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

Wow was this a storm to remember!

Here in my driveway we only got about 14-16 inches. Here is a clip/quote from the newspaper.

http://news.yahoo.com/snow-smacks-northeast-power-could-days-122810201.html

"But in New Hampshire's capital of Concord, more than 22 inches fell, weeks ahead of the usual first measurable snowfall. Trees downtown still bright with fall colors were covered with snow. Some didn't survive — a large oak tree that had stood alongside the Statehouse fell, partially blocking a side street."

I'll post some videos but this was the heaviest wetest nastiest heartattack snow I have seen in a long time. Their were so many leaves in the driveway that I had a lot of trouble with the chute and auger clogging. I'd have to shut the machine off to clear the impeller and chute. Heavy wet snow and leaves do NOT mix. There were times I didn't think I was going to be able to finish my driveway. As long as the leaves didn't get sucked in the Toro handled it pretty well. I'd just let it ride up on the first pass and then take a second pass. We finally got power and cabl back. I guess downtown got more than we did for once.

Share your stories and vieos in here if you have 'em.

Third season now with the Toro 826OE. We got about 8" of heavy wet snow here in PA.

I started off thinking the Toro should be in 1st gear to handle the weight of the snow. I was initially disappointed when the chute quickly clogged with ice and throwing distance dropped to a few feet. Cleaned it and was about to put it away, when it occurred to me to experiment a faster gear. Duh.

In 2nd gear the performance improved, third was better yet,and I finally settled on 4th for the best efficiency. Conclusion is that the impeller must be fed sufficient snow to push the heavy stuff through and prevent clogging. The 4th gear provided the best balance between forcing the snow through and not bogging the 250 cc engine. The 826OE threw this heavy wet stuff about 25 feet and the chute stayed clean. The Quickstick would occasionally stiffin up a little, from ice around the outside of it, but it remained fully functional.

Once I got going, the Toro cleared the drive of Snowpocalypse in the normal amount of time. 

I did the same on my second pass because the snow was too dense to not ride up on it. I found on the second pass 3rd or 4th worked very well.

The real problem with clogging came with all the leaves being mixed in with that wet heavy snow.

Steve_Cebu wrote:
Sure, blame it on the leaves. 

There are leafblowers, and there are snowblowers.  That's the problem. 

I saw a YouTube video of someone using his snowblower as a leaf blower.  At least, until his machine stalled.

If a pair of pliers was supposed to drive nails, it should be called a hammer.

aa335 wrote:

Yep all too true and what's more I don't own a leaf blower either.

manjestic wrote:

My Toro was doing double duty as a leaf blower but I wouldn't reccomend it at least not with wet snow.

samdog wrote:

I found something similiar when throwing recyled snow....everyone keeps telling me to slow down but it seems my Toro works better in a higher gear. I thought the gears were only for wheel speed and had nothing to do with impeller speed?? Well thats what I thought anyway but it seems it throws better in a faster gear (most of the time anyway).

  We were lucky here In NB, Canada.  The same storm that hit New England, Only dropped about  20 cm here (8 Inches) but it was wet and heavy ,  on Sunday.

Instead of using my  Two Stage,   I used my single stage Craftsman that I had bought last February, , It did a good job but didn't throw  the snow very far. Now the snow is all melted.

stresst wrote:

You are correct sir;  the gearbox only changes wheel speed, and the auger and impeller are driven separately.

The reason speed makes a difference, is that snow is fed more quickly into the auger, which in turn feeds a more steady supply into the impeller. In higher gears, incoming snow, under pressure from the auger, pushes snow ahead of it through the impeller and maintains a steady flow. Faster snow feed is more important when the snow is heavy, wet, more likely to ice up and resistant to flow. Of course,the limiting factor is the engine's ability to process the density/weight of the flow.

I'm starting to think that the Toro's impeller recycling feature is designed to allow faster speeds in heavy snow. My first impulse was to slow down also, because I used to have an MTD without the impeller recycling.

This is only my observation, based on this experience, so I'm not claiming expertise.