Product Description
Toro 163cc 4-Cycle OHV Engine Packs enough power to move more snow in less time Dependable cold weather starts 120 Volt Electric Start w/Recoil Back-Up Plug it in, push a button and start clearing snow
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #41211 in Lawn & Patio
- Brand: Toro
- Model: 38459
- Dimensions: 89.00 pounds
Features
- Toro Premium 163cc 4-cycle OHV engine21" clearing width and up to 35' throwing distance
- Electric start - no need to pull on a rope to start
- Ideally used to clear 3-9" of snow at a time on a driveway that can park up to 8 cars
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
47 of 47 people found the following review helpful.
By Daniel G. Lebryk
After 9 years, my Toro two cycle snow blower gave up the ghost. It refused to start, I killed the electric start, and it now leaks fuel at the fuel bowl. It worked hard in nasty Chicago winters for 9 years and it was time to retire the poor thing.
This is one beast of a snow blower. 21 inches is a nice wide swath, without being horribly heavy. I am so happy to be finished with mixing oil and gas - this is a four cycle, gasoline only snow blower. Simple to maintain, just like a lawn mower, and it doesn't stink to high heaven when it runs.
The essential thing with this, it will power through just about anything and it throws snow FAR. I was able to break through crusted over plow rubble at the end of my driveway. My old snow blower would have done the job, but it would have complained the whole time. This ripped through a good two foot high mound of nastiness, ice on top, snow in the middle and slush on the bottom. Powder, it manages to throw the snow a good twenty, maybe thirty feet. I have a very long driveway, where roughly 60 feet has to be blown all the way to the end of the driveway. The driveway is between two houses and there is no place to put the snow between our houses. I am able to easily throw the snow toward the rear and the front from the middle of my house.
February 10, 2013 Update: In the past two days slush fell from the sky. We had a heavy rain, that then changed over to snow, and about 2 or 3 inches of snow on top of huge puddles. This was the nastiest slush I've ever seen. The great news, this snow blower tossed that mush up off the driveway and sidewalk. The muck would only throw about two feet with the chute turned 90 degrees (full off to the right or left). With the chute pointing straight ahead, this goo flew a good ten feet. The chute never plugged up once. It even managed to throw water at the curb. The electric start is impressive, it works perfectly every single time. I do find it takes the engine a bit long to warm up. There is a half way detent on the choke. Shortly after starting, I can push the choke in about half way. After about a minute or more, I can finally cancel the choke. On my second season, and I still love this snow blower (well so much that I actually cleared the driveway an extra time instead of waiting for the snow to stop).
The six different model choices this year are not extremely complicated. Toro did a nice job making the Power Clear series pretty straightforward. Sadly, Toro messed up with the price points, there is a bit of overlap so that complicates the choices a little bit.
For the 621 series (probably their 6th generation snow blower, 21 inch wide swath):
R at the end is for Recoil start only; the E at the end means the model has Electric start. So a 621 QZE is exactly the same snow blower as a 621 QZR, except it has an electric start. It is easy to decide, do I want electric start or not, and it costs this much money.
The next letter is the Q or lack of Q. When a Q is in the model name this means there is a blue Quick direction lever on the handle. No Q and you have to lean forward to redirect the snow blowing. I like the Quick lever (yes it is one more thing to go wrong, there is a cable and big plastic lever that could get rusty or break). One thing I hate about clearing snow is walking down to the end of the driveway, and then turning around to do the next pass. With my old snow blower, I had to mess with a hand crank, and usually it was just faster to back up and clear snow going the same direction. With this Quick adjustment, I just put my right hand on the handle, press a button and slide the handle up or down to change direction. It works really fast, and really well. As I'm clearing snow beside my house, as I reach the end of the house, I need to redirect the blower to the yard while I'm moving. That Quick handle allows me to hit a bull's-eye every time with the snow.
I've just covered, 4 different models of Toro snow blowers - with Quick or without; and with Electric start or not. Nice to have those options.
The last option is the Z letter. This is the luxury model versus the base model. The Z option gets a plastic square snow chute (because it is square, there is more surface area in the opening, so more snow can fly and there is less likelihood of jams). The handle is turned up on the Z model (this is a little tiny but useful thing - that up turned handle allows me to push much harder and more comfortably than the straight handle). The Z model has a blue handle with a release lever for changing the angle of the snow blowing (how far do I want the snow to be blown).
Every single model 621 has exactly the same engine, rotor, scraper, fuel tank, and width. Essentially, the six models are exactly the same thing, except for convenience features or options. To me top of the line was important. I knew I wanted the curved handle and electric start. The Quick direction device was not complicated to add. After using this for a while, I'm glad I made this choice. On the other hand, there is about a $200 spread between the base model and the top of the line, and they both clear snow equally well.
The engine is reasonably quiet. Remember I used a 2 cycle insanely loud snow blower for 9 years, so I probably have no hearing left. I can hear my neighbor talking to me while I'm running this. On the other hand, it will wake up the neighbors if I use this at 4 in the morning before going to work. The power is way more than I expected.
The engine starts easily. The pull cord is not too hard to use, it is super long and I have to pull it pretty fast. It pretty much starts after two or three pulls. The snow blower does not come with an extension cord for the electric start, it requires a grounded plug. The plug has to be a standard molded plug; there is a box around the plug which prevents an oversized plug from being used.
The handle can be folded over by unscrewing two big plastic hand wheels. It makes the snow blower a bit smaller for storage. The chute can be removed pretty easily, it is held in place by three hex / Philips head screws.
From a maintenance standpoint, this is really well built. The owner's manual has great detail on how to make all the normal maintenance adjustments. The control cable has a large metal plate with multiple holes drilled in it to get the engagement tension just right (it takes moments to change the tension as the blower ages). Oil is really easy to change. The empty and fill plugs are easy to access with the blower tipped upward. The blower holds 20 ounces (0.6L) of oil. Synthetic 5W-30 is the smartest choice. Spark plug removal means taking off the chute and the red shroud (held down with 4 bolts). The newer shroud design is nice; the whole engine is accessible after that shroud is removed. The drive belt might take some time to replace after many years of use; the rotor pulley has to be removed. The plastic scraper bar has wear indicators on it, when the grooves are gone; it's time to replace the bar. That bar is held in by four self locking nuts and would be pretty quick to replace.
I'm really happy with this choice. This is a strong easy to use snow blower that I hope lasts 9 years just like the last one.
Here are the five other Toro snow blowers:
Base Recoil MSRP $560
TORO Power Clear 621R Sin
Base Electric Start MSRP $620
TORO Power Clear 621E Ele
Middle Recoil Start (621ZR) MSRP $610
Toro Snowblower Power Clear 621 ZR 163cc (21") #38453
Middle Electric Start (621ZE) MSRP $710
I cannot find this model at Amazon.
Q model with Recoil start (621QZR) $660 MSRP $710
Toro Power Clear 621QZR (21") 163cc 4-Cycle Single Stage Snow Blower w/ Zip & Quick Shoot - 38458
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
By Chicago-PB
I am very impressed with the Toro Power Clear 621QZE. When the product arrived (very quickly I must say) it was very easy to set up. I wish it came with its own extension cord for the electric start feature, but that is a minor request. I have several friends that have similar Toro models and they perform very well for them. I have not had the opportunity to use my snow blower yet. I am still waiting for a decent snowfall; however I will be excited to use it. I have other Toro products and I think they are well designed and perform well. Toro single stage snow blowers are more expensive than other brands. My opinion is the extra cost is worth it for the design and dependability received.
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