Choose a single-stage like the Toro Power Clear 721 E if you have a short paved driveway, mostly light snow and little storage space. Choose a two-stage like the Toro Power Max 826 OAE if the city plow leaves a ridge at the end of your drive, your snow is often wet and heavy, or the drive is long or gravel. In most northern winters, the two-stage is the safer buy.
Both machines come from Toro, both have a gas engine with push-button electric start and both are sold in Canada and the US under the same model number, so the choice comes down to design. A single-stage blower has one fast auger with paddles that scoops snow and throws it out of the chute in one motion. A two-stage blower adds a second step: a slower steel auger gathers the snow and feeds an impeller that throws it. That second stage is what lets it chew through deep, wet or packed snow. Compare every model in our snow blower guide.
Deep and wet snow
Toro: light, fluffy snow
Toro: heavy, wet snow; 20 in intake
The plow ridge
12.5 in intake; keep a shovel
Bites into packed ridges
Gravel drives
Paved surfaces only
Gravel or paved, skids raised
Driveway size
Up to 9 cars (Toro)
Up to 20 cars (Toro)
Weight and storage
84 lb, easy to store
189 lb, needs garage space
Upkeep
Oil, plug, paddles, scraper
Adds gearbox oil, grease, belts
Overall winner: Toro Power Max 826 OAE 26″ Two-Stage Gas Snow Blower, 8.1 vs 7.5 on our score.
Choose the Toro Power Clear 721 E 21″ Gas Snow Blower if your drive is short, paved and gets light snow, and you have little room to store a machine.
Choose the Toro Power Max 826 OAE 26″ Two-Stage Gas Snow Blower if you face a plow ridge, wet snow, gravel or a long drive.
The snowstorms page puts a snow blower beside a roof rake, roof heat cable and hiring snow clearance.
Deep and wet snow
This is the biggest difference. Toro rates the 721 E for light, fluffy snow: its intake is 12.5 inches tall and its auger has to do the gathering and the throwing at once, so heavy snow slows it and slush can clog the chute. The 826 OAE has a 20-inch intake, an 11-inch steel auger with Toro’s anti-clogging design, and Toro rates it for heavy, wet snow. It also throws farther, up to 45 feet against the 721 E’s 35, which helps once the banks beside the drive grow tall. Winner: two-stage.
The plow ridge
The ridge the municipal plow leaves across the end of your driveway is dense and often icy, and it is what decides this question for many households. In the forum threads we read, owners of single-stage blowers say they keep a shovel for that ridge, and it comes up again and again as the reason people move to a two-stage. The 826 OAE’s tall intake and six forward speeds let you slow down and feed packed snow in steadily. A single-stage can nibble at a ridge in small bites, but the 721 E isn’t built for it. Winner: two-stage.
Gravel drives
Toro limits the 721 E to paved surfaces: its auger runs close to the ground and pulls the machine along. If your driveway is gravel, that settles it. The 826 OAE works on gravel or pavement because its auger housing rides on adjustable skids. Toro’s manual says to set the scraper about 1/8 inch above pavement, and to lower the skids further on gravel so the housing rides higher and doesn’t pick up stones. Toro’s yearly checklist includes the skids and scraper, so set them each fall before the first storm. Winner: two-stage.
Driveway size
Toro rates the 721 E for paved driveways up to about nine cars and the 826 OAE for drives up to about 20 cars. Width plays a part too: 26 inches per pass instead of 21 means fewer passes on a long drive. The 826 OAE is self-propelled, with six forward and two reverse speeds, so you steer rather than push. The 721 E’s auger pulls it forward as it touches the ground, which is plenty on a short drive. For a single-car drive and a front walk, the single-stage is quick to get out, use and put away. Winner: two-stage for long drives; single-stage for short ones.
Weight and storage
The 721 E weighs 84 lb, so it rolls in and out of a garden shed without much effort. The 826 OAE weighs 189 lb: it needs a garage or a shed with a flat entrance, and turning it at the end of a pass takes some muscle until you get used to the controls. If your only storage is a narrow side passage, a basement walkout or a balcony, the two-stage may simply not fit your life. Measure the space before you buy. Winner: single-stage.
Upkeep
Both need the engine basics: check the oil before each use, change it yearly, fresh fuel with fuel stabilizer for storage, and a spark plug change. Toro’s 721 E manual adds a yearly dealer check of the rubber paddles and scraper, which wear as they touch the pavement. The 826 OAE’s yearly list is longer: auger gearbox oil, grease on the hex shaft, both control cables, skids and scraper, tire pressure, and a dealer check of the traction and auger belts. Two-stage machines also use shear pins or bolts that break on purpose when the auger hits an obstacle, protecting the gearbox, and owners in the forum threads we read list them among the usual annoyances. The Toro manual we read doesn’t give the 826 OAE’s part number, so ask your dealer for spares. Winner: single-stage.
Never clear a clogged chute with your hands. Both Toro manuals say to stop the engine and use the clean-out tool; the 721 E’s adds waiting 10 seconds for the blades to stop turning. On the 826 OAE you can first try this from the handles: release the drive, lift the front a little and bump it on the pavement. On a battery blower, EGO says to switch off, take the batteries out and wait 10 seconds before clearing it with the tool.
For electric start, Toro says to plug the cord into the machine first and then into the outlet (a GFCI outlet, in the 721 E’s manual), using a UL-listed 16-gauge outdoor cord no longer than 50 ft, and unplug it once the engine runs.
What about battery snow blowers?
The same single-stage or two-stage question applies, without the oil, fuel and spark plugs. The EGO SNT2112 is a 21-inch battery single-stage with a steel auger that EGO rates at up to a 12-car driveway of 8-inch snow per charge; you push it yourself. The EGO SNT2405 is a self-propelled battery two-stage with a 20-inch intake and a 50-foot throw, rated at up to an 18-car driveway per charge, and its manual explains its shear pins and where the two spares are kept. EGO rates both to run from -4 °F (-20 °C) to 50 °F (10 °C), so the coldest mornings are outside their range.
Which should you choose?
Choose the Toro Power Clear 721 E if…
- Your driveway is short and paved, and your snow is usually light.
- You have no plow ridge, or you don’t mind shovelling it.
- Storage space and a machine you can lift matter more than power.
Choose the Toro Power Max 826 OAE if…
- The city plow leaves a ridge across your drive after every storm.
- Your snow is often wet and heavy, or your drive is gravel or long.
- You have a garage for a 189 lb machine and will do the yearly upkeep.
Clearing snow is only half of a snowy winter: the other half is the roof. See how to prevent ice dams, or everything for snow and ice we cover.
Snow blower questions
Can a single-stage snow blower handle the plow ridge?
Not well. The ridge is packed and often icy, and a single-stage like the Toro 721 E is built for light snow; owners in the forum threads we read keep a shovel for it. If you get a ridge after every storm, buy a two-stage.
Is a two-stage snow blower worth the extra money?
If you face a plow ridge, wet snow, gravel or a long drive, yes: those are the jobs a single-stage struggles with. If your drive is short, paved and the snow is usually light, a single-stage is quicker to get out, easier to store and has less to maintain.
Can I use a single-stage snow blower on gravel?
Not the Toro 721 E: Toro limits it to paved surfaces, because its auger runs close to the ground. A two-stage like the 826 OAE works on gravel with its skids lowered so the housing rides above them.
How do I stop my snow blower freezing up after use?
Let it run for a few minutes after the last pass so the auger and chute clear. Toro’s single-stage manual also says to swing the chute side to side and pull the recoil handle or press the starter once, so nothing freezes in place before the next storm.
