Hi Scott, The 928 appears to be the best deal. You’ll like the extra power and the double-jointed chute over the 828. Both the 828 and 1030 prices have jumped $300 over last year.

I like the Cub Cadet but you will like any of the Toros a lot better over the next 20 years.

Morning Paul, gonna take you up on your offer to help some more. It’s proving difficult finding anything that will be delivered in a couple weeks. The following is what I could locate. Do you think all of these would suit me well, and is the 928 a fair price for a lightly used machine?

And finally are the 30 in. machines that much harder to handle? My old craftsman was easy, but I wouldn’t want to have to work too much more. Appreciate hearing your thoughts, thanks again!

Power Max HD 828 OAE 28 in. 252 cc $1500
Power Max HD 928 OAE 28 in. 265 cc $1300 (Discontinued, from dealer, used 2 snow seasons)
Power Max HD 1030 OHAE 30 in. 302 cc $1900
Cub Cadet 2X MAX 30 in. 357 cc (handwarmers) $1700

Hi Scott, Keep asking until you know everything you need! The Ariens, Husqvarva and Toro are “right hand” machines. That means the lever interlock is such that you can take your hand off the right handle, keep your hand on the left and the snowblower will continue to move and clear snow.
So – to turn the chute just take your hand off the right handle and reach over the dash to turn the crank. Once you do it a few times it will be natural to you. The levers are all designed so you can reach right across and turn the chute.

Awesome, thanks for the info. The Ariens looks great, my father loved his. Is the chute crank easy to get to with the other controls in front of it? Sorry for all the questions, I promise that’s the last one!

Hi Scott, No – and it looks like Toro is not making the OHAE model anymore. You have to go up to the Power Max HD 1030 OHAE to get hand warmers in the large frame, 14-inch impeller series.
And no, you can’t install hand warmers on the Toro’s. The alternators on the non-handwarmer models don’t have enough capacity.

If you want hand warmers and don’t want to get too expensive look at the Ariens Deluxe 28 SHO. It has the same power and specs as the Toro 928 and you can get hand warmers for it. (about $80)

Do you mean model number 38840? That was my first choice but I’m having trouble finding it and it doesn’t come standard with hand warmers. Do you know if they can be added on? I’m going to call some dealers and see how long it will take to get in. Really appreciate the advice Paul.

Hi Scott, the Toro 826 OHAE will give you about the same capacity as your Craftsman. It is just a little smaller but with Toro’s ACS (Anti-clogging system) it will handle heavy/wet snow better. If you want hand warmers, the same HP, and a machine that is really suited for your area see if you can find a Toro 928 OHAE. With the automatic steering it’s a lot easier to use than your old Craftsman, won’t ride up in heavy snow, and has a unique double shoot that puts the snow exactly where you want it.

Hi Raymond, A different bore and Stroke may give the same cc but the torque will be different. A longer stroke will give you more torque.

The chart from BS does not add up, same CC and different torque rating??