# First Snow Blower... it'll be a Toro



## Havok423 (4 mo ago)

Hi everyone,

Trying to choose between the 1030 OHAE and the 1032 OHXE. I'm in the Grand Rapids, MI area to give you an idea of the amount of snow (65-70" annual).

1) Can anyone tell me the difference between the OHAE and OHXE designation? I get they are both 10HP I think...
2) Is a .9 gallon tank sufficient? I have a 200' by 6' driveway with a car park capable of 6 or so cars at top of it.

Lastly, is it ever worth it on these to get the 3YR protection plan. I'm buying from Home Depot.

Thanks for any guidance you can provide.


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## db130 (Feb 16, 2013)

Trigger steer versus auto-steer appears to be the primary difference, otherwise it's

O = ohv engine
H = heated grips
E = electric start









Toro PowerMax Alphabet Soup ???


Just wondering what the various model 'letters' in the PowerMax series signify? I see various models LE OE OX OXE OHXE The base models over the years seem to be LE or OX Not sure what the difference is between the various models . . . and then there is of course the engine/bucket...




www.snowblowerforum.com


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

Avoid home despot like the plague PLEASE.

Buy the machine from the dealer simply because home despot will send you to
a TORO dealer for warranty claims or if you experience problems with the machine and
it will take longer to have it repaired or looked at because you did not buy it from them. 

You have no reason to buy home despots 3 year buyer protection plan as the 3 year TORO warranty protection plan comes at no extra charge to the buyer of thier snow blowers or snow throwers.

Do not pay attention to the recommended machine for a certain square area guide
it is only a basic guide.

It's better to buy one of the Toro 12 horsepower machines and which will get you reserve power and torque for snow removal.

You will not have to work as hard with the 12 horsepower machine as it will have more traction
with its greater weight. 

If you buy the machine from home despot and take it to a TORO dealer for warranty work you will end up at the back of the line since you did not buy it from them; especially if there is a service bulletin for the machine that requires it be brought in for the repair.

I have owned and used TORO snow throwers for over 50 years and I have been very happy with them.


Leon


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## rwh963 (Nov 21, 2019)

your credit card company typically adds up to an extra year of warranty coverage as well.


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## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

I have to assume that you really don't have a 200' x 6' driveway, unless you drive a motorcycle all year round !


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## Toon (May 11, 2021)

leonz said:


> Avoid home despot like the plague PLEASE.
> 
> Buy the machine from the dealer simply because home despot will send you to
> a TORO dealer for warranty claims or if you experience problems with the machine and
> ...


I have to agree with LEONZ. I bought a Scotts lawn tractor from Home Depot which is made by John Deere. It is a great machine but when I went to buy parts from the local John Deere dealer, they would not even sell me the parts because I didn't buy from them. Poor business practice for sure, but in the end that's the way life is. In the end the John Deere dealer lost out, as I buy my parts online now.


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## Havok423 (4 mo ago)

RIT333 said:


> I have to assume that you really don't have a 200' x 6' driveway, unless you drive a motorcycle all year round !


Don't understand. It's about 200 FEET long by 6 FEET wide... maybe 7 FEET wide. But it is long.


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

Havok423 said:


> Don't understand. It's about 200 FEET long by 6 FEET wide... maybe 7 FEET wide. But it is long.


I think he (and I) are surprised by that width. That would not be a legal long driveway here. I believe the minimum standard here is 10 feet wide (emergency vehicle access). Over 150 feet I think it goes to 12 or 14 feet wide and over 1000 feet to 22 feet wide.

Heck, my BMW X5 is over 6 feet wide... A Dodge Ram is as much as 7.5 feet wide. My flatbed trailer is 8.5 feet wide.


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## Tony-chicago (Feb 10, 2021)

I assume there is ample roo. On the sides to fit the car easily up and down the drive. And places to throw the snow from the drive.


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

I hope for his sanity he buys a TORO 1232 OHXE from a TORO dealer.


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## Nan_wpg (Jan 15, 2015)

Toon said:


> I have to agree with LEONZ. I bought a Scotts lawn tractor from Home Depot which is made by John Deere. It is a great machine but when I went to buy parts from the local John Deere dealer, they would not even sell me the parts because I didn't buy from them. Poor business practice for sure, but in the end that's the way life is. In the end the John Deere dealer lost out, as I buy my parts online now.


that’s brutal. They actually told you no parts? Hope you left them a bad review. Hope we have a depression Soon. People need to feel pain. We’ve had it too good for too long.


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## Havok423 (4 mo ago)

Tony-chicago said:


> I assume there is ample roo. On the sides to fit the car easily up and down the drive. And places to throw the snow from the drive.


There is plenty of room for up to a large pickup truck... just bought the place in April '22. It's paved asphalt, but there isn't a drive width restriction I'm aware of in our township. Lot of room to thrown the snow on either side.


