Snow Blower

We don't get a lot of snow in the Yakima Valley...usually. However, my driveway is 45' x 35' and is set in with the house and fenced yard partly enclosing on end. This means the snow has to be push about 20 feet straight out before it can be cleared to the sides. A number of years ago, I bought a snow blower. You know the kind, a reel the collects the snow and then pushes it out a chute. It worked OK except when the snow was wet. Then it was a constant battle to keep the chute unclogged. It finally was about time to buy a new one, when some stupid jerk stole it. He deserved the headache he got trying to use it. I went to my favorite small engine shop and on their advice I bought a new Toro. These have a different reel system they claimed would not clog. Well, they were right! This winter I have had the opportunity to use it several times. It will not clog. Maybe I should change it's name to Toto. LOL. This machine makes snow removal almost fun.

Toro makes great products! I have an old Toro with the rubber paddles that scoop and throw the snow. It's a very simple system and works surprisingly well. I've replaced the paddles once but otherwise it's been trouble-free.

For what it's worth, like the plumbing manufacturers, Toro sells some inferior models of mowers to the big box stores - they are very different in quality from the models you buy at a small-engine shop. I don't know if they do the same thing with snow blowers.

I don't know what the Toro policy is with snow blower at Big Box Stores. I've done business with this shop of over 20 years. Started with chainsaws and progressed to other yard equipment. They repair as well as sell machines.

That's the kind of place I bought my last Toro mower. They had examples of both the regular mower line and the "big box" version, which had a stamped steel (instead of cast aluminum) deck, and the wheel drive transmission was noticeably rougher when you spin the wheels on the big box line.