Toro SnowMaster 824 QXE (24") Snow Blower

Very easy to assemble with plenty. Good features. A strong cutting edge and a very powerful self propelled feature. We live in Indiana and are heavy snow season is usually in January or early February, so we had light snow on Christmas of 2022, just enough for a few passes to learn how powerful this machine is. Would recommend it.

I haven't been able to try out my new Toro SnowMaster, but the assembly was a bit of a problem, as one piece was put in upside down. My son-in-law was able to make the change and the rest of the assembly went well. I was disappointed that an instruction manual on how to run it was not included. I guess the internet is my option when we finally get snow.

I'm generally happy with the snow blower. I have only used it to clear a 3" very wet snow. It had no problem with that at all. I am looking forward to a bigger snowfall to really test it. I think it will do fine. The only thing I am not a huge fan of is the personal pace self-propelled feature. It is very touchy and jerky. You barely push down and it jumps forward.

I have one sidewalk square that is uneven and when I hit it, it stopped the forward motion and I almost went over the top of it. My last Toro snow blower lasted me 20 years (CCR3650) and I gave it away to my son who is still using it. Frankly, I'm not sure which one I like more. This one is quieter and I don't come in smelling like gas. Time will tell but the quality and the snow moving capability for this model seem perfectly fine.

I read tons of reviews about the previous version and was super excited. I bought this bad boy for a heavy Colorado winter. It's December and we've seen 1.5 inches. This bad boy is still sitting in storage mode. I will say... the price, shipping, and delivery have been amazing. It showed up early, and I was out running errands. The driver called me and waited 10 mins for me to get home. They were super friendly and the product arrived in perfect shape. I hope it lasts long enough. I don't need Snow Blowers Direct again... But if it doesn't, I'm coming here for sure. The worst case is Murphy's law of me buying this beast it won't snow enough to use it.

After our little electric snow blower died, we knew we needed a more powerful one. We had owned a 1-stage gas snow blower in the past, one that needed oil mixed in with the gas, and I hated it. Because you would stink of exhaust fumes from head to toe after using it. So, it was with some trepidation that we considered this one. After using it for the first time, I love it!

First of all, you can plug it in so that you can start it by pushing a button, which saves me the frustration of not having the strength and the arm reach to pull a cord. The option of the cord is there if your electricity doesn't work. It's loud, but with ear protection even over your winter hat, it's not bad.

To engage the auger, you have to pull up a little lever which is very easy to hold with your left hand, since it has hardly any "pull" on it.
The best thing is the way it is self-propelled. You just hold onto the bar and start walking, and it moves with you. The more you push the bar, the faster it goes. So it's extremely easy to control, you don't need any strength, and it's very easy to stop, too, since you just have to stop walking.

It's also very easy to turn since when you push more on one side of the bar, that wheel will move faster. So, that you can pretty much turn around in a circle with the other wheel stationary in the center. You don't have to lift the machine at all.

The very best thing is that it handled 12" of snow easily at one time, and about one-third of the snow was super heavy. The chimney didn't even get clogged once! We were done in about half the time it usually took us with the old machine...

Ah - and I didn't mention it, but I didn't smell any exhaust fumes clinging to me after using this snow blower for over half an hour...

The early snowstorm came just a couple of weeks after delivery of this fine machine. It handled 8" quite well. In doing our neighbor's incline driveway, it lacked the weight to keep it from slipping, which made going uphill difficult. However, it handled well the "snowcone" type of snow that often clogged our older Simplicity.

So far, delivery was seamless. The shipping company was easy to schedule with and was respectful of the time window that we agreed upon. Assembly was easy. Total of 10 minutes, I am not a mechanic, but it was well described. Started without difficulty, features seem as described. Your pace self-propelled was pretty smooth. No snow yet, but we are ready to go.

Great snow blower. Between this year and last I'd say I've used it for about a full winter. I clear snow from an approximately 70’ x 20’ driveway and about 300’ of sidewalk. I had an 8hp 24” two stage Snapper for about 20 years that I liked very much. When that died, and before buying this blower, I did an obsessive amount of research. Based on reviews from numerous web sites and the many YouTube videos out there, I pulled the trigger on this one. There are a lot of videos out there if you want to see it in action. It throws the snow at least as well as the two stage throwers I’ve used or seen and cleans down to the concrete and asphalt better than the two stage.

