# Just bought the 1028 OXHE



## 03eunos (Oct 18, 2014)

My 10 year old 826 LE finally needed replacement after I discovered a bad bearing, leaking gearbox and broken scraper. I could have put some $$$ into it, but felt more comfortable having a new, reliable machine. My wife works in a hospital here in Newfoundland and she has to make it to work even on the days when everything is closed due to snow.

I went with the dealer as the $1899 CDN price was comparable to Home Depot and the dealer had the unit on hand. HD has a 3-4 week back order. The dealer also took my used 826 on trade for $225. 

The dealer also does all prep and service for HD machines so hopefully I may get some preferential treatment when in need of servicing.

I was going to upgrade to the 928 at first, but finally decided on the 1028 (extra $300 CDN) just because my 140' X 30' driveway took a little too long with the 826 which was purchased based on a small city driveway at our old home. We have a very steep drive with a 25' high lawn bank at the end that the 826 sometimes had trouble blowing over. 

I'm hoping the 1028 has that little extra "ummph" to make the blowing a little easier. 

I have to admit that I'm a little torn... dreading the first snow as the start of a long, cold winter (800+ cm of snow last year) and being a little excited about getting out with the 1028. I'll post some pics the first time our driveway fills in with 6'+ drifts


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## Normex (Feb 21, 2014)

Nice purchase as it surely will do the job. I read on another thread that Toros have the impeller gap with the housing pretty close, if it is less than 1/4" then no need for an impeller mod for extra distance and dealing with wet and slushy snow. Good Luck


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

yeah it will get the job done for you. ALOHA to the forms...


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

It's always a tough decision between wanting to stay warm and dry and going out and playing with a new blower. 
Nice choice of machine.


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> It's always a tough decision between wanting to stay warm and dry and going out and playing with a new blower.
> Nice choice of machine.


Really? It has always been a no brainer for me. Heck, after I rebuilt my Ariens I went out with a shovel the first few times it snowed just so I could get a pile big enough to run it through.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

I guess I'm just getting old.


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

hello 03eunos, welcome to *SBF* and congrats


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

Good choice there I just picked up my 1128 OXE on Monday and still waiting for snow.


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## MagnumB (Oct 1, 2014)

Hanky said:


> Good choice there I just picked up my 1128 OXE on Monday and still waiting for snow.


BIG +1 there...

The wait for a real snow is killing me.


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## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Usually it's the weight of the snow that kills you when you're stuck with only a shovel.


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## MagnumB (Oct 1, 2014)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Usually it's the weight of the snow that kills you when you're stuck with only a shovel.


Well played Sir! Well played!


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## Gondo (Nov 1, 2015)

I actually modded mine last year with the rubber flaps on the impeller. The gap is so small on the Toro it didn't do jack. I wasted my time. For half the price of a Honda it works great.


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

Gondo good to see you woke us Toro fans up, for a long time it was very very slow in the land of the big red machine. Now I can check in before the morning coffee again.


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## automojo (Nov 7, 2015)

