2010-01-03

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


I love this little machine. The cord can be a little annoying but much less so than gas, oil, spark plugs, tune-ups, etc.
Light enough that even a weakling can carry this up and down stairs.
Throws snow a good distance and scrapes right down to the pavement.
Easily went through the 12 inches of snow in my walkway although you might have to backup and then go forward a few times to get all the snow at that depth since it is rated for 10 inches or less.
It beats shoveling by a country mile!
When I first got it, I was unimpressed with the flimsy seeming rear wheels but they work fine. The housing is plastic, not metal but the benefit is a lightweight easy to handle unit.
This is NOT a heavy duty machine but for what I use it for it is perfect.
I use it to blow the deck, the walkway between the house and the driveway and to make a path through the snow in the backyard for the dog to do his business.
A great machine!
I live in Central Maine and get quite a bit of snow and would have no problem using this to do the driveway if I needed to but since the plow guy does it for me at no cost (we have a barter arrangement), it's not an issue.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

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I live in Maryland where the snowfall is deep and frequent enough that having a snowthrower is a convenience. With a 50 ft driveway, it becomes a necessity. But a $700 dollar snow tiller becomes overkill.

We've had 5 snow falls since we got this.

Fluffy snow: No sweat. This thing cut my time shovelling by more than 75%. What normally took me 2 hrs to complete took me 30 mins with the power curve.

Compacted semi-melted snow: Also easy. It usually picks up all the way down to the underlying surface so long as its an area that hasn't been driven on or stepped on more than a few times.

Slushy snow: Also fairly easy. But the diverter needs a lock. It tends to drift from the force of heavier snow hitting it.

Ice-snow mix: A more difficult task. The offending mixture needs to be broken up before being thrown. The rotor seems to handle slightly hardened ice platelets pretty well. If its solid ice, forget it.

Deep snowfalls: Anything more than 6-8 inches gives it a hard time. I need to come at it in levels. First a take as much as I can off the top, then come back for a second round on the bottom. In practice, this means working the blower back and forth a foot or two at a time.. first the top then the bottom.

Other (random) thoughts:
- Had the chance to peer inside and was happily surprised to see the simplicity of the design. I was working on the icy snowfall in Feb 2006 in Maryland when the original slush started turning into solid ice as daytime temps dropped by about 10 degs over the hour that I was working on clearing the driveway. Hit a patch of very thick ice. The blower kicked up and the rotor stopped spinning. Cursed under my breath and expected to send it in for service. Opened it up and noticed a belt had slipped off a pulley wheel. Re-seated the belt and happily continued on.
- I have to reiterate the point about the lack of a lock on the diverter. The diverter seems to have a preferred angle and orientation (pitch and yaw) that it drifts to over time. Unfortunately for me, the pitch is way too high, almost throwing the snow straight up in the air. A future redesign by Toro would be terrific.
- I also agree with many others about the bittersweet handle switch. Instant startup. But with thick gloves on (its winter after all!) it sometimes grows difficult to keep the switch depressed. The switch is springloaded and runs along the handlebar. It has a lot of give and holding it down on one end with one hand doesn't always engage the switch. Has to be held with some force. Arthritic users might find this a terribly poor design aspect.
- The heft and weight. It's light and the wheels seem dismal. But this might be as good as it is bad. With the lighter wheels I can slide the unit sideways, which I'm often doing around tight spaces where I don't want to step into deep snow drifts. Having said that, there are times where I wished it was a little heavier so that it isn't bouncing around as much on the heavier icy parts.
- Get an outdoor extension cord for low temperatures. They remain more flexible when its below freezing.
- Its an electric motor so it has the accompanying higher pitched "squeal" than similar gas motors. Not exactly confidence inspiring. But overall, it gets the job done.
Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

2010-01-02

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


To be honest,I've only had the opportunity to use it one time, but it blew my mind as to the ease of handling, and the workload it was able to handle.The only thing I found was that while I was using it, it drew aome power from the rest of the house,causing lights to blink, but I had a direct outlet installed to rhe circuit box. It worked fine without it , but I have more peace of mind now, knowing it will not trip the circuit breakers.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

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


We have bought at 4 gas snowthrowers, including one that was stolen out of garage. All had the same problem - we were reluctant to put gas and oil in the machine because we weren't sure we'd be getting any snowfall in the Chicago winters. So about 6" would fall and we'd wonder how to get to the gas station and mix it with the oil. Using the gas snowblower meant blasting gas fumes all over the neighborhood and having your clothes reeking. Then there was the problem of how to dispose of the leftover gas at the end of winter. It got to the point that an expensive gas snowblower was sitting in our basement ever year because my husband just didn't want to deal with the gasoline issues.
After the latest several inch snowfall I asked him about getting a Toro electric and he told me to go ahead and order it. It arrived in three days and we are thrilled with it. It's light and blows the snow down to the pavement. The cord is the only hassle, yet we'd never want to go back to the gasoline throwers again.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

2010-01-01

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


I've owned one of these for 10 years. So far I've had to replace the switch in the handle and the blade. Both of these I replaced myself without a problem. Otherwise the machine has been perfect. I live in northern Vermont and have a 100 foot driveway so the machine gets a fair amount of use. I also use it to clear paths to the front door, woodpile and compost pile.

I doesn't have the strength to handle frozen slush but anthing else it handles just fine. Deep snow, more than a foot, may require that you lift the machine up to shave off a layer before you can clear down to the ground. Fortunately, it's light enough to do this with. I even use it to clear the snow thrown up by the plow at the end of the driveway. In last week's 30 inch snowfall it worked fine although it took multiple passes.

Getting a flexible-when-cold, heavy gauge (rated for 12 Amps) extension cord for this would be a good idea. Clearing wet snow or slush from around the chute after you use it helps prevent feeze-up.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

2009-12-31

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


I live in Cleveland and was just wolloped with snow in my driveway and sidewalk and decided to try a snowblower. This Toro did and excellent job at clearing my 100' foot driveway of snowdrifts from 2-4'. It did not clog or stop. Overall I am very pleased and would recommend this product to anyone who needs a snowblower.Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.

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


**update**
i read some of the negitive reviews..if you expect this little snow thrower to replace a 18hp gas thrower
your CRAZY..DONT EXPECT TO CLEAR A 150FT DRIVEWAY WITH 2 FT OF SNOW!!..but for sidewalks,decks and smaller driveways its PERFECT!!!!

i read all the reviews, and new it was rated 5 stars...but i didnt expect too much as it was a small electric unit...well we finally got some snow{ice}and i took it outside and instantly got laughs from my neighbors with big 4 stroke snow blowers.. i was VERY surprised when i turned it on.. and BLASTED my neighbor, about 30 feet away!!i couldnt shut it off fast enough, he was covered in seconds!!!..needless to say there was no more laughing!! this thing is very impressive..only small complaints would be the tiny wheels, and the handle sit a little low for my 6'3 body...

***UPDATE***...still running strong!! it still amazes neighbors, its was a mild winter so i only used it 6 times but, it move a 1 foot snow like nothing!!Get more detail about Toro 1800 18-Inch 12 Amp Electric Curve Snow Thrower #38025.