Welcome to the forum. Don't know about the Toro 518 but anything would beat a shovel I would think.

 

Thanks chieffan,

No truer words spoken. I own an 8 foot wide rear, (pto) blower for my tractor...But, that becomes a bit of a challenge when doing sidewalks around the house and barn.

 

Update on my choice in snow blowers...

I went with the single stage Toro 721 E and brought it home yesterday. I decided on it because of the larger engine size and the fact it was still light enough for me to pick up and put in the back bed of my pickup if necessary, (I will also use it on my front porch deck when it gets hammered with drifts this winter). The E stands for "electric start", (non battery) which will make my wife happy if she ever needs to use it. Amazon and HD reviews were all off the charts. Any past Toro machines I have owned were never issues.

Will let you know how it works next week. Arctic vortex blowing in Tuesday.

hiwan