# Toro vs Honda



## flightconn

I am getting ready to take over plowing our culdesac since the widow Pam took her snow plow and moved to Florida (actually a true story bur for a later time) We have not found any reliable or trustworthy plowers around here and want to look at other options and am thinking about a commercial snow blower. I am thinking this for a few reasons:

1.Puts me in control of when the road gets cleared
2.Mostly elderly on the street and hoping to make their lives easier and less expensive
3. Will be blowing the snow rather than piling it up and running out of places to put t
4.Again, just have found snow removers to be less than reputable people; this is not an absolute but it is for those I have worked with 

My culdesac is two houses deep on each side (maybe 100 - 150 feet long and 30 feet wide) with a circle at the top closing the culdesac. The road is a hill I would say part of which is 15 - 20 degrees or less. 

I am looking at two different snowblowers. Both are 38 inches wide because I have some pathways that the 28 will work better on than the 32"

I am looking at the Toro Power Max HD Commercial 1428 OHXE (28") 420cc Two-Stage Snow Blower and the Honda HSS928ATD (28") 270cc Two-Stage Track Drive Snow Blower w/ 12-Volt Electric Start. Not wanting to spend more than I need to and the Honda is about 600.00 more but I am too poor not to buy the best product to meet my needs the first time.


Would anyone be willing to help steer me in the correct direction, specs and reviews on both are very limited

Thank you,
Mike


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## jrom

I'm between putting coats of paint on some walls, then off to the airport to pickup some family...here is a thread on the new Honda HSS1332, which includes some info on the HSS928. Member _northeast_ started it and it's a good one:

https://www.snowblowerforum.com/forum/honda-snowblowers/128193-re-jetting.html


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## RIT333

Either are great choices. I would also put Ariens into the mix. It may depend on where you can get it serviced locally, when you need it - unless you plan to service it yourself.


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## RedOctobyr

Welcome to the forum! Where are you located, and what kind of snow, and storms, do you get? The requirements for someone getting 4" of light snow a few times a year are very different than for someone getting 12" of wet heavy snow 10 times a year. 

Just to make sure I'm not misinterpreting: you're talking about using the snowblower to clear your actual street, correct? About 100-150' of street, 30' wide? 

Those Toros are new for this year, I believe, so there's probably not a lot of experience out there yet with them. Their previous models have earned a good reputation, I believe. 

The Hondas are excellent. Their HSS machines have had some difficulties with their chutes clogging in wet, heavy conditions, Honda has been working on sorting that out, a new chute was just released to help with that. And they will make more power if you change the carburetor jet to one that provides more fuel. 

The tracks on the Honda will provide a lot of traction. If that 15-20 degrees for your slope is accurate (that's seems pretty steep, our driveway incline is 5 degrees, rising about 4 feet over 40 feet), you might get a big benefit from the tracks. I have chains on my Ariens, and with my 5 degrees, I still sometimes can spin a wheel going up the driveway. But mine is an older machine with an open differential (like a car), so either wheel slipping will make me stop. The Toro and Honda would keep moving even if 1 wheel lost traction. 

If you're getting a lot of deep, heavy snow, the larger engine in the Toro would be helpful. But with your incline, the tracked Honda may move itself around better. Some of this will depend on your snow conditions. 

As RIT333 said, I'd consider Ariens options as well. The Ariens Platinum SHO Track 28 has tracks (no surprise), is 28", 369cc, and $2,099. It might offer more power than the Honda, while still providing tracks, if you wanted them, and being cheaper than the list prices of the others. 

https://www.ariens.com/en-us/snow-products/snow-blowers/track/platinum-track-28-sho


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## leonz

flightconn said:


> I am getting ready to take over plowing our culdesac since the widow Pam took her snow plow and moved to Florida (actually a true story bur for a later time) We have not found any reliable or trustworthy plowers around here and want to look at other options and am thinking about a commercial snow blower. I am thinking this for a few reasons:
> 
> 1.Puts me in control of when the road gets cleared
> 2.Mostly elderly on the street and hoping to make their lives easier and less expensive
> 3. Will be blowing the snow rather than piling it up and running out of places to put t
> 4.Again, just have found snow removers to be less than reputable people; this is not an absolute but it is for those I have worked with
> 
> My culdesac is two houses deep on each side (maybe 100 - 150 feet long and 30 feet wide) with a circle at the top closing the culdesac. The road is a hill I would say part of which is 15 - 20 degrees or less.
> 
> I am looking at two different snowblowers. Both are 38 inches wide because I have some pathways that the 28 will work better on than the 32"
> 
> I am looking at the Toro Power Max HD Commercial 1428 OHXE (28") 420cc Two-Stage Snow Blower and the Honda HSS928ATD (28") 270cc Two-Stage Track Drive Snow Blower w/ 12-Volt Electric Start. Not wanting to spend more than I need to and the Honda is about 600.00 more but I am too poor not to buy the best product to meet my needs the first time.
> 
> 
> Would anyone be willing to help steer me in the correct direction, specs and reviews on both are very limited
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> 
> 
> Mike




======================================================

So you may be looking at clearing 10,000-15,000 square feet or 560 square yards each time figuring a 2 inch snow trigger PLUS the driveways, sidewalks and any vertical steps. 

