# Single stage in the yard/grass?



## CharlesW (Oct 13, 2010)

I have always cleared an area in my front yard to allow a vehicle to be driven off the driveway when the inevitable car shuffle seems to happen. Double garage, single driveway, three cars. Keeps from having to back into the street to let someone out and having to worry about traffic.

My old 2 stage did the job with no problem.
My new single stage Toro Power Clear 421 didn't work too great.
Could very well be that I don't know the proper technique, so.......

Any tips or suggestions?
Is it harmful to the machine to let it do its thing on grass?
Will it do permanent damage to the lawn?

I can tip it back slightly, but it takes quite a bit of effort to push the machine in the grass. Letting the auger propel it would be much easier.


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## trdr (Nov 27, 2010)

CharlesW said:


> I have always cleared an area in my front yard to allow a vehicle to be driven off the driveway when the inevitable car shuffle seems to happen. Double garage, single driveway, three cars. Keeps from having to back into the street to let someone out and having to worry about traffic.
> 
> My old 2 stage did the job with no problem.
> My new single stage Toro Power Clear 421 didn't work too great.
> ...


my quick answer would be i dont think it will hurt the lawn,but then i dont know what kind of lawn/grass you have.what might be happening is the rubber paddles need to be on smooth even surfaces to propel it forward maybe,only maybe the blower doesnt have a smooth enough surface (due to grass length.dips and valleys etc.) maybe just snowblow 2 strips only for the vehicle to back into and not snowblow an entire "area"...maybe??


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## CharlesW (Oct 13, 2010)

Thanks for the reply trdr.
The problem with just two tracks is the depth the snow often reaches.
Being able to get to the door to get in or out is also handy.
I don't mind chewing the grass up a little, but I really don't want to rip it out by the roots and have bare spots to reseed in the spring.

Maybe if this gets bumped up, someone will see it that has used or does use a SS blower on grass.


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## butchf (Dec 15, 2010)

I use my little Toro S-140 all the time in the grass. Rubber paddles don't seem to cause any damage when the ground is frozen. However, be aware that by exposing the ground from snow cover will drive the frost line deeper into the ground. This can be good or bad depending upon your loom depth. I've seen a deeper frost line really wake up a lawn in the spring and also have seen it kill the lawn.
We used to run our snowmobiles across the back yard all winter and it does the same thing, drives the frost line deeper. In our case the lawn loved it. Every place we ran the sleds, came out greener, earlier than the undisturbed areas.
Hope this helps!


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## CharlesW (Oct 13, 2010)

My second try with my single stage in the grass was no better than my first.
I tried one pass about 10' and while it wasn't exactly a disaster, it certainly wasn't a good experience.
It definitely chews up the grass. I don't know if it is mowing it off or ripping it up by the roots, but if the paddles contact the grass enough to move the machine, grass is thrown out with the snow. And quite a bit of it.
Yes, I tried several different angles of attack and the only way the machine didn't tear up grass and jump up and down from the paddle contact was when I tilted it back enough that I had to push. The shovel is easier to push.
Unless I learn some technique for doing this, I think I will consider it something to avoid with the SS machine.


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## BOSMECH (Dec 16, 2010)

I use my Toro in the back yard to clear paths for the dogs and you have got it right you have to lift it a little bit and yes it is hard to push, so its your choice the shovel or the blower I chose to use the blower it seems a little easier on my back.


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## trdr (Nov 27, 2010)

hey charles do you still have your old 2 stage that you used to use? how about your neighbor, does he/she have a 2 stage you could borrow? maybe send a pic see the situation maybe have some better ideas. Its hard to ask a ss snowblower to do something it wasnt designed to do other than a paved area, even though some people get luckier than others at getting into grassy areas. good luck


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## CharlesW (Oct 13, 2010)

BOSMECH said:


> I use my Toro in the back yard to clear paths for the dogs and you have got it right you have to lift it a little bit and yes it is hard to push, so its your choice the shovel or the blower I chose to use the blower it seems a little easier on my back.


When we had a dog, I did the same thing with my old 2 stage that I still have. The single stage just isn't doing it for me.



trdr said:


> hey charles do you still have your old 2 stage that you used to use? how about your neighbor, does he/she have a 2 stage you could borrow? maybe send a pic see the situation maybe have some better ideas. Its hard to ask a ss snowblower to do something it wasnt designed to do other than a paved area, even though some people get luckier than others at getting into grassy areas. good luck


Yes, I do still have the old 2 stage and if I decide I really need to clear the area, I will probably use it.
The single stage just isn't working for me on the grass.

FWIW, The Toro 421 is doing a great job on the paved areas including EOD stuff. So far it seems like a good choice. Fast, light, easy to maneuver, Quick Shoot works great.
It probably take me 1/2 as long to clean the driveway and sidewalks with it as it took me with the old machine.
I have a neighbor I don't care for on one side and I try to blow all the snow away from his property. (Don't want to give his wife something to complain about.) Takes a lot of chute reversing and the old crank took a lot of turns to change the chute direction.
If the Toro lasts 35+ years like the old MTD/Dayton, I will be very happy. Heck, I'm happy now.


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## Full Throttle (Nov 20, 2010)

Yeah would be tough to make it work on grass as the auger is a drive. Even if you pack down a base its going to try to rip up the base. A thought depending on the type of snow you have. They make a snow scoop some are 3-4 feet wide that can move a lot of snow easy it glides on a snow/grass base easy. Just push it in and pull back no lifting and tip it up to dump on your hard surface driveway and use the two stage on it


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## CharlesW (Oct 13, 2010)

Full Throttle said:


> Yeah would be tough to make it work on grass as the auger is a drive. Even if you pack down a base its going to try to rip up the base. A thought depending on the type of snow you have. They make a snow scoop some are 3-4 feet wide that can move a lot of snow easy it glides on a snow/grass base easy. Just push it in and pull back no lifting and tip it up to dump on your hard surface driveway and use the two stage on it


Bingo!
I have one of those push/pull scoops and I do think I could just push the snow to the driveway and then blow it wherever I wanted it with the Toro 421.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Looks like I may get to try it in the next few days.


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