Nice.
I was a solid Arien's fan till I got my HD928 OXE.
Sorry, for me there is no comparison, especially to my last one, a 926Le.
I had to spend a extra $200 on the 926 to get it to perform half way decent (pin mod for disco-matic, dual belts, extra shield to keep water and ice of drive and auger belts).
Always maintain my machines meticulously.
Particularly the auger belt would stretch out of adjustment every year. The dual belt solved this for the most point-but IMHO it should have been built this way from the get go. When new-first time in wet heavy snow it stretched to the max adjustment point. Same with shear pins-some years a few, some none, other years more then a few.
Plus it never worked well in slush-and I wanted to avoid any more $ on mods.
IMHO Ariens threw out the dual auger/after thought as a correction for a major blunder-did they actually test this unit in heavy wet snow?-yes I live in WI-not that far from the factory. 
Sorry-but this seems to be a habit of them lately...
Sure, I liked the all metal construction, but if it's not engineered right-seems of little value IMHO. All the metal doesn't do a thing if it can't do it's basic task-blow all types of snow-in all types of winter conditions quickly and efficiently with little hassle.
Personally I think the metal vs plastic is just a marketing tactic and glosses over the poor R&D.
Ariens has been making blowers for a long time. IMHO they should have this down by now to a "science"-without the consumer having to spend extra money to get it to do it's basic task.
In part-that's why I avoided Ariens this time.
So I have to buy expensive poly skids on top of a new machine so (maybes as it seems) the Auto Steer will work right on gravel, and shoulders of the road?
Sorry-not this time.
Toro worked great out of the box (all my blowers where dealer purchased)
never had to adjust the auger belt once. The directional triggers are the way to go IMHO-quick and effective. What's the point of buying and paying for power steering if it's not going to work right in all conditions? Makes no sense to this cat...
Another thing I noticed right away it's much better balanced and handles easy and smoothly.
Auger housing and frame are plenty thick, and well braced, thoughtfully and purposefully engineered IMHO.
Down to the basic task-
It throws much farther then any of my Ariens, particularly in wet snow and slush, and you can actually blow powder way faster and farther then the Ariens with out bogging. And it's only a 9 hp-not the big boy. Quiet and smooth and very efficient at using it's available horsepower.
Sorry-I was orange fan for years, but a solid red/white convert.
It may have plastic, but it's very well engineered IMHO at performing it's basic tasks without requiring mods, needless fiddling etc. Sorry, I'm already married.....
And maybe that's in part why Toro's are a few $100 more expensive.
They actually did some serious R&D on their machines-instead of leaving it to the customer to figure out.
Just a quick look at the threads here makes that very clear......IMHO of course.
On the other hand-Toro rate's the HD's for professional use-so at that point they are wash more or less....as the Ariens Pro models hover around 2k and up.
Toro's least expensive 2 stage pro model, the HD 828 OXE is $1399.00, right smack in the middle of Ariens consumer models, so in that sense they are a bargain IMHO.


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## pyro (Oct 24, 2015)

Do you ever wish you had gotten the larger engine on the1028 ? Any problems with power on the 928?


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## automojo (Nov 7, 2015)

pyro said:


> Do you ever wish you had gotten the larger engine on the1028 ? Any problems with power on the 928?


No problems with lack of power.
My driveway is probably 85'-3 cars wide, plus a few sidewalks.
I regularly blow paths around to the back yard with no problems in deep snow above the auger housing-it just goes.
For years I have used the Teflon/Silicone spray on my snow blowers, so this may help some.
The main reason I have used it in the past was to keep down on rust in the auger housing, as I'm always blowing snow on gravel, and the inside get's nicked and scraped, and this keep it from rusting.
It also cuts down on having to brush out the housing then parking the blower.
Not sure if I have noticed any real difference in performance on any of my machines-but again I just to it by habit for the other reasons mentioned.
When I was looking the Toro salesmen informed me a 9hp Toro will perform on par with a 10hp Ariens, or Simplicity, because their design in blowing/recirculating the snow is more efficient.
I never really had a lack of power with the 926LE, it never really bogged down on me-just didn't throw snow very far for it's size-particularly the wet slushy stuff. There were a few times with the 926le I would have to modulate the drive on occasion, but that's was some huge drifts way over the auger housing. Have not encountered those yet since buying the Toro.
He said the 928 should be fine-and if I didn't think it had enough power I could upgrade after a few determining snowfalls at no charge. 
I always run my blowers @ max throttle-like lawn mowers etc.
If you think you might need more power-go for it-especially if you encounter huge drifts on a regular basis.
They are offering 18 months 0% financing so you can spread the extra $ over time.
What's so refreshing for me is no issues-no tinkering, or spending extra $ with a poorly designed new machine
I'm really not trying to knock Ariens-just my opinions and experiences over the years.
Just look here, and other sites-the Ariens owners are usually are having the issue of some kind-this or that-maybe small but they add up over time-you only see a few issue with Toro's-they just seem to go-to me that says volumes on where to spend my hard earned dollars.
By the way-this unit was built in the USA.
I wasn't sold on the Auto Turn for my conditions (the main reason I went shopping was the 926le is a beast to turn)-and was pleasantly surprised (actually blown away) at how well the Toro performed, and what I was really missing over the years in performance and getting the job done faster and easier.
Good stuff IMHO..


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

I am with Automojo about the new Toro's, I am super happy with mine after a few bugs got worked out.


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## BullFrog (Oct 14, 2015)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> It's always a tough decision between wanting to stay warm and dry and going out and playing with a new blower.
> Nice choice of machine.


