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

What is a Toro snow commander? Any good? What is one worth in great condition?

I was the guy who had one and sold it.  I bought it to try it out in the hopes it was the best single stage ever - it wasn't.  It is too big and heavy and unmaneuverable as compared to other good single stages, and its performance was actually WORSE than the other Toro's I've used with the R*Tek (ccr2450, ccr3650, 221QR).  I suspect that it is because of the additional width and extra paddle (3 paddles vs 2 on all the others).  It bogged more easily and didn't throw as far.

The best available new single stage is still the toro 221 or 421 (621 now I guess).

stresst wrote:
The Snow Commander was in production for a few years and not many were sold so that may be why there's not much discussion about it. 

Mint HS621 are hard to find.  It's worth depends on the area, how much snow, and how rare the HS621 is.  I guess it could be from $450-$700. 

stresst wrote:

I do not know if you can find 'mint' but for sure you can find nice HS621s in very good condition.

Like the one here on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-HS621-Snow-blower-Commercial-4-Stroke-Engine-Nicely-Reconditioned-/180751273333?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a159d8d75

It would be interesting to see if this guy from MSP area can sell it for $400.  This Honda blower was on craigslist last year but no one bought it because he was asking way too much ($450).  A new HS520 is barely over $600 and comes with a nice warranty.  It is obvious he does not like GC160 engine on HS520.

MN_Runner wrote:

Do you think he is a member of this board? I think it is very likely... I wonder who.

I agree.  The main reason for not buying a HS621 is its age. I already have a nice and one year old 2-stage Honda so I don't need another powerful blower.  I don't care for buying an used one since it is really hard to know what the previous owners did (it is very rare that you find an original owner selling HS621).  Sometime 1-2 year HS520 is not that much cheaper so why buy an used one with worned out peddles and scraper when you can buy a new one HS520 for $100-$150 more.  I get the GC vs. GX but for a simpleton like me I am not going to notice any difference. The only reason why I replaced my 10 year old Honda lawnmower because I hit a tree stump.  I had no issue with the GC160 engine and was trouble free until I hit the stump.  It started and ran fine except for really heavy vibration. My new Honda mower has a GC engine and I expect that it will last for 10-15 years without any issues.