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

My current primary residence is fine with a single stager except for the EOD.
As of late, the wet snow we get, sometimes becomes a chore for my HS621.
Or it's more constant chopping, running the auger, breaking up the stuff in the chute, run auger, rinse and repeat


I did have a 724 but sold it - mainly just due to lack of space.
There have been times that I wish I had the 724 and there have also been times where I was smiling DANCING with the HS 621.


I DONT have space for both.

There is a screaming deal on a 724 with Tracks.
You know how it goes. Want versus reality.
I dunno if I'll be have buyers remorse and end up selling the 724TA down the road again...

There is no joy wrestling a large machine 100% of the time vs. struggling with EOD  some of the time.  

I have no experience with track machines.  All I know is what I've heard and read, and that is, they are more difficult to manage than wheel machines of the same size.  Especially, when they're not running, as in moving them around in a garage. 

I have a large frame 11 h.p. 29" Simplicity wheeled machine with easy turn feature.  I also have a Craftsman, Murray, MTD and Toro single stage machines, all in excellent working order.   It takes a lot of snow for me to pull out the Simplicity.  My SS machines handle up to 20" of EOD snow provided it's not frozen slush.   I had to use the Simplicity machine only once last year and we get a lot of snow up here.

If the SS machine gets the job done 95% of the time and is much easier on you, why would you want to go back to struggling with a much larger, heavier machine to take care of 5% of the work the SS machine has difficulty with?

Seems like a simple choice to me.

By the way, you say you don't have the space for two machines.   Not sure how heavy the Honda is but, I can hang the Craftsman, Murray and MTD machines on the wall when they're not in use.   I could probably do the same with the Toro but it's considerably more bulky than the other three and would protrude far enough off the wall to not be as convenient.

Plows only plow to the right. EOD is generally 2-3 feet of hard packed hard snow....
At least another 28" - 3 Feet Depth from my curb to the out edge of the EOD. All that with a scraper bar to break - break my back and shovel and CHUCK the EOD as hard as I can..
So yeah, the 2 Stager is only really effective for the EOD but that EOD is back breaking WORK.

And ontop, once I shovel it own, a plow will be sure to just come by and put it all back from the snow *down* from me and pushing all their snow back ...

Man made tools are designed to make our lives easier. If it's not then you must buy another tool or get a replacement. Having said that, I have a track model honda on the way for the mild mid-atlantic winters. Probably overkill. BUT, I do not want to be working at using a snowblower. Whether it's hard to maneuver or if it doesn't clean up the snow.

If all you need the 2 stage for is to attack EOD, any 24" snowblower will do the same basic function.  You still have to go back and forth and take layer off because any snowblower will want to ride up on the snow in certain conditions.

This is where the Honda tracks seems to excel.  Put the bucket in scraper setting, transmission in crawling speed, and hold the drive lever.  It will chew slowly through the EOD without much effort and a lot less riding up.  The scraper mode puts more weight in front.  Tracks are always a pain when there's not a layer of snow for it to ride on, but in nasty weather, it comes to its element and does what it supposed to do very well.

With that said, I don't know how well the 724 does compared to the heavier 928 and 1132.  More weight and more power is a good combination for clearing the EOD piles.  The 724 might be too light and too weak, in my opinion, for the 20+ inches of EOD.  It can probably do it, but at a much slower pace and less gusto.

I dont' mind the tracked snowblower because I rarely have to use it.  I have the HS621 and the Toro 421QE for 90% of snow clearing.  It is great for zipping around tight quarters and cleaning right down to the pavement.  When I need to bring out the big gun 1132, the snow condition is pretty bad and it throw snow so well that I don't notice I'm wrestling it.

Yeah. Give me a 10HP 24" clone ontop of the 24" Bucket.
I don't need all that girth of a 1132. Power yes. Footprint - width, nope...

