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

West of Boston 20 miles we got 3 inches of snow and then rain.  It’s been raining over the night and all this morning so the conditions are wet snow on the top and gray wet slush underneath.    When a low spot is cleared it will fill right up with water.  So that the condition of the snow.

 

I tried out several machines and here’s the report:

Single stages:

Murray 3.5, all three Murrays have the usual rubber on metal auger with a flat in the chute area.

Murray 4.5, all Murrays are run at factory RPM. (139cc Tecumseh)

Murray 5.5 (139cc Tecumseh)

Toro 3hp, with Boratified RPM so idle to 5600-5800 on demand by string to the handlebar.

Toro 3hp, fixed RPM at 4800

Toro 3hp, Fixed RPM at 4400

Toro 6.5hp 4 cycle

 

Dual stage:

Yamaha 6.5hp dual stage,  the engine was rebuilt and has peak compression. 

 

   All the single stages cleared without clogging.  The only machine to clog was the Yamaha and quickly so it was put away.   I’ve got bigger Yamaha’s and Honda’s but I don’t think they would have done any better.  The single stages were best at the slush.

 

    The Murray’s with the metal augers did as well as the Toro’s with the curved rubber paddles which was not expected.

 

    The best machine of the day was the Boratified screamer by far.  Going along with the 16 inch width required a fair push on the handlebar but could clear at a good pace without clogging or having to back out and run in again.   That’s for the drive area.  For the EOD, in and out nibbles were required but could move the wet pile with operator effort.   

 

    The bigger wider hp machines were a little more difficult to manage and more difficult to push along but ok.  The smaller Toro 3hp at 16 inches was easy to control and direct especially over the driveway which has a bumpy surface versus the sidewalk which is flat smooth cement.  A big difference there compared to the bigger machines which were harder to use.

    All in all the star performer for these conditions was the 3hp Boratified Toro.  All the other single stages worked well and proportion to their hp and RPM.  The disappointment was the Yamaha which was useless.  

That is an armory of snow clearing equipment you have at your disposal.  There's back up for the backup and a backup for that....Just make sure you have enough gas for all of them.

Surprising result on the Yamaha 2 stage.  I thought this machine would be able to handle all snow conditions, even slush.  It is such a well engineered machine even when compared to today's new snowblowers.

What's more surprising is the performance of the little Toro 16" model that you alluded to.  I assume it is the Toro Powerlite, and the other 3hp Toro may be Powerlites, S200/S600, or CR20's.  I have one of the Powerlites and it is such a raw and simple design.  It makes such a racket that I don't think I'll Boratifiy it.  But it's nice to know that it can do the job of clearing slush while the big 2 stage struggles with.

Around this area, the Toro Powerlite has a good resale price, sometimes sellers are asking ridiculously high price.  There are machines 10 years or older that the seller is asking 65% the price of a brand new one.  This model is so appealing because parts are easily available and cheap, it is so simple and easy to work on.

I need to get new glasses .  I thought the title read "Sushi 20 miles west of Boston".