# Toro 521 vs Ariens ST724



## MaineGrant

I'm looking at buying my first snow blower (just bought a house with a small driveway).

I've narrowed it down to 2 machines A Toro 521 (Toro 521 Snow blower) which I can get for $125 from a small engine shop. He says it is around 20 years old, but in decent condition. he inspected the friction wheel and it has lots of rubber left on it, he made minor adjustments, an oil change, a new carburetor, and new belts.

The other one is an Ariens ST724 (*New Price* ST724 Aries Snowblower) The seller believes it is a 2002 machine.

Are both of these machines on par with each other. I realized that the Ariens has 2 more hp and cuts a 3" wider path, but comes from a private seller where as the Toro has been looked over by a mechanic.


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## detdrbuzzard

the model number on either machine will tell what year it was made more so than say st724. i was going to go look at an ariens 824 last weekend model number was 932101, that told what year it was. the toro will have a model number too


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## 69ariens

They are both light duty blowers. If it were me I would get the toro.


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## MaineGrant

69ariens said:


> They are both light duty blowers. If it were me I would get the toro.


When you refer to these as light duty what exactly do you mean? That they are only good for light snow falls or wouldn't be considered a pro grade? Either machine would be used to clear out my driveway and walk ways ...


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## Shryp

I think by light duty he means they are both bottom of the line and the cheapest from each manufacturer. It doesn't necessarily mean they are bad machines, they just lack a lot of the convenience features of the more expensive ones.


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## detdrbuzzard

maybe 69ariens is going by the hp numbers but new engines don't seem to be rated the same as the old ones. what is a big snowfall and how often do you get them in your area, how wide and long is your driveway


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## MaineGrant

detdrbuzzard said:


> maybe 69ariens is going by the hp numbers but new engines don't seem to be rated the same as the old ones. what is a big snowfall and how often do you get them in your area, how wide and long is your driveway


I live in central Maine so we get a fair amount of snow during the winter. Maybe a few storms over a foot, but those arent the norm. I feel like most storms are around 6 inches. 

My driveway is small. It's one car wide and 3 to 4 car lengths long. I also have 2 small walkways.


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## detdrbuzzard

then either machine should work good for you and for those storms of a foot or more either machine will clear the snow but the the heavier and deeper snow will slow them down some taking more time to get the job done


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## HCBPH

*Blower Size*

MG

Which is best for your situation I would probably lean towards the 521 based on my experience. If the biggest snowfalls typically are around 6" or less, that smaller one will likely deal with them better.

Right now I have several machines (not a Toro or Ariens but the same relative sizes). The 5hp 22" deals with 1" - 6" snowfalls just fine. It can get a little overwhelmed when you're at the 12" or more snowfalls, you just have to take smaller bits and do it a little slower than the bigger ones. A 7hp 26" I have does great once you have at least 3"-4" and up but less than about 3" and it doesn't have enough snow being fed into the impeller to throw it well. Each has a sweet spot as far as depth. 

If we have less than about 1" (which has been this winter), none of those work at all. In that situation, I have a small single stage unit with belting on the auger that deals with that best. We haven't even had that much so far, so a shovel has been my tool of choice this season.

Now the 10 hp I have on the other hand, I have yet to try this year so I'm guessing it's more for deeper snow but we'll see if I ever get a chance to get it out of the shed.

Take what your most likely snowfalls are and use that as a gauge in selecting a machine.

My 2 cents.


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## 69ariens

Mainegrant, what i meant by light duty is they were made to do small drives like yours at a low cost new. They are both good blowers brands and either one will do the job. Just remember if you get a big storm it would be better to clean your drive way a few times. One foot of snow can be 3 feet at the end of your drive way from the town plows.


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## MaineGrant

Are their any common problems I should know about for the 521? 

My father-in-law didn't have much nice to say about the machine. Saying that they have a lot of problems with the carburetor. I guess someone in the family had one and it needed a lot of repairs (bushings, bearings and carb) after replacing the Carb it only ran for a year. Searching online this seems to be the exception instead of the rule but didn't know if anyone could confirm / deny.


