2010-10-04

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


My husband and I fought over between getting an electric snowthrower or a gas powered one for many years. For me, a petite woman, handling a gas powered snowthrower just wasn't an option- they are too big and heavy for me to operate. My husband wanted the power of a gas powered machine. This winter, he finally gave in and bought this Toro electric snowthrower. It had enough power for what he wanted, and it was light enough for me to handle.

What a mistake! We have a 50-foot long flat driveway that we thought would be a breeze to use the Toro on. The first time we used it, we had a bit of a learning curve due to the extension cord. It does take a little time to get used to. It's like using a vacuum cleaner, only outside. It worked well. One tip: spray the snow chute with Pam or some other non-stick cooking spray before you use it. Wet snow won't stick to it, and you'll have far less clogging problems!

We used it a total of three times within 2 months before it broke. The motor worked, but the plastic part that rotates the snow no longer turned. We took it to the closest repair shop (an hour away!), and they refastened the fan belt. When we got home, we tried it on a 1" deep area of light snow, and the fan belt came off again.

We took it back to the repair shop, and they said that a bolt that holds the wheel that turns the fan belt had come off. They refastened it and claimed that it was fixed. When we got home, we tried it on another 1" deep area of snow. It worked for five minutes, then the plastic part that rotates the snow stopped turning again!

We have to take it back for a THIRD time for repair, but we are expecting that the repair shop will simply send it back to the manufacturer for replacement.

This product is simply not up for clearing out even light snow. I've told my husband that we should get a gas-powered snowthrower now- this snowthrower is simply too unreliable. We feel like we've wasted our money on this. Don't waste yours!Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

2010-10-03

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


Our Toro 1800 was purchased from Amazon.com in December '07 after accepting the fact that our 30 yr. old Toro gas snowblower had finally outlived its usefullness.

I wanted something that wasn't finicky and that I could easily operate (just plug it in and roll)and this baby fits the bill to a T!

I just moved 6+ inches of a medium-density Illinois snow off my approx. 3000SF driveway in 1 hr.! That time was unheard of with our former machine. The 1800 had plenty of power to tackle snow as tall as the squirrel cage and even handled the plow "wall" effortlessly.

It stores easily and is ready for the next storm...and so am I. No longer are snowstorms a thing of dread when clearing our challenging site, which consists of an uphill drive with a curve thrown in for fun.

The price was a lot more reasonable than I thought possible to replace our old heavy, tempermental machine and I wish I had purchased this model years ago.

Toro, you did a great job on this and I appreciate the ease and comfortable operation. Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

2010-10-02

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


Strengths: good in powdery snow, lightweight, easy to set up, quick to put a way. Throws the snow left, right, or any direction in between. Working with an extension cord can be a challenge when you are working on a larger driveway or walk. The unit is primarily plastic with small plastic wheels, a plastic impeller, the bottom scraper is plastic as is the housing and snow chute. Because of this the unit is very light and easy to work with but ... well its plastic. A good extension cord will prevent the cord from pulling out of the handle. Overall it works well on powdery snow but the unit is pricey for the construction. In particular, the wheels on the unit are plastic, small, and flimsy. I don't know how this would work with wet slushy snow, and harder packed snow was a problem and likely accelerates wear on the plastic impeller blade. It was easy to assemble and it does store easily but I would consider a more durable snow blower before opting to buy this particular product if you have to deal with frequent snow.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

2010-10-01

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


Product worked great for a couple of days, then the main drive belt snapped (i was blowing 3-4 inch snow) So called there customer service and was told to take it to the closest dealer so they could check if it was manufacture defect or user error. I really didnt want to haul the thing down there so i called to just order a belt ($12) which i would fit myself. Basically the belts are were on back order and have been for some time. 3 Week lead team for a Belt, Really this should be a common part thats likely to need to be replaced at some point. Wanted to give this a good review as the unit worked very well at first but let down by terrible customer service.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

2010-09-30

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


I have only had one chance to use my snowthrower but that one day it saved my back from shoveling 9 inches of wet snow off of my 30 foot driveway a snap.
It was very easy to assemble. I would have liked to have seen a rechargable battery option on this model because keeping the power chord out of the way was tricky on the return pass going toward the power source leaving the chord in front of the thrower.
I would recommend this to everyone, as it did clear snow down to bare pavement.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

2010-09-29

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


I bought this snow thrower a few weeks ago and had the "chance" to use it 5 times already. The first time I used it, I had 2 inches of light powder. I was impressed right away by this little machine. It was cleaning up my concrete driveway perfectly and was throwing the snow the 20-30 feet advertised. It still did a good job on wet heavy snow where it was throwing about 10 to 15 feet. The last time I used it, I waited for more accumulation... 5 inches of powder. One pass walking a little slower pace and the driveway was clean.
I was skeptical... even after I bought it. I relied on the many great reviews it received. My driveways are huge ( I needed 100 ft extension cord) and I could have justified a bigger machine (and more expensive $2000). I went and looked at them. The reason I bought this Toro is that my 2 driveways are separated by stairs... about 30 steps. So a bigger machine would have had to be loaded on the back of the pick-up and driven around... Not something I was looking forward to. I also wanted my Wife to be able to use it if needed. Well, the Toro at 25 lbs is a breeze to move. I just carry it up and down the stairs. The only recommendation would be to buy an extension cord rated for cold temperature. It just make the job easier as the cord is easier to handle. It still takes couples tries to figure out the good way to manage the cord without passing over it. But after 2 uses, it becomes an easy effortless job.
Now, for the price, it just need to last me 2 or 3 years and it will be money well spent.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

2010-09-28

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


This is the first review I have done of any product I have ever purchased on Amazon primarily because I didn't believe I had anything new to offer in a review that others hadn't already said - until now. I believe I have a very useful tip that will make the use of your snow blower very much worth the purchase.

I bought this snow blower in 2003 and it is still going strong today, 1/25/08. I live in Aurora, Colorado and we usually get worse weather out here in the suburbs than does Denver. My neighbor had a gas snow blower and I often saw him working on it or having it worked on. Even when the snow was four feet high, I was still able to blow out my driveway and that of my neighbor (since she is elderly and often very ill). I just lift the little thing up and slowly work my way down to the lower levels of snow.

The greatest struggle I had with the thing was the long extension cord that I needed to do my neighbor's driveway - 100 feet - but I lasted this inconvenience out because the snow blower was so reliable until I read the greatest tip this past summer in Family Handyman (great magazine). Before I would bring the tangled 100ft extension cord into the house and over the next 20 minutes or so try and untangle it even though I had one of those extension cords that is never supposed to get tangled up.

It just so happened I was reading a special hint in the Family Handyman magazine (great magazine) and there was the greatest tip you will ever find to help you with 100 feet of tangled extension cord. You go out and buy a lawn hose house and wrap your extension cord around that - yeah - one of those houses that you wrap your lawn hose around. So when you are finished snow blowing, you just wind the cord up and presto - no tangling! It's super. Just one caveat - at the end where the cord comes out to plug into an outlet, don't leave much more than 10 inches of cord because when you are unwinding your extension cord this flops around and you don't want a lot of extra cord flopping around. Hope this help you. It did me.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.