The 621 can tackle Most of my conditions within reason. I live 4 blocks away from the water....so that doesn't help with the already typical wet snow we get out here...
So even let's say a 6" snowfall, the snow just clumps in the 621 chute and constantly needs a mini impeller to break it up - versus the manual declogging I am doing

mobiledynamics wrote:
That's a universal truth that is going to remain for a long time.

I'm sure that's the whole point of getting a 2 stage snowblower.  If the snowplows were nice enough to leave my EOD clean with every pass, I'll send the driver a Christmas present every year.

mobiledynamics wrote:
10 hp on a 24" frame sounds like a lot of fun.  Just make it is built sturdy to handle that power.  All the rocks and sand is going to do a nice bead and sandblasting on the bucket right down to shiny bare metal.  :) 

I don't have any clogging issues with my 621, even in 1 foot of wet slushy snow.  The engine will likely stall out before clogging occurs.  Are you sure the belt is not stretched and rubber augers are in good condition? 

I have a 1991 John Deere TRX26 (8hp, track drive). This machine will go anywhere, I drive it up stairs to get to my 42"x16' deck to clear it off. Yes, it is a pain to manuver and worse when no engine power. I installed a "Clarance kit" 2 years ago and now it blows snow like a raped ape and does a very good with slush also. Sometimes wrestling with it  in close quarters at the end of the day is a bit much for this old timer, but I like the attention I get when I throw the white stuff a good 40 feet.    

aa335 wrote:
I probably need to work on my paticence and take smaller bites to allow the snow to get up and out the chute.
New belts, fresh rubber all around. It's yet to stall on me yet, but I know it's limitations. When I hear her *grunt*, I back off on how much I'm feeding it but then again, I should be taking smaller bites regardless...

However, on heavy EOD, if I'm lucky and it's a weekend and not during a weekday, where I am home, I will try to attack the EOD when it's fresh and soft versus hardened up rock.
I stopped attempting to use if for anything past the sidewalk and resort to ice breaker, a strong back and a shovel --- where if I had a 2 stager, I would not need to.

55utilitysedan wrote:
I know exactly what you mean.  Last year we have a 24 inch blizzard that crippled the city for two days, I took the big red tracked snowblower outside to stretch its legs.  It crawled along at an easy pace while tossing the snow across the street.  The people outside stopped whatever they were doing to admire the white rooster tail.  Priceless!!!

I spent more than 2 and a half hours helping people digging out their driveway.  My clothes were completely drenched with sweat and very exhausting from wrestling the machine, but it was good having fun while helping out neighbors. 

So I'm not complaining about tracked snowblowers.  But with the new Ariens Pro 28 snowblower with the monster 410cc engine, I'm feeling some power envy. 

My Honda HS928 with tracks is a bit difficult to maneuver when its not moving, so I bought a small $20 dolly (board with four wheels) and slide it under the tracks when I need to maneuver it into its narrow storage space in the garage. 

While using the machine to blow snow, I find it's plenty easy to maneuver while it's moving.  I simply need to think a few feet ahead and steer accordingly.  If I blow it, the hydrostatic transmission on the Honda allows me to back-up easily and correct.

Where I live, we measure snow by the foot, not by the inch, and my driveway is steep.  Tracks are essential for me.  If you need tracks, or can make frequent use of their advantages over wheels, I wouldn't be deterred by the steering concerns. 

I've used tracked blowers before, had problems with rusting in the drive during off-season.  All my machines are wheeled with chains.  Where I live the city plows over the sidewalks and alley so it's hard to get in and out.  I have a few machines right now including a 10 hp 26" and 10 hp 32" I've refurbished.  I can pretty much throw back anything the city piles on my walk or drive.

Makes you feel like Tim Taylor - "More Power"!

hcbph1 wrote:
Throw back to a degree. Either you are throwing it to a *mound* that can be a mound and or just spreading it on the blacktop in the street so that cars can still safely pass.
I'm not looking to create a snow speed bump right in front of my place....and the rest of the blacktop around me  is fairly clean after a plow.