I hear ya. A new snow blower is a bitter sweet purchase. You kind of want it snow to try it out but yet it's sure nice not having the snow around too.


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## pyro (Oct 24, 2015)

automojo: Thanks for the great reply. One last question. Do you see any benefit of the plastic shute over the steel with the gravel driveway? I also have a gravel driveway and I remember borrowing my fathers last year and every once in a while you would hear the occasional rock firing out. I don't have a good sense of how much damage that does over time to the steel.


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## laptopquestions (Oct 1, 2015)

pyro said:


> automojo: Thanks for the great reply. One last question. Do you see any benefit of the plastic shute over the steel with the gravel driveway? I also have a gravel driveway and I remember borrowing my fathers last year and every once in a while you would hear the occasional rock firing out. I don't have a good sense of how much damage that does over time to the steel.


Can only speak from my personal experience, but have no qualms regarding the 'plastic' :

At least a far as Toro goes...
*Sub Zero Material - Guaranteed For Life*

Chute, deflector and ACS are made of a special cold-weather material durable to -104˚ F and guaranteed for life. It is also rust-free, so there’s no binding, and snow and ice won't stick.


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## automojo (Nov 7, 2015)

The main advantage is it doesn't nick the paint off like steel. After 8-9 years the Ariens chute didn't really look that bad, but it did looked like you had a gravel driveway-same with the auger housing. I never had any dents etc-the Ariens chutes are thick enough. I painted it before a sold it, along with the auger housing, just to spruce it up. The buyer, a customer of mine was well aware it was used on gravel. It looked good, and he was happy to pay $450 for it. It held it's value pretty good-but that's all in the upkeep.
The nicks never seemed to make a difference as far as performance, as I mentioned I use silicone snow blower spray at the beginning of the year-so I think it cuts down on the rust, and my real main reasoning on using it.
I think painting it every year probably makes the rust worse then just leaving it and recoating it in the spring with snow spray.
Plus your just building up paint thickness in other areas that won't really help anything, and may at some point just all fall off.
I keep my machines looing good-wax etc, but don't get too concerned over the auger housing, or working surfaces.
The plastic gets some small scuffmarks, and the advantage here is it won't rust ever.
If you look at the video at them pounding with a 4lb hammer on the chute at -100f, you see it's well engineered and more then up to the task.
And that's what really sold me on the Toro, all the thoughtful engineering put into the machine to make it trouble free and easier to use and maintain.
All without the consumer having to resort to modifications.
It shouts "Yes we can build a better "mousetrap" (snow blower)".. if you really look at it with a open mind-not one stuck back in the 60's 70's era. The auger housing bracing, a one piece frame, auger gear housing with no gimmicks-built string enough to for go the shear pins and their added expense and hassle. And high quality auger bearings.
And the plastic chute/anti clog system that keeps snow form sticking in the processing area, and won't rust out over time. The carb/muffler enclosure that keeps keep water off the plug wire, keeps the carb warm, and is super quiet.
The fuel line routing enclosed under the fuel tank to prevent icing-and a factory installed fuel filter. A very high quality fuel tank and filler cap-all enclosed to get engine heat to prevent freeze ups.
No gimmick wheel clutch transmission using a simple but effective disk drive/chain gear setup.
And of course the anti clog auger system that really process's the snow effectively and forcefully-regardless of being dry/wet/slush, and get's it as far away from your working area as possible.
Plus you can tell Toro took into account the weight of their components and their relative placement on the machine, because it's really superbly balanced and easy to use.
I have (self employed)sold tools and equipment for 22+ years, and particularity appreciate those manufactures that do the same. Cover those seemingly small details that really make a difference in doing the job effectively and efficiently, and less physical/mental stress.
It really makes a positive difference IMHO-and the great advantage of modern methods, engineering, and manufacturing.
When your paying 1k plus for a new machine-you shouldn't expect any thing less IMHO.


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## 03eunos (Oct 18, 2014)

*No traction drive...*

Just an update and question... 

I only used the new 1028 a half dozen times last winter and noticed that there was no traction many times. I would have to manually push it and eventually the drive would kick in. The steering triggers have never seemed to work right as they only occasionally kick in to turn the snowblower. 

