't gone to see it yet, but I suspect it's gong to be a big unit like the Toro 621).
They also have this 123cc unit at Sears which I am now comparing to the Toro 418 model.
The price on the Sears unit (on sale, it's regular price is $600) is similar to the price of the Toro 418
http://www.sears.ca/product/craftsman-md-21-123cc-single-stage-snow-blower/671-000749275-31A-2M5E599
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/power-clear-418-ze-single-stage-snow-blower-21-inch/959624
Any thoughts on how this smaller Toro would compare to the Sears unit?
Any other input would be appreciated. I had done my research all summer and was basically ready to buy the 621 Toro until I realized how big it was. Now I'm in a panic to buy something as I want it ready to go before the first snowfall (which could be as early as late October).
Thanks
James Dixon
This message was modified Sep 11, 2011 by Mr_Pacman