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

Quick intro: From eastern Mass (half way between Boston and Providence RI). Need to invest in a snow blower that is robust yet easy to steer - well, one that has a good steering system. I'm about to have L4 & L5 vertebrae fused and during the healing process will need a blower that won't make me screw things up by bulling it around. Anyway, been doing a lot of research (lots of free time - disabled from work until back is fixed) and I am narrowing my search down to the Toro's OEX's (Power Max 826OEX, 828OEX, or 1028 OEX) and the Husky with power steering and the high impeller speed (11524E & 14527E) Questions, how do these steer? At this point that is the priority, I will tackle the other differences later. OR do you know of a RELIABLE machine that needs no body twisting or pulling to steer it. (I read reports that Troy-Bilt have unreliable reverse gears) thanks -Bill

Monsey NY 10952

call up Precision Mower & Power equipment  (845) 624-2159. ask to talk to the boss, ask him if he could get u shiped

JoelKlein wrote:
Thanks for the info, but snowblowers are those things I feel needs local sales and service support.

I hope Husqvarna is more available across the US.  Seems like they pack quite a lot in such a small price.

find out if you have a dealer close to you. if yes, ask him if "he" could get in that model. husqvarna makes all kind of models and NOT all of them is listed on the husqvarna website.

Norfolker wrote:
I know I'm late getting to this, but if you see this posting, there is another thing I've noticed about the newer Husky units.  The handles are higher than just about any machine I've seen.  I'm not too keen on that.  The Toro handles are at a nice level.  Just a thought.

I have not had the time to visit the Husky dealer not sure when I will have the time But I do want to see one up close.

aa335 wrote:
Good point about the local aspect. 

I can never understand Husqvarna for only having a 12-inch impeller across their entire line.  Also their auger gear cases seem small.  Compare to the Toro or Ariens, for example.

coasteray wrote:
I haven't looked at their gearcase closely, but my first impression is that bucket is really tall.  Are they serious, can it really swallow that much snow?

I'm getting a Husqvarna 14527 XLS tommorow late after noon. will try to take some pictures and post

Steve_Cebu wrote:

Thanks Steve, but I finally pulled the trigger, on a Toro. The 826 OXE. As it turns out my local Husky/Ariens dealer also has Toro, so the local aspect was not an issue. We decided on a smaller unit than the 1028 for a number of reasons, with immediate availability and price being just part. We picked it up on Saturday (needless to say, Norfolk Power was BUSY).

Sunday we woke up to "only" 6 inches of wet, leafed, snow.

As mentioned in another thread, I also found out that in first gear, the snow/leaf mix was not being thrown as efficiently as in 2nd or 3rd.

BTW, anyone have a good solution for a crowned drive? My (well, late father's) old 724 had a spring loaded scraper that would not cause an issue. The 826 did not like the crown.

If I raise the skids, I would still leave about an inch (or more) on the flat areas.

Anyone jury rig "temporary" removable skid extenders for when approaching the crown? Or maybe a hard rubber extension on the scraper that would deflect when hitting the crown?

Norfolker wrote:

I'm sure you'll be very happy with the 826, it's a good machine. The 1028 is too big for some people depending on how much snow you get. Having too little snow for us is never an issue. The stuff I was blowing as so jammed up that I could smell something burning, maybe the belt or clutch. The Toro 1128 has that spring loaded scraper bar, but I avoided buying it as it's one more thing to go wrong. Our driveway isn't crowned but it does tend to pull to one side or the other depending. I just use teh trigger to sort it out.