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

Any advice as to which of these two single stage blowers is the better choice?  Thanks.

@MNRunner

Did you buy one yet?

Not yet - It just bothers me to hear that Honda is more reliable than Toro.

@aa335

Trust your Toro 421 started without any issue this fall.  I have a little time before deciding since no snow for another 10 days or so.  I am sure the realiability question entered and resolved before you bought your Toro.

Do you own a Honda automobile? 

I used to have Honda Accords.  They were reliable and safe to drive.  But they were also very boring to drive, at least to me.  They were appliances on wheel, always humming along.  What bothers me is because they were so reliable, I didn't have an excuse to get rid of them. 

The last Honda was a 1998 Accord developed transmission failure and had all kinds of emission problems.  After putting in $3000 during the 10 years I had it, I drove it to 250,000 miles and got rid of it.  I was not going to get another Accord, they keep getting bigger and bigger and drove like everything else. 

Now, I like to sacrifice some reliability for excitement. 

As a matter of fact, I own Honda (2005 Odyssey with 80K) and Toyota (2007 Camry with 110K) and they are boring and these cars have not been in the shop too often.  I generally fix my own cars when I can and the repairs are not over my head.  I am also boring too as I run everyday (my blood pressure is 90/60 and a resting heart rate of 45 bpm) and have not been to doctors office too often.  I do have one coming up for my big 50 physical exam and hopefully the results are boring too.  Sometimes being boring is okay ...

Snowblowers are exciting so a little service call is not big deal.

What would you expect a Honda dealer to tell you?  Did you ask him to elaborate on where the Toro failed in reliability?  It's very unlikely that a vendor is going to compliment or recommend a competing product?   Sure Honda products are great.  So are Toros.  I bought a Toro 221QE last year for a very good price.  Good thing I did because Toro has since discontinued using two cycle engines. 

Now that everything has four stroke engines in them, between the Honda and Toro, I'd buy the machine that had the best price. 

MN_Runner wrote:
Actually, I did took a chance and bought the Toro with the Loncin engine.  It was the second year Toro used this engine so I figured the bugs been worked out.  It wasn't.

My 421QE did develop a fuel leak last winter.  I put on a fuel shutoff valve and used it the rest of the season.  I just have to run the engine until the float bowl is dry before putting it away. 

Besides that issue, there wasn't any other problems.  I started easily up last week and it ran fine, still had the fuel leak though.  I need to bring it to the dealer for them to replace the carburetor.  It's not a big deal, I still have the other trusty backup SS so I'm prepared for the snow.

I'm sure you'll be fine which ever SS you chose.  This year Toro 621 is likely to be trouble free, the Honda HS520 is also reliable.  My father has the 5-year old HS520 and has been trouble free.

@borat --- It is Toro/Honda dealer.  He sells both then some other brands like Deere.

I do like the way Toro 621/421 blows the snow more so than HS520.  I just don't want to have a starting issue when my wife has to use it when I am at work or away on business trip.  My brother in law has HS520 for the past four years without any issue.  It blows okay.  Toro 621R is $500 out the door and HS520 is $650 out the door.  The rubber parts are also much more reasonable on Toro.  I am planning to pick up Toro 621R next week from a Toro dealer about two miles from my house.  I hope the carb/gas leak issues are done on the new 621.

MN_Runner wrote:

Wow!

I thought things were boring in Iowa, but not so boring that I find snowblowers exciting.

Anyway, I bought a Toro 421 last year and love it.

No gas leak problems at all, but I did install a gas shutoff valve just in case.

The recall was done this summer and consisted of a new carburetor and a new gas line.

The mechanic at my dealer said that all the machines he worked on that had an actual problem had been using gasohol.

In my area, alcohol free gas is still available and I don't use gasohol in anything I own. That might be part of the reason I never had the fuel leak problem.

The Loncin engine has been fine. It was a concern of mine when I made the purchase and I almost didn't buy the 421 just because of the Chinese engine. Based on my experience so far, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one again. Hopefully I will still feel that way 5 or 10 years down the road.

Given the cost difference you quoted, I would buy the Toro.

I bought the 421QE with all the bells and whistles and I think it was around $800. I have never used the electric start, but I bought it thinking it might help resale if I decided a single stage machine was not for me. The Quick Shoot and the Zip Deflector are not necessities, but they are nice to have. I would buy them again. Since the electric start was only another $100, I would probably get that again even though I might never use it.