Toro Power Max® 828OXE (28") 250cc Two-Stage Snow Blower

I was a little concerned ordering this online. I chose to pay with a check to save more money. I could not be happier with my purchase. The item shipped after 5 days of receiving the check, which was exactly what I read on the site. It took two days for the shipment to arrive. I was contacted by the carrier the day before to set up a delivery time. The driver was very helpful and on time.

The Toro was easy to put together. You bolt on the handle, attach brake cables, attach chute control, and plug in the headlight. I added fuel and started it on the first pull! I have not been able to use it as it is only October, but based on the snowblowers I've owned in the past this one looks like it will work great! My experience with Snowblowers Direct was excellent and I would recommend purchasing from them.

I was a little concerned ordering this online. I chose to pay with a check to save more money. I could not be happier with my purchase. The item shipped after 5 days of receiving the check, which was exactly what I read on the site. It took two days for the shipment to arrive. I was contacted by the carrier the day before to set up a delivery time. The driver was very helpful and on time.

The Toro was easy to put together. You bolt on the handle, attach brake cables, attach chute control, and plug in the headlight. I added fuel and started it on the first pull! I have not been ... more

I replaced a very aged big box store generic snowblower with this Toro. I looked at both the Ariens and Toro with the expectation that it would last 25+ years. I decided on the Toro for three main reasons and these have proved to be worth the money as far as I'm concerned.

1. The Power-Max auger system with the "expanded" first stage. I have not been able to clog this thing all winter. It's not that I tried but I did throw some particularly heavy snow a few times and went right through it. I still managed a 30 foot throw too!

2. Quick Stick chute control - Very cool and works great. This is a time saver and allows very precise placement of the snow. This is important for me since I have a section of driveway between two houses and there is not much clearance for the discharge. I can easily direct the discharge snow far away and into a pretty defined area.

3. Freewheel steering. This feature is cool but not as necessary for my right now. I do love using it to maneuver but since I'm expecting this snowblower to last 25 - 30 years, I figure this will help me more when I'm in my 70s than when I'm 49.

I can only give a 5 out of 5 rating but would go higher if the scale allowed it. This was a very smart purchase. I can give a high recommendation.

I replaced a very aged big box store generic snowblower with this Toro. I looked at both the Ariens and Toro with the expectation that it would last 25+ years. I decided on the Toro for three main reasons and these have proved to be worth the money as far as I'm concerned.

1. The Power-Max auger system with the "expanded" first stage. I have not been able to clog this thing all winter. It's not that I tried but I did throw some particularly heavy snow a few times and went right through it. I still managed a 30 foot throw too!

2. Quick Stick chute contro... more

I have owned 4 Toro snowblowers. First, I must say they have good motors and auger system, but the cables, and I mean all cables, on my new 38634 have broken .

I thought the ball control would be great but to replace the up/down cable is a major pain to replace. Also if you leave it in the down position it freezes in that position until you exercise it manually. The left to right cable freezes at the gear engagement point until you pull the cover off and reset it.

The drive cables stretch and are too skinny - had to replace both sides. Since I live in Vermont in the mountains, it gets a workout beyond your normal city driveway.

This is the first new snowblower I bought and am disappointed it needs to be babied so much. I leave it in a unheated shed and wipe it off after every use.

One other problem is the hole for snow to fall through fills up with snow. All wrong on the shape and angle. And last, the key to shutdown the motor don't work - when you pull it out it keeps on running. I will have to fix that next.

Overall it throws snow great but I always have to fix something on it. Not cheap for cables, will not buy another.

P.S. - My old 5 21 Toro with manual chute and real on off key still works great but its a old school one so there you go Toro.

I have owned 4 Toro snowblowers. First, I must say they have good motors and auger system, but the cables, and I mean all cables, on my new 38634 have broken .

I thought the ball control would be great but to replace the up/down cable is a major pain to replace. Also if you leave it in the down position it freezes in that position until you exercise it manually. The left to right cable freezes at the gear engagement point until you pull the cover off and reset it.

The drive cables stretch and are too skinny - had to replace both sides. Since I live in Vermont ... more

I purchased the Toro 38634 828 OXE on September 28th for $1499 with free shipping and no tax. I won't likely be able to use this Snow blower until December, but it has several great features.

First: It's a ZERO degree turn Snow blower, you can lock up one drive wheel while the other continues to drive, enabling you to literally turn on a dime. This is a huge feature when you are maneuvering a 240 lbs machine.

Second: It has a "joy stick" that controls the direction of the chute and the angle of deflection. No more hand cranking to turn the direction of the chute. You control the chute and deflection and can change it instantly... a huge breakthrough in operation and function.

I will report back after I use this machine this winter, however, it has the features I wanted at the price I was willing to pay. I have high expectations for this machine.

Richard

I purchased the Toro 38634 828 OXE on September 28th for $1499 with free shipping and no tax. I won't likely be able to use this Snow blower until December, but it has several great features.

First: It's a ZERO degree turn Snow blower, you can lock up one drive wheel while the other continues to drive, enabling you to literally turn on a dime. This is a huge feature when you are maneuvering a 240 lbs machine.

Second: It has a "joy stick" that controls the direction of the chute and the angle of deflection. No more hand cranking to turn the direction ... more

We have about 24 - 30 inches of snow on the ground and no local Big Box stores have snow blowers.

The small 22" yard machine blower that I bought last year couldn't handle it and I stripped the auger gear box (what happened to those shear pins that are supposed to break first?).

Although I'm usually cautious about buying anything big on the Internet, I took a chance on Snow Blowers Direct that I found on a Google search, and glad I did. They were great.

They got the Toro 38634 to me within a few days with priority shipping, even with blizzard conditions and shipping delays that closed their shipper's terminal in Baltimore.

I did the minor assembly in 20 minutes, it started on the first pull, and I was soon clearing deep frozen crusty snow that was over the top of the 21" high intake, and had been around for almost a week.

I have a 250 foot by 20 foot driveway, and this machine did the job. The joystick that changes the height and direction of the throw chute is fun, and with the thrust that snow is ejected from this beast, it is much needed.

It performs as advertised. This machine is a monster. The 250 cc engine (same size as a dirt bike I used to ride) never bogged down in deep frozen snow.

When they say it throws snow 45 feet, it really does, which is handy for throwing it over the fence into the neighbor's yard. haha.

Bring on the snow.

We have about 24 - 30 inches of snow on the ground and no local Big Box stores have snow blowers.

The small 22" yard machine blower that I bought last year couldn't handle it and I stripped the auger gear box (what happened to those shear pins that are supposed to break first?).

Although I'm usually cautious about buying anything big on the Internet, I took a chance on Snow Blowers Direct that I found on a Google search, and glad I did. They were great.

They got the Toro 38634 to me within a few days with priority shipping, even with blizz... more