Hello, my name is Randy. I purchased an 826 OXE about two weeks ago. I got a call two days ago that "it" was in and they delivered the machine yesterday afternoon. I was delighted with my new purchase,............for about 1 minute until I looked up at the outside of the cockpit and saw the name "926 OXE" and the engine was labeled as a Toro. So I complained about the fact that it wasn't the machine I ordered and that I would be talking to the owner of the shop tomorrow, (he wasn't there yesterday). The guy that delivered the machine went back to the shop, called Toro directly, called me and said what was going on is that they will no longer be making the 826 with the Briggs and what was replacing the old model was the 926 with the Toro engine. I later somewhat confirmed this by noticing on a few web sites that sell snowblowers that where they had the 926 OXE listed, they also had right beside the listing, "Replacing the 826 OXE."
So, I spent most of my afternoon and night yesterday, researching everything that I could find out about this new engine. There is VERY little info out there because it's so new. In fact, this forum was the only place I could find that was talking specifically about this issue.
Yesterday I also called Toro's customer support TWICE to see if I'd get the same answers. On both calls I was told that the 926 was NOT replacing the 826 and that BOTH models were still being made and are part of the 2012 line up. On the first call, I was also told that the new 926 Toro engine was in fact Toro's engine and was being manufactured in the U.S.,(a fact that I later found out was not at all true). So giving them the benefit of the doubt, I assumed that customer service just didn't have the right information. Who knows, could be that that's what they were told to say.
Skip to about an hour ago, I had a lengthy conversation with the shop owner who was in today. He repeated the fact that the 826 was no longer being made and thought that the new engine on the 926 was a Toro R-Tek but said that he would call the factory directly and get to the bottom of it.
He called me back and here is what he was told:
The new engine on the Toro 926 OXE was in fact designed and engineered by Toro and they have been testing it since 2008. They "believe" that it is a better engine than the Briggs. Although they DID admit that it is being manufactured in China and the factory is literally only 20 miles away from a Briggs factory. This shop owner also specifcally asked if it was a Loncin engine and the answer was, "No, it is a Toro engine". So, there you have it. What we are to take away from this, I'm not completely sure. I joined this forum this morning solely so that I could add to what we know about this engine change.
So, this still leaves me to decide whether to buy the older 826 OXE or the new 926 OXE. Obviously the 926 is a little larger. Toro is saying that as apposed to just taking a Briggs and sticking it on the machine that the Toro engine was designed specifically FOR the machine and therefore they believe it is the better, stronger engine and is also better suited for the cold.
Here's what I decided. I can read literally hundreds and hundreds of professional reviews and user reviews about the 826 OXE. The vast majority of these reviews are absolutely GLOWING. There is NO history to study about the new engine on the 926 OXE so I just don't feel safe spending $1300.00 on a machine with an engine that so far has no track record. Maybe in a few years we will come to find out that the new engine really IS the better engine and that I made a mistake but there is just no way for me to know that at the present time.
My local guy called the local Toro rep and the rep said that he will bring him an 826 OXE by the middle of next week and I will then be buying what I had asked for in the first place.
So, I hope that in some way, my research will be of some help to others trying to decide between the two machines. If you do decide that you would prefer the Briggs instead of the new Toro, I would suggest that you buy one THIS YEAR!