It also cleans up the “V” pile of snow that is left behind with a two stage when clearing up to a stationary object like a porch or building. With the two stage in 4-5” of snow I’ve found you can only make about a 60-70% cut or go really really slow or the snow will boil out the side causing you to make another pass. With this blower I can make a 90% cut at a higher rate of speed without leaving anything behind.

It lets me clean my sidewalks in 2 passes instead of the 3 it took with the two stage. The Quick Stick chute control takes very little to get used to and then is by far the best/quickest chute control I’ve used or have seen. Like the chute control the Personal Pace takes little time to get used to also. I also have a Toro Personal Pace lawn mower and like the drive system so much that its part of the reason I chose this blower. Depending on what the wind is doing the snow on one end of my driveway might be 2” deep while the other end has 8-12” because of drifting.

The personal pace lets me go as fast as the snow will clear without having to mess around with changing speeds other than how fast I’m walking. The machine is light enough that turning and backing up is a breeze. When I had a two stage I seldom used the reverse and just pulled it back because it reversed so dang slow.

So not having a reverse is definitely a non-issue for me. Going full speed this blower seems to move much faster than other blowers I’ve used. So, when I get the 1-2” dusting that in the past I would leave because I didn’t want to spend an hour cleaning it up, I can take care of it in about 30 minutes with this blower. So far, this blower has greatly exceeded my expectations. I would definitely buy this again way before I would consider a two or three stage, 24-28” cut blower.

I was excited to receive my new snowblower but let down when I discovered it was a single stage blower and not a two stage blower. All my buddies who have snow blowers said get a two stage. I felt I was misled by the advertisement as it said new two stage augar technology so I emailed Snow Blowers Direct and voiced my concerns and received an immediate response apologizing for the misunderstanding and was told this was a new product from Toro with claims that the blower will throw snow like a two stage.

So I reluctantly tried the blower because we had just a record snow fall (January 2016 )and much to my surprise it plowed through 20 plus inches of snow with on problems. The snow was wet and heavy and it threw it well over 25 ft. This blower is smaller and lighter in weight than Toros equivalent two stage but it maneuvers easily and as fast as you want it to go.

It scraps the pavement clean. The handle can easily be folded for summer storage by removing 6 bolt so it takes up less space. For not ever having a blower before I'm totally pleased and would test it against any two stage as far as performance and would whip any two stage as for maneuverability. I'm glad I didn't send it back.

Bought this unit in early October after our first snowfall. VERY EXPENSIVE for a 24" snowblower. But having looked at the complexity of the 8 speed gearboxes, and controls on a typical 2 stage machine, the Personal Pace looked like the way to go. I didn't get a chance to try it until a few weeks ago, because the snow is late in arriving this year.

First of all, I'm surprised by how much smoke comes out when you start it. And also SHOCKED by how LOUD it is. I must be waking up the entire neighborhood. Not a nice sounding idle either. It is a loping irregular beat that sounds like an old truck missing a muffler.

The thing doesn't blow snow 40 feet (as advertised). More like 20 feet. It lurches forward when you touch the personal pace bar. So much so that I find myself using the regular handles and shoving it through the snow on my own, without the personal pace propulsion.. Every time you engage the chute, it revs the engine loudly, and kicks out more smoke.

And gas consumption! I filled the large tank up to the top, then cleaned a 2 inch snowfall off the driveway. A couple days later, I cleaned off another 2 inch snowfall, and it died! I couldn't believe it was already out of gas. We don't have a large driveway... two car width x 30 feet long and level. I can mow our entire 1/3 acre lawn with our Toro mower, with about a half pint of gas. The thing is a gas guzzler.

Other than that, I would warn you that I ordered a set of rolling skid shoes for the thing. Thought they would work better on our rough driveway. But they don't fit. The Toro uses an odd spacing for the bolts used to mount the skids. Waste of $35 sitting on the counter.