I am wondering if this is considered a maintenance issue or warranty issue on a new machine that is still less than a year old. I would have expected a new $2000 machine not to need adjustment after 2 or 3 uses. My old Toro never had any issue and I miss it... 

Thanks!


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

I would think it is a warranty issue some thing is not set up right my 1128 has tons of traction. I am thinking that the problem is in the linkage of the steering triggers. Should be a quick simple fix.


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

Just checked and I am 250 lbs and on the garage floor I can not hold back my Toro it will pull me and spin out on smooth cement. We are heading out of town for a week so I can not ask my dealer about your problem sorry.


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## 03eunos (Oct 18, 2014)

*New 1028 traction clutch slippage in wet*

Just ran out and picked up the 1028 from dealer service related to no traction when the handle is pressed. The manager called and said they had cleaned up the belts a bit, but no real issue. When the guy was loading it up the ramp into my truck, he couldn't get it to move. 

He, and the service manager, stated that when it's raining, water can get on the metal and rubber clutch plates causing slipage. I used my old 826 for 9 years without this issue in the same climate. 

I took the blower just because we have 30 cm of snow forecasted for tomorrow and I need something... even if it works half-arsed.

Has anyone else experienced this on a new machine with 4 uses?

Thanks,

Jeff


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

Would think they are feeding you a line of BS there.


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## joed (Dec 20, 2014)

03eunos said:


> Just ran out and picked up the 1028 from dealer service related to no traction when the handle is pressed. The manager called and said they had cleaned up the belts a bit, but no real issue. When the guy was loading it up the ramp into my truck, he couldn't get it to move.
> 
> He, and the service manager, stated that when it's raining, water can get on the metal and rubber clutch plates causing slipage. I used my old 826 for 9 years without this issue in the same climate.
> 
> ...


I have a 2011 Toro 826 OXE HD unit. I only have about 35 hours on it but I've never had any issues with traction nor the freewheel steering system not working. Only problem I've had is the machine clogging up when trying to move wet/slushy snow. I tried spraying the chute and auger with PAM cooking oil but it didn't help. I was wondering if the 250 cc Briggs on it may not have enough power to move wet snow efficiently. Some people have had similar issues to yours. Here's one person's solution:
Toro 38624W Power Max® 826OXE 26" 250cc Two-Stage Snow Blower

Click on the reviews tab. There is one guy who had a similar problem.


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## Normex (Feb 21, 2014)

joed said:


> I have a 2011 Toro 826 OXE HD unit. I only have about 35 hours on it but I've never had any issues with traction nor the freewheel steering system not working. Only problem I've had is the machine clogging up when trying to move wet/slushy snow. I tried spraying the chute and auger with PAM cooking oil but it didn't help. I was wondering if the 250 cc Briggs on it may not have enough power to move wet snow efficiently.


 Can you measure a gap greater than 1/8" from your fin to housing?


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## 03eunos (Oct 18, 2014)

*Last update on this topic...*

I had a chance to try the snowblower this past Friday as we had our first snow day of the year with 30 cm of snow. I just bought and installed a new Moose plow for my 2015 Honda Rubicon ATV and did most of the driveway with that, but cleaned up with the Toro.

I can gladly say I had no issues with the traction belt and steering worked flawlessly. Not sure if the dealer's free "cleanup" did anything, but I'm happy with the results. Perhaps it was just the mositure on the drive plates that caused the slippage last winter.

Thanks all for the comments!

Jeff


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

Sure glad your happy with the Toro, as they are a great blower when they work correctly. I had issues with mine at first but got them fixed and now just waiting for snow.


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## MagnumB (Oct 1, 2014)

joed said:


> I have a 2011 Toro 826 OXE HD unit. I only have about 35 hours on it but I've never had any issues with traction nor the freewheel steering system not working. Only problem I've had is the machine clogging up when trying to move wet/slushy snow. I tried spraying the chute and auger with PAM cooking oil but it didn't help. I was wondering if the 250 cc Briggs on it may not have enough power to move wet snow efficiently. Some people have had similar issues to yours. Here's one person's solution:
> Toro 38624W Power Max® 826OXE 26" 250cc Two-Stage Snow Blower
> 
> Click on the reviews tab. There is one guy who had a similar problem.


That darn snow and slush is a problem for everything. As the guy from snowblower.com says....the big secret is that no unit does well in those conditions. I tend to agree!


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