Customer Reviews

Murray 1695538 21-Inch 158cc 4-Cycle OHV Briggs & Stratton Snow Series Gas Powered Single Stage Snow Thrower With Electric Start

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First I would like to comment on Amazon's service. I ordered this on the afternoon of 4 Feb 10 based upon a predicted major winter storm that was to hit the mid-atlantic the next day. Amazon indicated that 1 day shipping was available. Being an amazon prime product, the 80+ pound snow thrower shipped overnight for $3.99. I left work early the next day due to the encroaching storm and was pleased to see the package waiting for me.

Since delivery, I was able to test out the thrower on the 24-30 inch snow storm that hit the east coast. Although, not a heavy duty thrower, this machine has stood up to every test I have thrown at it and performed wonderfully. The secret is to not let the snow build up more than 6-8 inches between each evolution. The blower starts incredibly easy with only one easy pull. It also has an electric start capability but it starts so easy I have only used the electric start the very first time. This winter storm really put it to the test because the snow was so wet and heavy, but the thrower met the challenge. Now we have the next winter storm bearing down on us tonight and tomorrow, but I know it will be up to the predicted 12-16 inch snow storm.

Had same snowblower for 12 years ran good just old.Sold it for 125 dollars.I bought this one almost the same.The old one was a craftmans but made buy murray.I used this one four times I rate it a ten.

I gave this a four only because of my mistake - I should have gotten a self-propelled blower. It's easy to start, does what it's supposed to, but be prepared to put some muscle into pushing it, or dragging it up steeper inclines which I had to. It throws the snow about six feet at the most which didn't exactly thrill me, but it's still better than shoveling. I got to use in only once, so maybe next winter I'll find it more useful.

Just used this snowblower after getting over 2 feet of snow in the blizzard in Chicago. Was not sure if it would be of use in that kind of snow, but it was a trooper.

Pros:
Does a nice job throwing the snow. Never clogged on me, even with 2 feet of snow.
Don't have to mix oil/gas.
Handle is at a comfortable height for pushing. Used neighbor's Toro on his driveway, and found the handle bar to be too high and didn't throw the snow as far as my Murray.

Cons:
Handle knobs vibrate off. Will need to purchase locking nuts to keep them secure.
Handle crank not properly aligned, doesn't turn well when shaft is caked with snow. Need to investigate alignment. Even with a questionable crank, I'm no worse off than the competitor brands that require manual adjustment of shaft.

I've had this for 2 years. It does a great job of throwing snow, and can handle 90% of Chicago snowfalls. It leaves a clean path on the driveway.
Only 3.5 stars because:

It vibrates the chute bolts loose. Need to secure/tighten frequently.
The choke controls can be a little confusing.
The choke control lever easily slips off the front.
Mine had a slow oil leak when stored; I had to take off the plastic cover - 15 bolts/screws, and thread the oil plug with tape. There are actually 2 oil drains on my model, one is a cheap plastic plug, the other a steel bolt-like plug.
My metal handle bent when pushing against the 4 ft of snow in the blizzard of Feb 2011- had to reinforce with metal screw clamps.
It would be nice if it had a headlight.

I always read reviews to see how a product performs. There are always good & bad reviews and the truth falls inbetween. Well, the truth for this machine falls more towards the more favorable reviews. This snow thrower is GREAT. It is outperforming all of my neighbor's much more expensive snow throwers and is tackling jobs alot bigger than I expected. I bought this halfway through this winter, where snow fall has broken records across CT (along with my back from all the shovelling). The first time I used it, I was outside for 2 hours and put it through a crash course. I took it right outof the box, filled the gas tank and then topped off the oil it came with. I immediately was able to use it and I widened my driveway, cleared hard packed snow at the end of the driveway and the mailbox. This has been able to take on packed snow, mixed snow/slush and regular snow like a champ. After 2 hours of constant use the nobs losening on the handle (which another reviewer mentioned), but it was hardly an issue. It took 2 seconds to tightened the knobs and then no issues after that. Absolutely no complaints.
Any of the poor reviews must have thought they were getting an commercial machine 3-4 times the cost of this one. This is a GREAT singe stage snow thrower. For its price, it outperforms what you would expect.

It's only snowed here once this winter so far, though it was a very heavy, wet snow, about 6". I didn't really have any problems at all going through it (though going uphill, even slightly was not so easy; just switched to going downhill only). Overall am very happy with the snowblower so far. Decent price, and works as I expected.

ordered the Murray snow blower for one feature. The hand crank that directs the snow. Out of the box the hand crank did not work, the snow chute would only turn an inch or two the hand crank (pinion)was not properly aligned and I had to dismantle a brand new unit and correct the alignment. the snow chute (rack) is plastic and so is almost the entire machine. I do not expect I will receive any long term use of this snow blower as the plastic parts are not of a carbon fiber type but are very bendable. Had I seen this unit in a store in person I would not have purchased it. However this snow blower is the only one I have seen with the hand crank in the back (like my older blower) that will direct the snow left or right. Most other machines I have seen have a handle on the chute that require a person to lean over the machine to redirect the snow direction, very hard to do while walking behind the machine. Very poor and cheap construction.

Okay, this was a nightmare to start with, the first snow blower would not work at all, it is still sitting in the garage because I don't know what to do with it.

So calling Amazon, I explained what happened and they sent me another snow blower in a matter of days and was I great full as we got over 20 inches of snow and this little blower did the most amazing job ever. It was much better than shoveling by hand and only took me about an hour for a 120 foot double driveway.

This is why I will only deal with AMAZON, they are great and stand behind everything, I never worry when I order from them. Thank you AMAZON, you rock.

Easy to start and control, but the vibration causes the handle hardware to fall off, the solution was to buy a replacement kit from Lowes that has a locking nut on the twist handles, problem solved. Heavy or wet snow makes the unit produce snow turds (clogs up) at times so plow early if you can.