Toro Electric Snow Thrower

My Toro 1800 has been out and about this winter, and we haven't had that much snow compared to the East Coast, or even last year. Still beats shoveling!

If getting covered with snow is the worst hazard, then I'll continue to hang up my wet jacket, mittens and hat, and shake off the pants legs, too.

Before I chose the Toro 1800 Electric Curve Snow Thrower, I did research to match the machine to my needs. I live in the suburbs. My situation is in the middle range, not too big, not too small, in between a tiny sidewalk and a massive long country driveway.

My model is the 12 Amp. The one that Toro is bringing out now is billed as 15 Amps. I've been very happy with mine, and I'm hearing that the new machine addresses wheel size, and a few other tweaks to improve upon this model 1800.

A single stage machine was right for me. I have a cement driveway, about 150 feet long and generally one car wide. If it was gravel, this would not be a match and I would have considered two-stage snow throwers.

I bought the Toro 1800, single-stage show thrower. Single-stage means there is one spinning rotor that both collects the snow and throws it out through the chute. Two stage means there is an auger section that collects the snow, and an impeller in another section of the machine to throw the snow. More parts and more power, for jobs that need that.

My Toro 1800 can handle the type of snow I get most often, and its weight is light enough that I can lift it. It also has a discharge chute that I can aim where I want the snow to go. Sometimes I need to push the blower forward but send the snow to one side, or at an angle.

I chose an electric snow thrower because I have grounded outlets in the garage and house that are right next to the driveway, and because I wouldn't have to deal with gasoline in the cold. When I turn on my Toro, it starts, as long as it's plugged in.

This model also has a safety bar on the handle, which shuts off the machine if you let go. This is to keep people from putting their hands into a running machine. I have a healthy respect for mechanical things, so I wouldn't be tempted, even without this feature.

Not matching your needs to a product is just a recipe, IMO, to end up unhappy with the item. Matching my needs before purchase works well for me, and the Internet makes that easy.

Learning to Use My New Snow Thrower

My biggest challenge throwing snow was learning how to deal with the prevailing wind. It blows across my driveway, and if I throw with the wind, I fill up the neighbor's driveway. Not a good idea. So I need to be able to throw down the driveway most of the time, while avoiding a bath in snow, covering the neighbor's driveway, and filling up my own driveway after I just cleared a section.

My first trial at blowing snow left me covered in snow and soaking wet. Now I can see why a lot of people wear their ski or snowmobiling gear when they get out the snow thrower.

I learned how to do the driveway in two or three sections, so I could minimize how much snow was blown onto other parts of the driveway.

I also had to learn how deep the snow could be, and how wet. Soft, fluffy snow can be deeper, 4 to 6 inches or even deeper, and I can still move it easily. But the heavy wet stuff, you have to keep up with. If you let it get too deep, or too slushy, you will probably be using a shovel after all.

If the snow is on the deep or heavy end of what the machine can handle, I take a "half swipe" instead of a full-width pass. This Toro will clear a path about 18 inches wide at a time. But even when a half width path is necessary, it is still faster than shoveling by hand.

Bottom Line

This machine works great for my needs. My friend who lives in the country has a much bigger driveway, and it is very uneven and mostly unpaved. He needs a two-stage machine with more power.

It has been worth it to learn now to use my Toro 1800 snow thrower. It is a lot faster than using a shovel, and a lot less work. Guys in my neighborhood seem to have a thing about their lawns, and their driveways. Sometimes I think it's a competition. I don't need my driveway to look like it's been vacuumed within an hour after a snowfall. I just need to be able to drive in and out without sliding around or getting stuck. This Toro works just fine for me.

If I just had a sidewalk or very short driveway, one of these might be adequate to the task. You also have to consider how much storage space you have. If I lived in a condo, I might want one of these to use myself, before the guys hired by the association had a chance to come by.

Like my Toro 1800, with the right hardware you can hang these on your garage wall for storage when not in use.

I got by for several years with a standard orange, grounded electrical extension cord, and usually it was fine. Good color for keeping track of the cord in the snow, so that I don't run over it with the snow thrower. That would not be good.

However, the coating gets stiff in cold weather, which is not too much of a problem until the temperature gets below 10 degrees. It will work, but it's not as easy to move the cord out of your way, and to wind it up for storage, forget it. In my unheated garage, I just got it in there, and waited for spring to wind it into a neat coil (until time to use it for the electric edger or the weed whacker).

Then I discovered all-weather electrical extension cords, many of them blue, made with a coating that stays flexible in cold weather. Little things mean a lot. Make yourself happy by choosing the right tool for the job.

Make sure to get a cord that's rated for your electric snow thrower. If you have the 12 Amp machine, vs. the 15 Amp, then you can use different cords. Also consider the distance that you'll need to run the cord. Each manufacturer should be giving information about these details, so you can determine which product will best meet your particular needs.

These cords are pricey, but I love mine! I have the driveway and about 100 feet of sidewalk to do, and this saves me some time. I can wind it up for storage after use. If you live in a cold climate like Michigan, you will like this.

A nice warm hat and face mask make sense when going out in the cold to clear the driveway. Frostbite is no fun, and if you keep warm you can get the task finished more efficiently.

Mittens are warmer than gloves, though you sacrifice some flexibility. I take mine off to set the key in the electric snow blower (another safety feature) and that's the only time I need to have a mitten off. The rest of the time, I like warm hands.

It is a good idea to dress in layers if you will be outdoors for a length of time. Especially if it's sunny, you can get too warm once you start working and might need to peel off a layer. When you cool off, you can put it back on again so you don't get chilled.

Thermal underwear is not too much, if the temperature is cold enough. And wool socks make a difference, too.

When the job is done, come in and have a nice cup of hot chocolate, and hang up your hats, scarves, coats and things in a warm place to dry.