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## Tony-chicago (Feb 10, 2021)

Understand the sentiment. But perhaps better stated as: Maybe a realignment. Most people are not benefitting from the system. Lots of people in pain.
We certainly do not want a further increase in onw-sided wealth.


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## Yanmar Ronin (Jan 31, 2015)

Easy does it on the gloom and doom guys... please. 🍻

-- The Management

Havok, welcome aboard. 😁🍻


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## Havok423 (4 mo ago)

tabora said:


> I think he (and I) are surprised by that width. That would not be a legal long driveway here. I believe the minimum standard here is 10 feet wide (emergency vehicle access). Over 150 feet I think it goes to 12 or 14 feet wide and over 1000 feet to 22 feet wide.
> 
> Heck, my BMW X5 is over 6 feet wide... A Dodge Ram is as much as 7.5 feet wide. My flatbed trailer is 8.5 feet wide.


@RIT333 @tabora - You both got me thinking I did something horribly wrong in my estimations. And I did! I went out with a tape measure and verified with county parcel viewer.

The drive is 11' wide on average (at turns it expands a little) and actually from garage opening to street, over 376' long. (wasn't counting other drive on my prop or the parking area).
Yeah... winter gonna suck.


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

Havok423 said:


> @RIT333 @tabora - You both got me thinking I did something horribly wrong in my estimations. And I did! I went out with a tape measure and verified with county parcel viewer.
> 
> The drive is 11' wide on average (at turns it expands a little) and actually from garage opening to street, over 376' long. (wasn't counting other drive on my prop or the parking area).
> Yeah... winter gonna suck.
> ...


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


Ouch,

I have to tell you that you need to invest in a bare bones Simplicity Galaxy lawn and garden tractor or a sub compact tractor like the Kubota 1880, BX2380 with the lawn mower, two stage snow blower and chains or the John Deere series 1 sub compact, mower deck and snow blower.

The largest Simplicity Galaxy lawn and garden tractor with a single stage snow blower and chains is what I would buy at a minimum as the other lawn mowers with snow blowers are poorly made and take this from a John Deere owner that owned a John Deere L series LA115 with a mower and snow blower they are junk.

The low end machines they pedal today are not even comparable to the older lawn and garden tractors with gear drive or hydrostatic drive single stage snow blowers from the late 1960's to the middle 1990 's from IHC, John Deere, Wheel Horse or Simplicity as they all had wheels bolted to the heavy axle shafts.

The Series One John Deere mules are strong basic mules just as the Kubota BX 1880 lawn and garden tractors are strong basic mules and all three have wheels that are bolted to the front and rear axles which are a must for clearing snow.

A 3 point hitch rear mount snow blower for either of the John Deere Series 1 sub compacts or the Kubota BX1880 or BX2380 will handle this without any trouble and will cost much less to buy and will cost less to own as they operate using the rear 540 RPM power take off.

The only thing you need to get used to is sitting side saddle in the seat and pushing down on the reverse pedal.

Granted you could buy 5 of the 14 horsepower toro or ariens snow blowers but if time is an issue the BX or Series 1 mules are the better way to handle this because of the amount of ground you need to cover.

The basic belt driven lawn mowers with belt driven snow blowers are no match for this.

A sidewalk snow blower like the smallest ventracs with a lawn mower and snow blower will be more than double the money so keep that in mind.

Hiring it done will depend on the weather and whether the contractor does it on a per push basis or a snow depth trigger basis and how much extra work they do for you like shoveling and spreading salt.

If you have no room to store a tractor indoors you will need a kerosene fired space heater to warm the engine and also melt the snow and ice and salt off the tractor or walk behind snow blower. 

If it was 1968 again and the International Harvester Company was still making lawn and garden tractors I would not hesitate to tell you to buy one of thier 12 horse hydrostatic drive lawn tractors and single stage snow blowers-(thats all any of these builders made back then) and snow chains as that is what I grew up using.

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

I would not even consider looking at a machine unless a dealer is willing to come and look at your property AND HE OR SHE WILL NOT SELL YOU A MACHINE THAT IS TOO SMALL. 

If the dealer is willing to lose a sale and not lose a customer that is who you want to do business with.


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## Tony-chicago (Feb 10, 2021)

What was done before? This new parcel to you, but what worked in years past? Plow, large machine? If you have time, a snowblower will work. Lot of effort though.
I will leave it to experts here who have to clear a lot of driveway.


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## Havok423 (4 mo ago)

Guy before me had machinery I don't have. He was a general contractor so easy for him...

There is a fence now against the part of the lawn side of the grass (we have dogs) so having a plow service isn't an option as I don't trust them to not destroy the fence.

It's just gonna be a fun winter for me.


