Order Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025

I live in central New Jersey, and had the first opportunity to use my new Toro 1800 snow thrower today on 1-2" of wet, heavy snow. Throw away the Toro specs of throwing snow 30 feet - this might be the case for light fluffy snow, but not with the wet snow on my driveway. I'd say 2 feet to 10 feet of throw was more like it. All in all, using the Toro took me about as long as it would have taken to clear the driveway with a good snow shovel, but it was easier on my back. The product has several weaknesses and annoying design flaws, in my opinion:

a)The discharge chute clogged constantly with wet snow and had to be cleaned out manually
b)No matter how I aimed the deflector on the 2-piece discharge chute, it leaked some snow down it's back, between the two
pieces
c)As other have noted, the long extension cord kept getting in the way and having to be moved
d)A most annoying property of the extension cord connection is that its locking design limits the size of the plug that it will take. The plug of my 100' heavy duty extension cord wouldn't fit into it. The manual says nothing to warn you about this when choosing an extension cord. I had to cut off part of the plug enclosure to get my plug to fit.
e)Keep in mind that the blades of the rotor are plastic. After using the Toro just one time, there are nicks and deformities of the plastic from hitting some of my red stone mulch.
f)The crank that turns the discharge chute kept coming apart from the shoot. It doesn't lock into the crank very securely.
g)After clearing half of my driveway, the Toro started throwing a small amount of snow straight out instead of through the shoot. I think this was due to the build up of ice on it, but some manual clearing of the snow didn't help.

On a positive note, I had none of the assembly problems that others have mentioned. I found assembly staight-forward and easy. And my back still feels fine.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

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I live in SE PA .. NW of Philadelphia. We just had about 7 inches of snowfall and in preparation for what I'm expecting to be a snowy winter I figured I should finally get a snowblower. I'm sick of a sore back and a crabby mood.

However, I hate having to change oil on gas engines, spark plus stink, the weight of them stinks, and the cost stinks. BUT they are pure power monsters. I was worried an electric blower wouldn't have the power to move snow in case of the infrequent times we get a foot or so. Well, after today I'm not worried anymore.

First of all, assembly was stupid simple. The handle arrives broken in half, simply slide the ends over each other, put the bar in place, and screw it down. I bought a 100' blue cold weather cord from lowe's (approx $35) and it fit in no problem. It also was not a big deal to maneuver around since it was pliable the entire time.

And finally, the snowblower worked like a champ. It was digging through some fluffy snow initially but as the sun came out it was pushing some heavy stuff just fine. No, it's not going to throw the snow 30', but it's great for our 2.5 car wide driveway that is maybe 5 car lengths long. And at the bottom of the driveway it was digging out snow that was taller than the blower itself.

My back is completely fine, my mood is great, and I love my new cost effective, maintenance free workhorse.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

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I encountered the same assembly problem as the previous reviewer. There's an electrical cord that runs through the right side of the handle. The cord is too long, and it can't be poked into the top or bottom half of the handle, so it doubles over and sticks out the gap between the two handle pieces, thus making it impossible to shove together.

UPDATE: With some creative thinking and a rubber mallet (!!), I finally got the thing assembled. (I turned the right handle around a couple times, twisting the cord and taking up the slack. Then I lightly tapped it with the rubber mallet, and voila.) Once the handle came together, it was a breeze to finish assembly. And with auspicious timing, we got about 3" of snow last night, so I was able to try it out this morning. I cleared the driveway and sidewalks in less than half an hour. I was pleased that the Toro Power Curve wasn't too loud, since I'll need to use it early in the morning when it snows and don't want to incur the wrath of my neighbors! It was a little annoying dealing with the extension cord -- but less annoying than dealing with a backache after shoveling for an hour. After using it, I would upgrade my review to 4 stars ... just be prepared for that handle assembly.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

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Perhaps it has been improved, but an older one I had that has similar specs was generally useless in Cleveland winters. I literally threw it out with the trash after a few years. I couldn't even bring myself to sell it to someone as I felt I'd be misleading them that it did much of anything. A high quality snow shovel is faster and better. Completely bogged down with anything more than a 2 to 3 inches of light fluffy snow. Heck, a snow good shovel clears that in no time w/ no cord to tangle, run over, or accidently pull out of the socket. I'd suggest getting a "real" machine or a good shovel. This is an in between solution that I wasn't satisfied with personally. Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

Buy Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025

This was shipped by Amazon "collapsed" and it was impossible to fit the handle together. When I called Toro they said that they never ship these direct to customers since a special tool may be required even to fit the handle together.
There is a reason these are sold assembled...
I'll write back when mine is working!Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

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I've been using this snowthrower for 5 years now, and it works ok, but has definite limitations. If you have a driveway that's longer than 30 feet, then seriously consider buying a gas-powered one. To me, the hassles of using this snow thrower is balanced by the relatively few days of heavy snow where I live, and also by my dislike of maintaining gas-powered tools. Recommended with reservations.

PROS:
- Lightweight and compact, so can be stored in shed easily.
- Electric, so virtually no maintenance.
- The electric motor is surprisingly powerful.
- Simple to set up and use.
- Works very well with dry, powdery snow.
- Quality construction, and zero problems in past five years.

CONS:
- Lack of torque and lightweight plastic construction means that it cannot handle compacted, icy, or wet snow. (This is when you feel like junking this tool.)
- There should be a mechanism that 'locks' the electric cord connection to the thrower, so that the cord doesn't keep disconnecting.
- The handle should retract and telescope for leverage and also to facilitate storage.
- The tiny plastic wheels must have come from a toy factory. They provide no traction and are merely useless appendages.
Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

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I just purchased a Toro 1800 and after reading the reviews on it, I could see why a lot of folks were complaining that the chute hood would not keep its height throw adjustment. What I did was take a Dremel tool, attach a cutting wheel to it and cut a slot on the head of the smooth carriage bolt right in the middle of it. Just deep enough so you could fit a short/wide flathead screwdriver into it. Then while holding the screwdriver in place you can use a open ended wrench or socket wrench to tighten the lock nut really tight. Works great!Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.