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

The issue discussed in the Snow Commander thread raise an interesting concern.

Trading distance for torque is a tough decision, and I think a lot of people pay too much attention to throwing distance. It depends almost entirely on the type of snow you get in your location and the layout of your property.

For example: Where I am we usually get light powdery snow in the middle of winter, but starting now we see wet and heavy snow for Feb. and March. Half of my driveway is single width and runs through a wooded area. 15' is more than enough distance and almost any blower will do that. I don't mind if it's piled up near the driveway or on the lawn, as long as it's off the driveway. I'd rather have a strong blower there so I don't have to nibble at it by taking less-than-full-width cuts. Conversely, the top 45' of my driveway is extremely wide, because I have a paved parking area to the side of the garage and a turnaround below it. It's about 40' wide at that point so you need distance!

So big roostertails don't impress me. What impresses me is a machine going full width into deep snow at a good rate of speed; one that's capable of moving large volumes quickly. Power! But if you don't get a lot of deep snow, it can be fun. (as long as it's not being blown by the wind back onto already cleared areas!)

Someone here once posted a video and their driveway was between two houses, the was no way to blow to the side. In that case, distance is very important because you have to toss it far out to the front and once you're past the houses, then you can reblow it to the side. Reblowing is not fun, it hits and packs. The further it goes the less that hits in a given area. IN that case, distance is more important, so trading power for speed is worthwhile. I'd like to see someone market a machine with a two speed impeller. High speed for the light snowfalls, but able to be geared down when you get dumped on hard with the wet heavy stuff. I doubt that will happen because of the extra cost, but it would be nice.

aa335 wrote:
The HS1336is is a showcase product. Honda knows they won't sell many, but it's a way to show what Honda can do, and is specifically good at showing off the high-tech iGX engine. There's always a market for the best, but most customers for this unit so far are commerical / civil operators (ski resorts, for example).

As long as the 2-stage products are continued to be built in Japan, the exchange rate will dramatically impact the wholesale and retail prices. When the designers, engineers, and marketing teams all try and build a new unit based on $1 = 110 yen, but when it's time to build and ship them, the dollar only gets 85 yen, prices must rise to even break even, much less provide much profit for the dealers, I would love to see Honda make a 2-stage model here in the USA, where costs can be more closely controlled and planners can not worry about currency exchange rates.

The Canada-model HS928TDC is nice, but the battery can become a service issue for customers in the USA who would not use the unit as often as our neighbors up north. AC/120V starters will continue to be the norm on those US models that offer electric start.

The HS621 has a cult following. It was somewhat over-engineered, and eventually became too pricy to continue importing it.

My crystal ball tells me there will be changes to the Honda SB line-up...just can't say what or when for now!

-Robert@Honda
Caveat: I work for Honda, but the preceding is my opinion alone

aa335 wrote
If that's too hard for marketing folks to understand, then at least start selling HS928TCD's in the US.  Get rid of the HS520 and bring back the HS621.

HS-520 is not that bad.  It is fairly good for 3-6" snow.  When the snow is wet/heavy and more than 6" then it is challenged.  I need to boratized it..

MN_Runner wrote:

You have to try an HS621 to really understand the difference. I have both and can truly see the performance difference between the GC & GX engines - definitely night & day.

I am done buying snowblowers.  My 3 car garage is full with two cars, 7 bicycles, two Honda snowblwers and one Honda lawnmower. No mas!

MN_Runner wrote:

Haha, me too. I have a 48" 21HP single stage, it's more than capable of anything I'll ever have to do.

Breaking News: They just posted the warning an hour ago -- up to 24" of heavy snow Friday and possible blizzard conditions on Saturday. Bring it on!

I like running the 2-stage first then running the SS to clean the concrete.  My ice rink is about 150'x150' so I use 928 to clear it then 520 to smooth the surface. Even on an ice rink, SS has its limitations as I found out that SS does not throw the snow far enough so at some point we are dealing with the deep snow where 520 is seriously challenged.  Again if you have room and money, keep both as these come in handy.

MN_Runner wrote:
I had both the HS520 and HS621 at the same time a few years ago.  If the snow is 3 to 6 inches, I don't have preference on either machine.  9 to 12 inches of wet heavy snow, the HS621 is much more a brutal machine.

MN_Runner wrote:
If you wanted to get more snowblowers because thats what you like, build a shed, put the bicycles and the lawnmower there during the winter.  Swap the snowblowers out to the shed during the non-snowing seasons.

Depending on how high the ceiling in your garage, you can get a pulley operated lift tray to store non used items off the ground.  I put in a 5x5 foot tray for my sister to store OPE.  The lawnmower goes up there during the winter, the snowblower goes up there during the grass growing seasons.

aa335 wrote:

Two snowblowers are more than good enough for one operator. I wish I can install the new 2012-2013 HS-928 muffler on my 2010 model.  My 928 is really loud compared to 724 I had for a week.

From my experience, power equals distance and I'll take as much as  I can get of each.