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

If time is not a huge factor I am sure the Toro blowers will work. I blow snow here I have 2 driveways over 100 ft each and one is 3 cars wide. I we are to get a big dump I usually go out and blow 8 or 10 inches before bed time. Rather than 2 ft in morning. Dry snow not a problem in wet heavy snow my Toro might blow in first gear. From 1998 till 2005 I blew one driveway almost a city block long with my 8 hp. 24 in Craftsman, That is all I could afford at the time and if it took 20 minutes Longer it was better than a hand shovel. I have friends in Penticton that bought the big Husky blower 4 years a steep driveway over 300 ft long most people here said a tractor or plow truck was not in the budget, so they asked me to come over and see what I would do. I told them my Toro would go up the hill not problem, might only blow 24 in wide going up and 30 in on the down stroke. This will be the 4th season and they love there blower. But i told them to get some heavy duty skids Armor, and kick any rocks off drive way before the freeze in . Skids on my Toro and me blowing last winter, and there Husky. I like my Toro better but $$$$ on a factor and dealers. They have a Husky dealer and I have a Toro dealer here in town.


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

My skids, blowing a trail to back shed as they had just got a dog a city dog that never seen snow. If we were rich this is way to blow snow.


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## Tony-chicago (Feb 10, 2021)

^^^^^
About right


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

Hanky said:


> My skids, blowing a trail to back shed as they had just got a dog a city dog that never seen snow. If we were rich this is way to blow snow.
> View attachment 200255
> 
> View attachment 200256
> ...


YEAH BABY!!!! Now that is what I want and need!! The only way to fly!!!


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## Havok423 (4 mo ago)

Hanky said:


> My skids, blowing a trail to back shed as they had just got a dog a city dog that never seen snow. If we were rich this is way to blow snow.
> View attachment 200256


Where would one get such upgraded skids?


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## tabora (Mar 1, 2017)

Havok423 said:


> Where would one get such upgraded skids?











Snowblower Skids For Sidewalks and Gravel Drives


Snowblower Skids For Sidewalks, Gravel Drives and Uneven Pavement. Snowblower Skids The strongest skid on the planet. Order a set for your snowblower today




snowblowerskids.com




Also available at Home Depot:




__





Search Results for snowblower skids at The Home Depot


Get free shipping on qualified ARMORskids products or Buy Online Pick Up in Store today.



www.homedepot.com


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## leonz (Dec 12, 2014)

Havok423 said:


> Where would one get such upgraded skids?


=================================================================================
The folks at Snowblower Skids have an alphabetical listing of snow blower brands
with complete information to match up the right longer skid for a snow blower.

If you do not see your model in the list all you need to do is measure the center
to center distance between the mounting bolts and then you know which skid to order.

Some machines require spacers to mount the skids but that is easy enough to determine 
from the alphabetical brand listing and if your still not sure you can call them and get the 
answer quickly if the answering machine picks up. 

When I ordered my skids directly from www.snowblowerskids.com with my 
credit card it took only three days to find the skids in a big USPS mailing 
bag in my mailbox. 

The new skids were wrapped in bubble wrap and taped up well and the 
purchase receipt was also tucked in the bag. 

The Snow Blower Skids have a wide end for clearing snow on gravel and 
grass and a narrow end for clearing snow on pavement. 

I have mine with the wide end out as I have to use it on broken asphalt 
and grass and they prevent catching the corner of the snow blower on 
broken concrete, asphalt or digging in the sod. 

They have been designed well with curved ends to avoid catching the ski on 
broken pavement or digging in sod or gravel.


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## michaelnel (Feb 12, 2019)

I had the Armorskids on my Honda, and now I have them on both Toros. The area I have to blow is dirt covered with wood mulch, gravel, pine cones and pine needles. I run the scraper bar at about 1/2" clearance. 

I did have to use their spacers on both the 828OAE and the E26 because of the stiffening rib at the leading edge of the bucket. You could use fender washers, but the spacers are nicer and spread out the force over a larger area. That way the larger skids which have more leverage on the side panels will be less likely to bend them.

Note that the below picture was before I received the spacers and I was using fender washers. Also the surface the blower is sitting on in the pic is the stuff I have to use the blowers on.


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## Havok423 (4 mo ago)

Everyone, thanks for the inputs and help.

I pulled the trigger on the 30" 1030 OHAE. Now to look for some skids...


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

Thanks for the updates need pictures of your new baby. Of course it will be a light snow year now that your ready.


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## TwiceStroked (Sep 30, 2021)

Like said Already
...

[Edit: Argumentative/objection sustained. Y.R.]


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## Hanky (Nov 14, 2014)

You will learn real fast the easy way for your driveway and which way the wind blows, always blow with the wind if possible.


