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

Does anyone know of any new snowblowers out for 2012? Looking to trade in my Toro 826OXE for something with a larger motor. I am leaning toward a larger Toro but  I am open. Any suggestions?

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! 

I am glad I bought mine a few years ago. Supposedly these new engines are good and they very well could be.

The Toro website lists both  models with different numbers. Whether or not the 926 will replace the 826 is hard to say but it's possible I guess.

I think the 1028 models still have a B&S engine on them at least for this year but they could very well be replacing that with their own engine in the future.

I bought a Toro 421QE.  This model had the Loncin engine that's on its second year that Toro has phased in.  I've had fuel leak at the carburetor, there's a recall going on, I have to take it in.  Bummer.  It only had 5 hours of run time on it.

I'm not happy that this problem showed up STILL on a second production year, especially since the smaller Toro 180 also had the same problem the year before.  However, I'm not too concerned or bothered by it because I have a backup snowblower, even the shop takes 4 weeks to fix it.

In your case, if this is your only snowblower and the one you rely on this winter, I'd take a conservative approach and go for the 826OXE, if stock is still available.

Or you can take a chance  with the new 926OXE, hoping Toro is on the ball this time. 

Or go up to the next model 1028OXE, with the B&S engine.  Very few people have been dissapointed with the power upgrade.  :)

Steve_Cebu wrote: It certainly looks like that is what is going on with this year being somewhat of a transition year. 
Steve_Cebu wrote:
People looking at the 1028 this year need to be even more careful.  Just from the looks of it the 1028 is in the same boat as the 826 and others, except for the fact Toro has a 2012 1028 OXE with the Toro engine.  It is the only model where they didn't alter the name. 

MrNuke wrote:

Well it's certainly likely this is a transition year. That would make sese for the company to sell off all the B&S engines and into 2012 switch over to all Toro engines whih might be a good or bad thing. Time will tell.

I wasn't aware they had switched the B&S out of the 1028. I'll have  to swing by my dealer this weekend and see what the story is from him. He will at least know what engines teh machines he has in stock are.

Supposedly dealers got a notice from Toro stating that there would be no more B&S engines next year. They will be the Toro engines.

Garth wrote:

I heard the same thing.......my job is looking for a blower went to look at the 1028 & 1128 and they told me the same thing.....

Steve_Cebu wrote:
Here is the link to the toro site for the "new" 1028.  http://www.toro.com/en-us/Homeowner/Snow-Blowers/Two-Stage/Pages/Model.aspx?pid=Power-Max-1028-OXE-38663  You can  click on the specifications tab on the link and see the "Toro" engine. 

Garth wrote:
Thanks for the info.  Just looking at the Toro site and snow blowers direct, I had a feeling this is what was going on. 

The fact that it is a transition year means you can still find models with the B&S engines out there. But you'd have to ask the dealer to be certain.

Considering the new engine doesn't have a proven track record I would look for either an 826 or a 1028 with the B&S engine. If I was looking.