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I purchased this product nearly a year ago and it immediately broke. I stored it in the basement after only having used it a couple of times and didn't give it a second thought. Today, 12/20/2009, we received nearly 2 feet of snow in the New England area (south of Boston). After reading some forums about the snow blower, I realized a common problem was the belt falling off the unit. The recommendation was to put on a bigger washer to tighten the belt and you're good to go.
As an individual who is not even remotely "handy," I was a bit suspect as to whether or not I'd be able to make this modification. However, as it turns out, all you really need to do is unscrew a couple screws, slide off a panel, and the belt is right there facing you. It took me about 10 minutes total and the snow blower was good to go. Other than this obvious flaw, this little snow blower is great. The trick to getting through a lot of snow is to do basically plow under the big mound so there is snow hanging over and then knocking that down with a shovel. Repeat this process and you'll take care of the entire driveway. Sure, it might be a bit frustrating to make multiple passes, but if you're like me and prefer an electronic snow blower over the large, noisy, extremely heavy, gas-guzzling behemoths you see out there, this is a great buy.
PROS:
* All the benefits of electric (quiet, instant turn on, no gas/oil mixtures, no starting hassles, no stalling, etc.)
* Very light-weight, love being able to carry this around in my trunk/with one hand, etc.
CONS:
* (annoying) The belt falls off and needs to be reattached (5 minute job even if you know nothing about this stuff, like me)
* (very minor) Sometimes, the shoot gets clogged and you need to just push the snow back through it. Not that big of a deal, really.
I guess this would be a CON as well, but it's expected. You wouldn't buy meat and be upset it's not vegetarian, right?
* All the negatives of electric (not as powerful, multiple passes for deeper snow, not too effective in wet/heavy snow)
I'd recommend it overall. There is no point in purchasing a $1,000+ snow blower that is heavy, requires annoying mixtures, requires regular maintenance, etc., unless you have an abnormally large driveway, enjoy polluting the Earth, or live in an area where it snows daily, like the North Pole. For those of us who might get (at most) 4-5 decent sized storms a year, it's a great product. If it can survive a New England snow storm, chances are it'll work in your neck of the woods too. Good luck.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.