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## burbansk (Sep 30, 2021)

Thanks for the info guy's. Just ordered a set of Armor-skids and spacers for my 2021 Ariens 28 SHO. Not that I have had any problems ( yet ) with my Northern Michigan gravel driveway but I am a sucker for quality products made in the USA.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Havok423 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> Trying to choose between the 1030 OHAE and the 1032 OHXE. I'm in the Grand Rapids, MI area to give you an idea of the amount of snow (65-70" annual).
> 
> ...


If you're buying from Home Depot the very first thing you want to do is download the operators manual, read the sections on SAFETY and then go over the machine and make sure it was assembled correctly. Balance the tire pressures (less is better) cables and linkages are properly set and Etc. Read the section on maintenance and adjustments and follow it. 
Enjoy your new machine.


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## Havok423 (4 mo ago)

micah68kj said:


> If you're buying from Home Depot the very first thing you want to do is download the operators manual, read the sections on SAFETY and then go over the machine and make sure it was assembled correctly. Balance the tire pressures (less is better) cables and linkages are properly set and Etc. Read the section on maintenance and adjustments and follow it.
> Enjoy your new machine.


Thanks @micah68kj

One of the reasons I chose Toro was because they don't make use of shear pins. Although I've read the bolts they do use still could shear off. Good idea to have some spares on hand? If so, am I looking at parts 10, 11, and 13 below? Should I also consider parts 15 and 16?


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## Tony-chicago (Feb 10, 2021)

10 appears to be the pin/bolt. The other parts are the nuts etc. 15 and 16 are for the ompeller. Probably a more permanent fastener. Not a shear pin.


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## michaelnel (Feb 12, 2019)

Keep in mind that when you bust a shear pin, you not only have to replace the pin, but also any washers, nuts, or clips because they fall off into the snow when the pin breaks.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

Havok423 said:


> Thanks @micah68kj
> 
> One of the reasons I chose Toro was because they don't make use of shear pins. Although I've read the bolts they do use still could shear off. Good idea to have some spares on hand? If so, am I looking at parts 10, 11, and 13 below? Should I also consider parts 15 and 16?
> 
> View attachment 200685


It doesn't hurt to have a couple shear bolts/pins in your parts bin. I've been using various blowers since 1994 and have yet ti break one, though. I still have the pins I bought way back then. You should never need 15 or 16. If you break those you're going to have other worries on your hands. Something I just thought of. Snug those bolts down but not so tight that the auger can't move independently of the auger shaft. As I said... *Read your manual. It will teach you many things and for Pete's sake NEVER STICK YOUR HAND IN THE BUSINESS END. *Use a stick or the little cleaner that hopefully came with your machine.


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## Havok423 (4 mo ago)

Forgot to post a pic of the machine after it was delivered. So far so good here in western MI. It's doing the job well.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Very nice ... new broom sweeps clean as they say .... take good care of it and it will serve you well ... Enjoy ...


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## LouC (Dec 5, 2016)

Looks good, I had very good luck with my little single stage Toro. Just remember the safety rules with a 2 stage machine. If it clogs, you use the clean out tool, not your hand! That's why I have stuck with the single stage for my use, they really don't clog. You just have to get out there earlier, and maybe do it in 2 passes. The drive system is also very simple nothing to go wrong really. The 2 stroke with electric start will fire off instantly even at zero degrees. No thick oil in the crankcase to drag it down.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

"No thick oil in the crankcase to drag it down."

A Full Synthetic 5W30, which is recommended for all snow blowers is no problem at all in cold weather.


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## LouC (Dec 5, 2016)

I have a Briggs 5,000 watt gen set with a Briggs Vanguard 9hp recoil starter that I use 5/30 Mobil 1 in. At temps close to zero, the electric start 2 stroke Toro starts much faster.,


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## Havok423 (4 mo ago)

This thing starts without hesitation with the electric start. If I need to use the pull start, 2 pulls max so far.


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## brec (2 mo ago)

Havok423 said:


> This thing starts without hesitation with the electric start. If I need to use the pull start, 2 pulls max so far.


I have a 1030 that, according to trucker tracking, will be delivered from Toro to my local dealer tomorrow. If two pulls max, why bother connecting the electric starter?


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## michaelnel (Feb 12, 2019)

brec said:


> I have a 1030 that, according to trucker tracking, will be delivered from Toro to my local dealer tomorrow. If two pulls max, why bother connecting the electric starter?


I have yet to use my estart. But I am 72, and I can understand why some folks might want to use it rather than pulling it. Bad shoulder comes to mind.


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## Havok423 (4 mo ago)

brec said:


> I have a 1030 that, according to trucker tracking, will be delivered from Toro to my local dealer tomorrow. If two pulls max, why bother connecting the electric starter?


Why not, it's there and it works on one tiny push.  
Truth be told, I was just making sure all the methods work, but the estart is just great.


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