Plus killing off the END OF DRIVEWAY MONSTER and feeding the moat monsters with the remains of the END OF DRIVEWAY MONSTER to keep them fed and happy.

If they use salt where you are that will require a lot of power to remove as the best rule of themb is to clear one pass all the way to the END OF DRIVEWAY MONSTER AND feed the moat monsters with its remains as you want to clear it first as the snow is going to continue to melt and compact and be harder to clear as the day goes on.

Once you have the END OF DRIVEWAY MONSTER you will be able to flush all the salt out of the snow blowers cross auger housing, the impeller and the chute. 

"professional" snow plowers that are landscapers in the off season hate culdesacs. 


Are the neighbors going to contribute to cost of your gasoline/diesel fuel and maintenance expense? 

You also have to consider issues relating to potential liability to you especially with access for fire and rescue vehicles which I will get into below. 

How close to the Canadian border are you???? Do not throw the yamaha 1028 or 1332 under the wheels of the train or the bus.

I would pick the gear drive BCS 853 2 wheel tractor with the honda engine and electric start with the Italian made Berta 32 inch snow blower with snow chains over the Yamaha. The Italian made 32 inch Berta snow blower is gear driven with no V belts and is very heavy and ment for heavy wet snows that occur in the Italian alpine region

The BCS 853 would be my second choice after a kubota 185o-1860-1870 compact utility tractor with a loader and a rear mount Pronovost puma or Pronovost TRC 800 snow blower with the rotating impeller drum that prevents clogging.

I would pick the Yamaha 1028 or 1332 over the Toro because of the lined impeller housing available torque and lined chute and the Toro over the honda only because of the patented anti clog feature.

The weight of the Yamaha's is a huge plus for adhesion when digging and climbing.

The drive axles can be split on the yamaha 1028 and 1332 by removing a wheel pin when working to spin them around faster BUT steering brakes do work; just remember that the yamaha design is simpler and has fewer parts. 

The 1028 has an electomagnetic drive for the cross auger and the 1332 has a belt drive for the cross auger. 

The Yamaha snow blower engines have not been affected by the EPA restrictions on small power equipment exhaust emissions as far as I know since they are available in Canada and Europe. The Toro and honda engines have smaller jets that can be replaced with larger ones to improve their performance if you live at a higher altitude in thinner air. 

The major factor is how close a servicing dealer is for the machine you pick and whether they can loan you a snow mule if yours breaks down. Or planning on purchasing 2 units if you intend on clearing 15000 square feet+ 600 square yards of surface area.


Honda has had problems with clogging chutes due to the partial cone that was installed in the chute base to control the snow spray and many honda dealers say there is no problem with clogging and many have said it will take weeks for them to get parts and replace the supplied chutes with replacement chutes that have no partial cone in them.

The Toro units do not have this restriction as they have a wide open chute. 

The Yamaha 1332 has a slick sheet lined chute, cast slick liner transition point between the chute and the impeller housing and a slick and slick sheet lined impeller housing. 


The Toro Powermax 1428 with larger fuel jets would be my choice if the Canadian border is not close. With your conditions and potential work load you will want snow chains and two of the same units having the second for a spare and good insurance in the event of a break down of the first one 

If your going to take this on you have to examine it much more and look at a 4 wheel drive compact utility tractor like the kubota BX1870 or a used BX1860 or BX1850 with loaded tires and snow chains and a rear mount snow blower like the pronovost puma would be a much more all around choice as the rear mounts are a better snow blower as they have fewer parts and require less power to run them.

Using a compact utility tractor for snow removal is not hard but you should plan on wearing warm clothes, a good Carhartt or Wells Lamont or Walls insulated coverall, snow goggles to prevent snow blindness and several winter hats keeping an extra one dry in your coveralls.

Having a Pronovost rear mount snow blower or a Riest single snow thrower (single stage makes it simpler to use and the design has fewer parts and the single stage has more torque and again fewer parts) and with a compact utility tractor you can ride in the seat side saddle with your right foot on the reverse pedal while you back up to clear snow. 

A compact utility tractor will be an asset with a front loader as well to clear out snow close to garage doors and areas where it is very difficult to clean with a snow blower. a front end loader will let you stack snow and pile it later to get rid of it with the rear mount snow blower later if you have open space that is down wind or away from the road at all times.

Having an insulated coveral with full length leg zippers helps you when putting them on and taking them off and especially when lacing up sorrel boots.