I've got one neighbor who want's to be courteous so he lugs all that EOD and shovels it and walks 15 feet and dumps it onto a mound on his property.
I just chuck it out in small qtys and let the sun, salt and blacktop do the work

I try to minimize snow from the street deposited on my lawn.  It is loaded with salt that isn't so good for the grass.

During the winter when its cold that the snow won't melt, I will pile up the snow along the curb.  As soon as it warms up, I break down the wall with a shovel and let some of the snow fall back into the street.  As it melts, the water goes down to the city storm drain, not on my lawn. 

mobiledynamics wrote:

Out front where the city plows it onto the sidewalk, I cut a hole and blow that back onto the pile downstream from where I cut the hole.  Out back, I throw it on the back end of a parking spot by my garage behind where I park my truck.  Last year wasn't bad at all but in 2010 that got to be over 6' tall.

I definitely don't blow it onto the lawn if at all possible, and the city has fined people for blowing it back into the street so don't do that either.

Pulleys, yadda, they are NOT up my forte. Not looking to do *homework* on how to hodgepodge a clone to mate.

If I was to get this 724 - how hard or not is it to repower it with a 9 or 13HP clone...

http://www.abbysguide.com/ope/discussions/61797-0-1.html

I like the 24" Width bucket....just want more power.

I hope some one here picked up the hs724 that was on eBay for around $900. Looked like it was in good condition. I would've bought it if I didn't have the 928 on the way. Item# 230881821676

The only merits I like on the HS is the Bucket Width, and Hydro.
I think if I was to end up buying another, I would probably errr on repowering to 9 +.

mobiledynamics wrote:
Good luck on your quest.  If you did repower the HS724 with a more powerful engine, make sure you keep the original engine around.  If you ever sell it, it's worth more with a genuine GX engine instead of a Honda clone.

I myself wouldn't muck with the HS724.  It is quite a tidy and compact package. I rather step up to the HS928 and be done with it.

Mods never resell well. I flipped a set of 8K wheels + another K plus in tar for a whopping 900 on Ebay.

28+ Width - More HP seems to be the market, so manuf. make them accordingly.
I wish there was more of a selection on the 24" with HP......
I could easily by one without any qualm

I think your quest for power might be unrewarding. I put an 11HP engine on a 24" Ariens and it threw as well as a 7HP. The only difference was it used more gas to do the same job.

I'm a little late to the game here as I was away for the last week. I had an HS624WA for 10 years and that little 6 HP did a great job no matter what Mother Nature threw at it. I did have to slow down my forward speed to prevent the augers and impeller from being overwhelmed but it got the job done every time. My HS928TA is definitely a big step up in terms of performance and power but I would have no problems using the newer HS724TA or WA. Yes it will take a bit longer to get the job done but it will get the job and it's a nice compact machine that is easy to maneuver. I think the HS724 would be the ideal machine in terms of handling the small snowfalls and the larger occasional monster storm that might come your way.

Does the USA see a 10 year old trickle down product effect

http://www.honda.co.uk/garden/snowblowers/

mobiledynamics wrote:
Sadly, but no.  One can only wish such awesome models makes it to the shores of the USA. Yamaha left north American market many years ago, then came back to Canada.  Honda has no indication that they care. The only exciting news so far is that the 32" model got a bigger engine.  The other not so exciting news is that Honda now sells a premium 36" model with all the bells and whistles, for a whopping $8000.

But first, there's got to be an educational marketing campaign to convince USA demographics that hydrostatic transmission, electric motors, and hydraulic systems can and do work reliability in cold weather.  There are consumers who don't care about being to fix their own OPE when it breaks.

yea, but look at the prices when compared to the USA. i.e., Canada has the HSS928 (or the UK HSS970), but the Canadian price is a whopping $3,899 CDN. The US model without the electric chute is $2900 retail. It can be had for $2,350 NEW. Of course I love everything that is powered/electric, but that's way too steep.