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

My little HS520 is a loud bugger.  When I hold the chute handle then it is fairly quiet.  Perhaps I will need to add some nylon washers around the chute.  How loud are Toro 421/621 variants? 2 cycle Toro sounds like small engine motorcycles.  Did anyone do a modification to make his/her SS quiet?

The HS520 has the loudest exhaust sound, with some sharp metallic bark to it.  I think the muffler should be bigger.  The chassis and everything is quite solid so it should be quieter.

The Toro 421 and HS621 exhaust sound is very similar.  The exhaust tone has lower tone, the Toro has some plastic rattling from the housing/chute mixed in.  I think the Toro is the quietest since it has the largest muffler.

I had thought about using the noise dampening felt material that's on the bottom of car hoods.  They are fireproof material.  I also thought about using different mufflers.  I decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

When you're starting the engines near a garage, it just sounds loud.  When you're out in the open area actually snowblowing, the blanket of snow on the ground does quiet things down a bit so it doesn't bother me.  Plus, if you use ear muffs, it quiet things down a bit more.

Damn loud.  But I use ear plugs when using my CCR1000.  Or any OPE for that matter.

HS35 and HS621, not loud enough to necessitate earplugs.But HS35's chute control stick (metal) makes a metallic vibration noise, like 'zzzzz''. When I fully turn to one side it goes away.

When I I turn the choke off it starts getting louder for a moment, then they get quieter.

The main noise is from metal vibrating.  If you hold down on the chute, it is fairly quiet.  But these are loud little buggers.

I'm sorry, what did you say?

Is it as loud as my 4 year-old.

Your 4-year will get better as he/she matures but the snowblower does not get better with the age. 

MN_Runner wrote:
That's iffy.  But certainly your hearing will get worse over time so it doesn't sound as loud. 

The two cycle Tecumseh and B&S engines aren't objectionable at normal operating rpms.  Nonetheless, I always wear hearing protection regardless of what I'm operating.  You want noise?   You should hear those Tecumseh two strokes at 6000+ rpm. 

I was in a buying mood so I bought a Honda HS35 today from a college professor.  He asked for $25 since it needed new rubbers, scrapper and belt.  So I offered him $15 and got it home.  Changed the sparkplug and replaced the oil. This thing is quieter than HS520 and runs really well without any issues for being a 20 year old machine.  I ordered 8-piece rubber set  from eBay and belt and scrapper from boats.net for a grand total of $86 including shipping.  So I will post some pictures as soon as this project is done.

MN_Runner wrote:

$15 for an HS35, that's an awesome deal, especially since it's running well.

Make sure you check the belt condition and the tension too.

I'm surprised that you said its quiet.  I thought that the HS35 had Honda side valve engine.