A deep lug snow boot like the Sorrel brand or Lacrosse snow boots is a must as you want a pair of boots with a removable liner that will wick up sweat and moisture from your socks and having 2 pair is better which allows you to pull one set of liners form one days use to let them dry out while you use the other set of boots. 

======================================================


I want you to examine this with a decision tree as your going to be doing a lot of work and in the event of a heavy snowfall you will be out multiple times per snow fall to keep up with it where if you had a compact utility tractor with a rear mount snow thrower like the Reist Series 1000 with the 48 inch cut you will not lack for power and 
its simplicity of ownership with fewer operating parts.


It may be better to simply have a meeting with the neighbors after you examine this with a decision tree as you may have a huge liability on your hands as well in the event of a snow storm affecting access to the culdesac and you have a break down which of course is the worst case scenario. 


Something like this will cost a lot of money to manage control as you may need to stockpile sand and and salt as well for traction and deicing.


You cna always PM me with more questions


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## RedOctobyr

leonz said:


> If your going to take this on you have to examine it much more and look at a 4 wheel drive compact utility tractor
> ....
> *Something like this will cost a lot of money *to manage control as you may need to stockpile sand and and salt as well for traction and deicing.



You're not kidding  I believe Compact Utility Tractors (CUTs) start around/over $10k and go up from there. Plus a snowblower attachment. As awesome as they must be, that's a mighty-big jump from a ~$2k snowblower discussion. 

At some point, getting a cheap used pickup with a plow also becomes worth considering. Or an ATV with a plow, etc. Not claiming they'd compete with a CUT for overall versatility, but they could still clear snow (much faster than a snowblower, at least in the case of a pickup), for less money. 

I think we need a better understanding of flightconn's situation & needs, before totally changing the discussion.


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## leonz

*snow blower hunt*



RedOctobyr said:


> You're not kidding  I believe Compact Utility Tractors (CUTs) start around/over $10k and go up from there. Plus a snowblower attachment. As awesome as they must be, that's a mighty-big jump from a ~$2k snowblower discussion.
> 
> At some point, getting a cheap used pickup with a plow also becomes worth considering. Or an ATV with a plow, etc. Not claiming they'd compete with a CUT for overall versatility, but they could still clear snow (much faster than a snowblower, at least in the case of a pickup), for less money.
> 
> I think we need a better understanding of flightconn's situation & needs, before totally changing the discussion.


======================================================

I Am not disagreeing at all this algebra problem is going to be a very large one with many variables.

One of the things I neglected to add is this:

"Who will clear the snow if you are unable to due to illness or away and a snow storm hits the area". 


An RTV like the Kubota RTV 1100 with a snow blower with a large motorized Bercomac snowblower with manual and electric start would be a usable option but the issue again is removal of snow around walk through doors and garages and using a small single stage would be an ideal work tool.

The RTV would need a winch to raise and lower the snow blower to transport it as well. 

Having several people trained to use it would be ideal as the RTV will have a all weather cabin with doors, forced air heat, window defrosting and lights to work with when clearing snow at night.

The kubota RTV 1100 would have a cargo box to carry shovels, gas cans and bagged salt and sand to spread using a broadcast spreader.

In any case the machine would have to be insured for liability and he would be required to carry workman's compensation insurance either by the season or by the hours worked as it would be used for what would be considered commercial operation.

This gentleman's homeowners insurance would not cover this and they could very well cancel his insurance if he does this for his neighbors.

THERE IS MUCH, WORK NEEDED to solve this algebra problem as the neighbors will have to make a decision as a group. 

It can be done, but all the neighbors need to have a meeting of the minds to do this acting as one body.


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## cranman

I don't know...a snowblower is great for a driveway, but a road....nahhh.....I use a 75 hp 4 wheel drive Ford tractor.....with an 8 ft plow to plow out my back 40 and the road to my shop..wouldn'd even think about blowing. .My advice..as little as it's worth...get a used 4 wheel drive pickup and plow...or a real farm tractor with 4 wheel drive and plow...or a used backhoe loader..and plow....don't try to empty the ocean with a table spoon. there is a reason you don't see municipalities and mall owners using a fleet of snowblowers to remove snow. The advantage to a 4 wheel drive tractor or loader to pushing snow is the loader with the plow attached can pile the snow as high as you need...not just push...I used to plow for my town with a huge farm tractor 160 hp Zetor with heated cab and 4 wheel drive with a 12 ft plow....I know what I'm talking about....


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## UNDERTAKER

* I have to side with BROTHER CRANMAN on this 1. if you are taking on a whole street to clean. you would be oot there all day and night with a tiny little blower trying to keep up with the big ****** coming down. THAT IS ALL THE MORE I AM GOING TO SAY ON THIS 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :smiley-shocked033:*


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