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## td5771

the carb is fine. its the ethanol fuel that is sold today. either find ethanol free fuel if its available near you or dont let fuel sit in the tank or carb longer than 30 days. i just keep the fuel level low and run it empty every 30 days or so and put fresh fuel in. when storing it over the summer i use "tool fuel" (its good for storing up to 2 years--or so they say) or you can use fuel stabilizer. 

my brother had a toro 826 and said the shear pins were a pain to change. must have been that model since the 421 i have isnt a problem and i havent heard of any with the 521. 

the 421 i have now is a very heavy machine. if the ariens was as old i would say go with the ariens strictly for the abundance of parts. but i would go with the older toro. 

carbs and engines are probably probably both tecumseh. so it would mainly be choosing the snowblower portion.

as far as light duty goes. new machines can be light or heavy duty and be the same size. years ago the light duty usually meant smaller not lesser quality. the toro 421 i have in terms of build quality is far superior to any "commercial" quality built today. same goes for the old ariens machines even the small ones. i like the old stuff, 2002 would be too new for me to trust it to last. 


just my 2 cents


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## Talon1189

The only problems I have had with my 1986 Toro 521 has be the carburetor. I rebuilt it 2 times over the years. I got lazy in the past and did not run the blower out of gas or use stabilizer in the gas in the spring. I blame myself for that problem not the machine directly  I have had my 521 in 12+ inches of snow on 2 different occasions over the years and remember the machine handling the lighter fluffy snow with not problems while in 1 gear. I have never plugged the impeller up with snow ever before at any past uses. I figured that is due to the "drum" style augur. The drum augur cannot be overloaded very easy as it only allows a certain amount of snow toward the high speed impeller despite what speed you use. If you go too fast in ground speed......the excess snow will just be pushed aside instead of being fully processed. I blew snow at 1 1/2 in depth 2weeks ago and the machine will easily throw light fluffy snow 20 feet at 3/4 throttle. I would recommend the Toro 521 at $125.00 dollars a bargain if it is in good condition  My shear pins on my augur are all original on my machine.


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## MaineGrant

Here are a few pictures the guy sent over. The only thing I see is some minor surface rust.

Toro 521


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## Talon1189

MaineGrant said:


> Here are a few pictures the guy sent over. The only thing I see is some minor surface rust.
> 
> Toro 521


He conveniently  did not send you a picture of the front augur area. I expect it has much more rust than he is showing. If the machine needs nothing right away but rust repair........go look at it and offer him $100.00 cash money  You said that he claimed to be a mechanic? I have a gut feeling that he will take $100 for it buddy. You can decide from that point for yourself if it is worth the risk  $100 is a small risk in today's world.


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## MaineGrant

Toro 521 Snow blower

Here's the best picture of the auger. Over emails we have verbally agreed on $125.


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## Talon1189

MaineGrant said:


> Toro 521 Snow blower
> 
> Here's the best picture of the auger. Over emails we have verbally agreed on $125.


No member here on this forum can tell you if it is a good deal or not if it is NOT seen or heard run in person. If you are unsure ......take a more knowledgeable person with you when you look at it. I would go look at it in person and tell them that the Toro is in worse shape than you originally figured by the photo's. You are willing to offer him $100.00 cash as is today if you like it


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## detdrbuzzard

so did you go get or take a look at the 521


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## MaineGrant

detdrbuzzard said:


> so did you go get or take a look at the 521


I am going down on Sunday to take a look at it and if it looks good Purchase it.


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## detdrbuzzard

sound good, i hope it works out for you. i'm taking a break from purchasing snowblowers for a few weeks so i can look for a generator but i still want that toro 826. get a can of seafoam too when you get a machine, follow the instructions and mix up a gallon of gas with the seafoam. tthe seafoam will clean the carb for you. i use seafoam on the mowers, snowblowers, and motorcycles and have not had a carb problem due to gumming and seafoam works as a fuel stabilizer too


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## td5771

if its fully functional and runs as it looks i would buy it. if the whole thing blows up up the electric start alone will sell for 50 and only take an hour or 2 to sell.


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